The African Presence in Rockland County, NY Timeline
1600s 1623Dutch West India Company establishes New Netherland (later to become NY State). Manhattan Island becomes New Amsterdam. 1625First 11 enslaved African Men brought to Manhattan Island to labor for [...]
A Mighty River: 2009 Quadricentennial
The African Diaspora and Economic Development Along the Hudson River This year marks the quadricentennial anniversary of Henry Hudson’s first voyage on New York’s beautiful Hudson River. This conference is […]
I, Too, Sing America!
THE CONTRIBUTIONS AND CHALLENGES OF AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE US MILITARY The African American Historical Society of Rockland County offered two free programs on February 2015 (February 25th at 10AM […]
A Glimpse of the Harlem Renaissance
The African American Historical Society of Rockland County in collaboration with Rockland Community College’s Performing Arts Department will present an engaging, cultural and educational program called “A Glimpse of the […]
The Vote in America
COMMENTARIES FOR THE VOTE Elaine Jones, Part I Elaine Jones, Part II Jack Greenberg John Lewis Vernon Jordan
IndiVisible: African-Native American Lives in the Americas
Within the fabric of American identity is woven a story that has long been invisible—the lives and experiences of people who share African American and Native American ancestry. African and […]
Tappan Patent and the Signers of African Descent
Settlement of the area that would later be known as Orange County and afterwards Rockland County by Europeans and individuals of African descent in the 1680’s. Pioneers from Manhattan and […]
A Narrative of the Life of John de Vries II
Original Signer of the Tappan Patent Jan (John) de Vries II was baptized on August 25, 1647, at the Dutch Reformed Church. He was the son of a Dutch army […]
A Narrative of the Life of Claes (Nicholas) Manuel
Original Signer of the Tappan Patent Claes (Nicholas) Manuel one of the African American signers of the Tappan Patent, was born mid seventeenth century and was baptized on August 22, […]
A Narrative of the Life of William Henry Myers
William Henry Myers was born in Virginia, August 17, 1848 and was enslaved on a cotton plantation. In 1860, at the age of twelve, he was sold to a Louisiana cotton […]