By Research Librarian Jessica McClain
Portsmouth’s Black history begins over 350 years ago in 1645—dating back almost as far as the area’s European history. Though many of their early stories involve enslavement and marginalization, Portsmouth’s Black residents built families and communities, founded institutions, and served city, state and nation in a variety of ways. These encounters have been and continue to be integral to our immediate community and to the broader story of our country. Please take some time this month to read Black stories from Black voices as we specifically remember their importance within the American Experience.
Find the listed titles on display in the Sawtelle Reading Room through the month of February.
PHOTO: Composite of participants in “Lift Every Voice,” an oral history project begun in 1989 with African-American elders living on the New Hampshire seacoast. Valerie Cunningham conducted the interviews and Kelvin E. Edwards was the photographer. From left to right were the following people: (TOP) Geraldine Cousins Palmer, Jane Cooper Faust, and Doris Moore; (MIDDLE) Clarence W. Cunningham, Hazel Sinclair, and Rosary B. Cooper; (BOTTOM) Priscilla Reid Wesson, Henry Pettiford, and Frances Satchell. PS2971_01 to PS2971_09.