Black History Timeline

Alaska is a land that has seen it all. Often overlooked is the Black history that dates back to the times before statehood.

"African Americans have traveled to Alaska for over 150 years, well before statehood and earlier even than the Klondike gold rush. Black men and women have actively participated in Alaska’s politics, economic development, and culture. They hunted for whales, patrolled the seas, built roads, served in the military, opened businesses, fought injustice, won political office, and forged communities". -Ian Hartman in Black History in the Last Frontier, 2020

This timeline reviews Black History in Alaska and places it in the context of national Black History. This timeline will be displayed at Arctic Java in the UAF Troth Yeddha campus starting February 20. We also have a virtual interactive display of the timeline below.

At the Nanook Diversity & Action Center, we are hoping to compile the community's Black history and expand this timeline. If you have any history you would like to add, please submit the form below. We will continue to update our Black History Timeline throughout the week.

Please contact jhmalbertnarvaez@alaska.edu if you have any questions.