Description
Book SynopsisThe First Migrants explores the narrative histories of Black homesteaders in the Great Plains and the larger themes that characterize their shared experiences.
Trade Review"
The First Migrants is an important contribution to black history and the larger history of the American West."—
Wall Street Journal“A meticulously researched account of Black homesteading on the Great Plains in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. . . . Utilizing a wealth of primary sources and accounts from descendants, the authors make palpable the homesteaders’ relentless drive toward freedom through self-reliance. It’s a revealing look at an underrepresented chapter in American history.”—
Publishers Weekly"
The First Migrants is a highly readable, lively book that not only contextualizes the homesteading movement of African Americans in the West but does so by highlighting individuals involved, showcasing personal stories within a decades-long movement. This superbly researched book brings to life those living out their dreams and experiencing their nightmares on the Great Plains."—Bryan Jack,
Missouri Historical Review“Western expansion of the United States is often portrayed as an endeavor undertaken by primarily European pioneers. The contribution of African Americans, especially formerly enslaved people, is little known or discussed.
The First Migrants heralds the contributions of people frequently marginalized in American history. This story of the African American homesteaders who helped settle America’s Great Plains is informative, comprehensive, and very personal. It shouts, ‘We were there.’”—Catherine Meehan Blount, granddaughter of DeWitty homesteaders
“This amazingly researched work will make a meaningful and needed contribution to African American history, as well as to our understanding of how non-Indigenous Americans, Black and white, settled the Great Plains. Its revelation of the multiracial aspect of homesteading on the plains, moreover, will make a most important addition to the general body of American post–Civil War history.”—Kenneth M. Hamilton, author of
Booker T. Washington in American Memory“As a child, I learned only a bit of my family’s homesteading story.
The First Migrants weaves it together with the stories of other Black families, turning sparse records and anecdotes into a living history.”—Elizabeth Burden, Black homesteader descendant and Tucson artist
“African Americans have been absent in the annals of Western history. Their history is rich and diverse, and speaks to their tenacity, strength, and determination. Their lives are written in the soils of the Great Plains. The winds that sweep its prairies no longer silence their voices. . . . As a descendant of Nicodemus’s first settlers, I am honored to be a part of this still-unfolding story.”—Angela Bates, executive director of the Nicodemus Historical Society
“Finally, a spotlight shines on Black homesteaders in the Great Plains and in the West. Finally, these courageous Americans are remembered and honored. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, [this] exceptional book is a deeply moving, sensitive portrait of individuals and communities that shaped the country and decades of descendants. Impossible to put down,
The First Migrants achieves what few books do: it enriches and changes the conversation about the American experience.”—Ann Weisgarber, author of
The Personal History of Rachel DuPree“
The First Migrants illustrates an epic event in our nation’s history that is often missed, overlooked, or misunderstood—the story of our nation’s Black homesteaders. Through personal, gripping stories . . .
The First Migrants reveals the path these American citizens traveled.”—Mark Engler, former superintendent of Homestead National Historical Park
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations
Preface by Angela Bates
Acknowledgments
Note on Terminology
1. Land!
2. Push and Pull
3. A New Start at Nicodemus
4. Nicodemus Flourishes
5. Henry and Mary Burden’s Flight to Freedom
6. Homesteading Alone
7. DeWitty and the Sandhills
8. The Speese Family Odyssey
9. Opportunity in Sully County
10. Tragedy and Failure at Empire
11. Oscar Micheaux, “The Homesteader”
12. Sand and Success at Dearfield
13. Struggles in the Desert at Blackdom
14. Black Homesteaders and the Great Migration
15. Gen H’s Legacy
Epilogue: Where Are the Black Farmers?
Appendix: Black Homesteaders and White Racism
Notes
Bibliography
Index
