Rare and very interesting photos
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In 1961, Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes, the first black students enrolled at the University of Georgia 2 days earlier, were suspended.This was after thousands of white people violently rioted. They were initially denied enrollment but a federal judge ordered their admission. Hamilton simply wanted to become a doctor. Charlayne simply wanted to become a journalist.Both agreed that the University of Georgia had the classes they needed to reach those goals. But when they graduated from Henry McNeal Turner High School in Atlanta in 1959—Holmes as valedictorian and Hunter (now Hunter-Gault) as third in their class—it wasn’t quite that simple.Both Hunter and Holmes applied to UGA for the fall 1959 quarter but were denied. Holmes was accepted to Morehouse College, and Hunter enrolled at Wayne State University in Detroit, but they continued to submit applications to UGA each quarter.Eventually Hunter and Holmes became the first black students to attend UGA, but that is just the beginning of their stories.On January 9, 1961, thousands of white people violently rioted because Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes registered at the University of Georgia, becoming the university's first Black students. Their enrollment came days after federal judge William Bootle ordered the university to admit them, ending a two-year administrative and legal fight to integrate the school.When Ms. Hunter and Mr. Holmes arrived to register for classes they were met by nearly 100 white students opposing their admission. The crowd grew in the coming hours and the opposition escalated into full-scale riots, involving nearly 2,000 white students, local residents, and Ku Klux Klan members. The rioters set fires outside Ms. Hunter's dormitory, hurled rocks inside, and yelled racist epithets. At least one student in the dormitory was injured by a flying object. After several hours, campus officers, city police, and local firefighters quelled the riot.In response to this violent white mob, composed of many white students from the university, officials forced Ms. Hunter and Mr. Holmes to withdraw from the university and Georgia state troopers escorted them home. White student leaders gloated at their victory, and one cited the University of Alabama's violent reaction to the enrollment of Autherine Lucy in 1956 as inspiration for their own demonstration.Days later, Judge Bootle ordered the university to readmit Ms. Hunter and Mr. Holmes. They both completed their studies in 1963, becoming the first Black undergraduate students to graduate from the University of Georgia.
The photograph from May 1862 captures a group of contrabands at Allen's farmhouse near Williamsburg Road, in the vicinity of Yorkville, Virginia, during the Civil War. At this time, "contraband" referred to enslaved individuals who escaped from Confederate territories and sought refuge in Union-controlled areas. The image, part of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture's collection, provides a rare glimpse into the lives of African Americans caught in the midst of the Civil War, as they navigated the struggle for freedom amid the chaos of war.
During the Civil War, contrabands were often taken in by Union forces, who, under the Confiscation Acts, were able to offer protection and freedom to enslaved people. Many contrabands worked for the Union army or on farms, performing various roles such as cooking, cleaning, and laboring. While contraband camps provided relative safety and freedom, they were often overcrowded and lacked sufficient shelter and supplies. Despite these hardships, they represented a critical step toward liberation for many African Americans, and the opportunity for them to participate in the war effort, even if in supportive roles.
The Allen farmhouse, as depicted in the photograph, likely served as one of these refuges for escaping enslaved individuals, offering shelter during this transitional period. This moment is a poignant reminder of the human cost of slavery and the Civil War, as well as the resilience of those striving for freedom. The photograph captures a significant moment in American history, as the Union Army’s advance set the stage for emancipation, culminating in the Emancipation Proclamation later that year. The image serves as a powerful symbol of the intersection of war, freedom, and race during a time of profound national change.
During the Civil War, contrabands were often taken in by Union forces, who, under the Confiscation Acts, were able to offer protection and freedom to enslaved people. Many contrabands worked for the Union army or on farms, performing various roles such as cooking, cleaning, and laboring. While contraband camps provided relative safety and freedom, they were often overcrowded and lacked sufficient shelter and supplies. Despite these hardships, they represented a critical step toward liberation for many African Americans, and the opportunity for them to participate in the war effort, even if in supportive roles.
The Allen farmhouse, as depicted in the photograph, likely served as one of these refuges for escaping enslaved individuals, offering shelter during this transitional period. This moment is a poignant reminder of the human cost of slavery and the Civil War, as well as the resilience of those striving for freedom. The photograph captures a significant moment in American history, as the Union Army’s advance set the stage for emancipation, culminating in the Emancipation Proclamation later that year. The image serves as a powerful symbol of the intersection of war, freedom, and race during a time of profound national change.
A nervous young girl sits in the front row. She is the only black girl in her class, Tennessee, 1957.—Lajuanda Street Harley who was enrolled in 1957 at Glenn Elementary School of Nashville, Tennessee. Her early days of first grade had angry parents present in the classroom. Her participation was part of the district's response to the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, with a plan to desegregate schools one grade per year starting with first grade.In 1957, Nashville's all-white Hattie Cotton Elementary School was destroyed by dynamite blast when black kids integrated the school.On September 9, 1957, as 19 Black six-year-olds integrated all-white elementary schools in Nashville, Tennessee, white church members—including one local minister—organized a persistent and violent campaign to oppose the integration of Nashville public schools. Outside Fehr Elementary School, one person held a sign that read “God is the author of segregation” and pursued two Black children walking to the school. Outside three different elementary schools that same morning, Fred Stroud, a white minister, sought to dissuade white parents from allowing their children to be educated alongside Black children by preaching damnation for those who did not uphold segregation.The next day, 100 sticks of dynamite were thrown into Hattie Cotton Elementary School and exploded. Patricia Watson, the one Black elementary student who had been in class the previous morning, did not return. No Black children returned to Hattie Cotton Elementary School the following year, and no one faced criminal charges for the bombing.Though Brown v. Board of Education determined in 1954 that school segregation was unconstitutional, for three years white residents in Nashville relied on intimidation and organized political resistance to maintain segregation in the public schools. In 1957, Nashville finally developed a “stair step program” which permitted a few Black elementary school students to enroll in eight elementary schools in their zones.Throughout the summer of 1957, white segregationists in Nashville held intimidation rallies to terrorize Black families. In the days leading up to the first day of school, as Black parents pre-registered their children for school, mobs of white church members gathered outside buildings with signs calling segregation the “will of God.” One leader declared that “integration can be reversed” and that “blood will run the streets” before Nashville’s schools were integrated.By the morning of September 9, out of the 126 Black children eligible to attend all-white elementary schools in their zones, only 19 Black children matriculated. Reverend Stroud gathered crowds at Glenn Elementary to preach about the evils of integration, and white people in cars outside of Jones Elementary held signs emblazoned with KKK iconography and Biblical quotes. As opposition grew throughout the morning, white mobs crowded the sidewalks and threw rocks and bottles at Black children and their parents who attempted to pass through the crowd. By the end of the day, half of the white students at Glenn Elementary School—nearly 250 children—had not arrived, as white parents chose to deny their children education rather than permit them to learn alongside Black children.That evening, 300 white people gathered downtown and continued to threaten Black families who sent their children to school. They strung an effigy in blackface from a stoplight with a note pinned to its chest that read “this could be you.” As the mob around Fehr Elementary grew to at least 400, white people burned two outbuildings located on the property of a Black family that had sent their daughter to the school. The mob also continued to burn crosses on lawns of Black families who had dared to enroll their students that morning.
No way I'm putting my child in the middle of that crap.A nervous young girl sits in the front row. She is the only black girl in her class, Tennessee, 1957.—Lajuanda Street Harley who was enrolled in 1957 at Glenn Elementary School of Nashville, Tennessee. Her early days of first grade had angry parents present in the classroom. Her participation was part of the district's response to the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, with a plan to desegregate schools one grade per year starting with first grade.In 1957, Nashville's all-white Hattie Cotton Elementary School was destroyed by dynamite blast when black kids integrated the school.On September 9, 1957, as 19 Black six-year-olds integrated all-white elementary schools in Nashville, Tennessee, white church members—including one local minister—organized a persistent and violent campaign to oppose the integration of Nashville public schools. Outside Fehr Elementary School, one person held a sign that read “God is the author of segregation” and pursued two Black children walking to the school. Outside three different elementary schools that same morning, Fred Stroud, a white minister, sought to dissuade white parents from allowing their children to be educated alongside Black children by preaching damnation for those who did not uphold segregation.The next day, 100 sticks of dynamite were thrown into Hattie Cotton Elementary School and exploded. Patricia Watson, the one Black elementary student who had been in class the previous morning, did not return. No Black children returned to Hattie Cotton Elementary School the following year, and no one faced criminal charges for the bombing.Though Brown v. Board of Education determined in 1954 that school segregation was unconstitutional, for three years white residents in Nashville relied on intimidation and organized political resistance to maintain segregation in the public schools. In 1957, Nashville finally developed a “stair step program” which permitted a few Black elementary school students to enroll in eight elementary schools in their zones.Throughout the summer of 1957, white segregationists in Nashville held intimidation rallies to terrorize Black families. In the days leading up to the first day of school, as Black parents pre-registered their children for school, mobs of white church members gathered outside buildings with signs calling segregation the “will of God.” One leader declared that “integration can be reversed” and that “blood will run the streets” before Nashville’s schools were integrated.By the morning of September 9, out of the 126 Black children eligible to attend all-white elementary schools in their zones, only 19 Black children matriculated. Reverend Stroud gathered crowds at Glenn Elementary to preach about the evils of integration, and white people in cars outside of Jones Elementary held signs emblazoned with KKK iconography and Biblical quotes. As opposition grew throughout the morning, white mobs crowded the sidewalks and threw rocks and bottles at Black children and their parents who attempted to pass through the crowd. By the end of the day, half of the white students at Glenn Elementary School—nearly 250 children—had not arrived, as white parents chose to deny their children education rather than permit them to learn alongside Black children.That evening, 300 white people gathered downtown and continued to threaten Black families who sent their children to school. They strung an effigy in blackface from a stoplight with a note pinned to its chest that read “this could be you.” As the mob around Fehr Elementary grew to at least 400, white people burned two outbuildings located on the property of a Black family that had sent their daughter to the school. The mob also continued to burn crosses on lawns of Black families who had dared to enroll their students that morning.
When Laurence Jones learned about the 80% illiteracy rate of Rankin County, he started Piney Woods School with just $2 and 3 students at an abandoned sheep shed.In 1918, he not only survived a near-lynching, he also persuaded the mob into collecting money to support his school.—Laurence C. Jones was born into a Missouri family of educators in 1884. He completed his studies at the University of Iowa in 1908. Laurence received many job offers after graduating but would ultimately find himself in Rankin County, Mississippi, in 1909. During slavery, it was illegal to teach enslaved Africans to read and write. Therefore, Rankin County had an illiteracy rate approaching 80%. Mr. Jones settled in the county and began teaching three students. The number of students increased, and with land donated by a former “freed”slave and support from several white-owned Iowa businesses, Piney Wood School would receive its charter in 1913. Mr. Jones had also established a friendship with prominent Iowan, Captain ASA Turner. Captain Turner, abolitionist, and civil war veteran, would donate a significant amount of his time and wealth to support the school, ultimately serving on the school’s board of trustees. In 1918, for whatever reason, the residents had had enough of Mr. Jones and sought to hang him. Laurence was also an oratory master. He not only convinced the mob not to lynch him but solicited funds from the rabble for his school. Later, Mr. Jones is quoted: “No man can cause me to stoop low enough that him.” Today, Piney Woods School is the largest of four historically Black American boarding schools, educating youth from grades 9-12.—
In July of 1963, 15 black girls were arrested for protesting segregation laws at the Martin theatre. Aged 12-15, they were locked in an old, abandoned stockade for 45 days without their parent's knowledge. They came to be known as "The Leesburg Stockade Girls".
That can't be Ice Cube hairIce Cube with 73 year old Ms. Parker from Friday
Fifteen-year-old Johnny Gray confronts one of the two white boys who tried to force him and his sister, Mary, from the sidewalk as they walked to school in Little Rock, Arkansas on September 16, 1958.
Johnny started throwing blows shortly after this photo was snapped. (It's part of a trio of photos)
United Press International (UPI) photographer Charles J. McCarty of Dallas, TX, received a top award in the 16th Annual News Pictures of the Year competition here in Columbia, MO, on May 2nd, 1959, for this photo of Negro student Johnny Gray punching a white student during a brief skirmish on a street in Little Rock, Arkansas. The photo was taken last September 16, 1958, when tension surrounding school integration in the city was at a high peak. McCarty, who is Southwestern Division Pictures Manager for UPI, won First Prize in the Spot News category for this photo.
Johnny started throwing blows shortly after this photo was snapped. (It's part of a trio of photos)
United Press International (UPI) photographer Charles J. McCarty of Dallas, TX, received a top award in the 16th Annual News Pictures of the Year competition here in Columbia, MO, on May 2nd, 1959, for this photo of Negro student Johnny Gray punching a white student during a brief skirmish on a street in Little Rock, Arkansas. The photo was taken last September 16, 1958, when tension surrounding school integration in the city was at a high peak. McCarty, who is Southwestern Division Pictures Manager for UPI, won First Prize in the Spot News category for this photo.
nukka looking like Morris Day .....
During the battle for Hue City in February 1968, Staff Sergeant Clifford Sims led his squad against fortified enemy positions in a tree line. His squad came across a burning building. Sims realized it was filled with ammo at risk of exploding. He quickly moved his squad back as the structure exploded. Two of his soldiers were injured, but none were killed in the blast. As they continued through the woods, Sims triggered a booby-trapped explosive. With his squad around him, Sims shouted for his men to take cover and unhesitatingly threw himself on the device. He absorbed the explosion, sacrificing his life to save his squad. For his incredible heroism and selfless actions, Sims was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
US Army Medal of Honor Recipient Sergeant Eugene Ashley:
Sergeant Ashley was the senior Special Forces Advisor of a hastily organized assault force whose mission was to rescue entrapped US Special Forces advisers at Camp Lang Vei. During the initial attack on the Special Forces camp by North Vietnamese Army forces, Sfc. Ashley supported the camp with high-explosive and illumination mortar rounds.
When communications were lost with the main camp, he assumed the additional responsibility of directing air strikes and artillery support. Ashley organized and equipped a small assault force composed of local friendly personnel. During the ensuing battle, Ashley led a total of five vigorous assaults against the enemy continuously exposing himself to a voluminous hail of enemy grenades, machine gun and automatic-weapons fire.
Throughout these assaults he was plagued by numerous boobytrapped satchel charges in all bunkers on his avenue of approach. During his fifth and final assault, he adjusted air strikes nearly on top of his assault element, forcing the enemy to withdraw and resulting in friendly control of the summit of the hill.
While exposing himself to intense enemy fire, he was seriously wounded by machine-gun fire but continued his mission without regard for his personal safety. After the fifth assault he lost consciousness and was carried from the summit by his comrades only to be killed when an enemy artillery round landed in his vicinity.
Ashley displayed extraordinary heroism in his total disregard for his personal safety while exposed to enemy observation and automatic-weapons fire was an inspiration to all men committed to the assault. The resolute valor with which he led five gallant charges placed critical diversionary pressure on the attacking enemy and his valiant efforts carved a channel in the overpowering enemy forces and weapons positions through which the survivors of Camp Lang Vei eventually escaped to freedom.
Rest In Peace Hero...
Sergeant Ashley was the senior Special Forces Advisor of a hastily organized assault force whose mission was to rescue entrapped US Special Forces advisers at Camp Lang Vei. During the initial attack on the Special Forces camp by North Vietnamese Army forces, Sfc. Ashley supported the camp with high-explosive and illumination mortar rounds.
When communications were lost with the main camp, he assumed the additional responsibility of directing air strikes and artillery support. Ashley organized and equipped a small assault force composed of local friendly personnel. During the ensuing battle, Ashley led a total of five vigorous assaults against the enemy continuously exposing himself to a voluminous hail of enemy grenades, machine gun and automatic-weapons fire.
Throughout these assaults he was plagued by numerous boobytrapped satchel charges in all bunkers on his avenue of approach. During his fifth and final assault, he adjusted air strikes nearly on top of his assault element, forcing the enemy to withdraw and resulting in friendly control of the summit of the hill.
While exposing himself to intense enemy fire, he was seriously wounded by machine-gun fire but continued his mission without regard for his personal safety. After the fifth assault he lost consciousness and was carried from the summit by his comrades only to be killed when an enemy artillery round landed in his vicinity.
Ashley displayed extraordinary heroism in his total disregard for his personal safety while exposed to enemy observation and automatic-weapons fire was an inspiration to all men committed to the assault. The resolute valor with which he led five gallant charges placed critical diversionary pressure on the attacking enemy and his valiant efforts carved a channel in the overpowering enemy forces and weapons positions through which the survivors of Camp Lang Vei eventually escaped to freedom.
Rest In Peace Hero...
‘Potato King of The World’, Farmer, landowner and businessman, Junius G. Groves (1859-1925), was one of the wealthiest African Americans of the early 20th century. Born enslaved in Green County, Kentucky, Groves was later liberated and joined other freedmen in the “Great Exodus” to Kansas in 1879, eventually finding work as a farmhand. Impressed with his strong work ethic and production, Groves’ employer offered him nine acres of land to farm on shares. By 1884, he and his wife Matilda had saved enough to purchase 80 acres of land near Edwardsville, Kansas. So successful was their venture that, just four years later, they had acquired a total of 2,000 acres and replaced their one-room shanty with a 22-room mansion. Groves made a name for himself as a potato grower, producing as many as 721,500 bushels in one year – far and away more than any other farmer – and earning the title of “Potato King of the World.” He also operated a general store, maintained several orchards, and had investments in various mining and banking interests. Groves worked the farm until his death in 1925. He attributed his success to the endless hard work and devotion of his wife and 12 children.
Reginald Francis Lewis was the first black American to build a billion-dollar company. He was born on December 7, 1942 in Baltimore, Maryland. The creation of TLC Beatrice International Holdings, Inc by Lewis was an amazing feat of hard work, remarkable ingenuity and true genius from a man who grew up in a middle class Baltimore neighborhood. Lewis died on January 19, 1993 in New York City at age 50 due to brain cancer.Reginald would have become the first black billionaire if he would not have succumbed to brain cancer at the age of 50 in 1993. At the time of his death, he was the richest African-American in U.S. history. Lewis started out as a attorney and became the first black man to head his own law firm on Wall Street. In 1987, he mastered a $1 billion dollar purchase of TLC Beatrice, a giant food distributor with 64 companies in 34 countries. Lewis would go on to run a business empire spanning four continents.In his spare time, he mentored African-American students and entrepreneurs. Lewis donated $1 million dollars to Howard University and $3 million to Harvard Law School where a building is named in his honor. He holds the distinction of the being the only African-American with a building named in his honor on a Ivy League campus.In the early 90's, Lewis tried unsuccessfully to buy the Baltimore Orioles. After his death, his brother and his widow Loida ran TLC Beatrice, they would eventually sale the company for billions. At the time of his death, Reginald Lewis was worth $500 million dollars.
John B. Stradford, a lawyer and entrepreneur, was a key figure of the Greenwood neighbourhood, The Black Wallstreet. He became the richest Black American in Tulsa by means of real estate investments and he built the largest Black-owned hotel in the United States at that time.He initially arrived in Tulsa via railroad in 1898 with his wife, Augusta. J.B. He was the son of a former Versailles, Kentucky enslaved man, who had been named Caesar by his owner. During Caesar's time in slavery, his owner's daughter befriended him and taught him to read.In 1863, Caesar could read very well. He read about the Emancipation Proclamation and petitioned his owner for his freedom. His owner let him go. He also liberated his family. Caesar changed his last name to Stradford after a city in Canada. He worked hard and saved money.Caesar's firstborn, J.B. Stradford, become an Indiana University trained attorney. His interests ranged from social justice and racial solidarity to real estate development, which he applied to an influx of Black Americans streaming into the Indian Territory. His Empire was comprised of real estate income from two dozen rental properties – worth nearly $2 million dollars. The Stradford Hotel, located at 301 North Greenwood, was his most important business. It was the biggest black owned hotel in the United States. The hotel had 54 modern rooms, gambling room, a restaurant, a bar, and a pool hall.
As a 12 year old, Edmond Albius, invented the technique that made the vanilla industry possible (still used today as most vanilla is pollinated by hand) He revolutionized its cultivation. He made it possible for us to enjoy treats like Vanilla Ice Cream! Edmond Albius was born enslaved in 1829, in St. Suzanne, on the island Réunion. His mother died during childbirth, and he never knew his father. In his youth he was sent to work for Botanist Fereol Bellier-Beaumont.•The vanilla plant was flourishing in Mexico, and by the late 18th century, a few plants were sent to Paris, London, Europe and Asia, in hopes of producing the bean in other areas. Although the vine would grow and flower, it would not produce any beans. French colonists brought vanilla beans to Réunion around 1820.•Beaumont had been teaching young Edmond how to tend to the various plants on his estate. He taught him how to hand-pollinate a watermelon plant. Beaumont had previously planted vanilla beans, and had just one vine growing for over twenty years, but was also unable to produce any beans on the vine. Young Edmond began to study the plant and made a discovery. He carefully probed the plant and found the part of the flower that produced the pollen. Edmond then discovered the stigma, the part of the plant that needed to be dusted with the pollen to produce the bean. He used a blade of grass to separate the two flaps and properly fertilized the plant.•Shortly afterwards, while walking through the gardens, Beaumont noticed two packs of vanilla beans flourishing on the vine and was astonished when young Edmond told him that he was responsible for the pollination. Edmond was twelve years old at the time. Beaumont wrote to other plantation owners to tell them his slave Edmond had solved the vanilla bean pollination mystery. He then sent Edmond to other local plantations to teach other slaves how to fertilize the vanilla vine. Within the next twenty to thirty years, Réunion became the world’s largest producer of vanilla beans.•Edmond was rewarded with his freedom, and was given the last name Albius. Beaumont wrote to the governor, asking that Albius be given a cash stipend for his role in the discovery of the fertilization, but received no response. Albius moved to St. Denis and worked as a kitchen servant. He somehow got involved in a jewelry heist and was sentenced to ten years. Beaumont again wrote the governor on his behalf, and the sentence was commuted to five years, and Albius was subsequently released. A man named Jean Michel Claude Richard then set claim to have discovered the fertilization process before Albius. He claimed he visited the island in 1838, and taught a group of horticulturists the technique. Again, Beaumont stepped in and wrote to Réunion’s official historian declaring Albius as the true inventor, giving him all of the credit entirely. The letter survives as part of island history.•Albius returned to live close to Beaumont’s plantation and married. He died on August 9, 1880 at the age of 51 at a hospital in Sainte Suzanne. He never received any profits from his discovery. One hundred years after his death, the mayor of Réunion made amends by erecting a statue of Albius and naming a street and school after him.
He got him a bad one in the first pic.From the page - Vintage & Iconic African American Everything
They didn’t just fight for freedom.
They fought for dignity, for legacy, for each other.
Black soldiers stood tall—even when the nation looked away.
This is our history. This is our pride.”
The Greatest High School Basketball Team EverThe Dunbar Poets are considered by many to be the greatest high school basketball team of all time. The team's 1981–82 season ended with a 29–0 record, and the 1982–83 season ended with a 31–0 record and a national ranking of first by USA Today.The team included:• Muggsy Bogues: The shortest player in NBA history, Bogues was the team's MVP as a senior.• Reggie Williams: The National High School Player of the Year, Williams went on to play in the NBA.
• Reggie Lewis: A future NBA All-Star, Lewis came off the bench for the team.
• David Wingate: A defensive presence in college and the NBA.
• Gary Graham (UNLV), Tim Dawson (Miami), Keith James (UNLV), Darryl Woods (Virginia Union), Jerry White
Coach Bob Wade, a former NFL player from the neighborhood, coached the team.
The team's success helped to provide a way out for poor kids from the housing projects, with the opportunity to earn a college scholarship or even play in the NBA
• Reggie Lewis: A future NBA All-Star, Lewis came off the bench for the team.
• David Wingate: A defensive presence in college and the NBA.
• Gary Graham (UNLV), Tim Dawson (Miami), Keith James (UNLV), Darryl Woods (Virginia Union), Jerry White
Coach Bob Wade, a former NFL player from the neighborhood, coached the team.
The team's success helped to provide a way out for poor kids from the housing projects, with the opportunity to earn a college scholarship or even play in the NBA
On this day in 1897, The Hotel Robinson, one of the first businesses in San Diego County, California to be owned and operated by an African American, and the oldest continuously operated hotel in Southern California, was opened.
Entrepreneur Albert Robinson, born enslaved built The Hotel Robinson in 1897, in San Diego CA. The hotel is now a part of the National Register of Historic Places. It was one of the first hotels owned and operated by an African American, and the oldest continuously operated hotel in Southern California. —The hotel is now a part of the National Register of Historic Places and is a Point of Historic Interest for the state of California, thanks to the present owners’ efforts.—Albert Robinson and his wife, Margaret Tull Robinson, originally ran the hotel. Margaret Tull’s father was the first African American man to be a juror in San Diego County. Her mother, Susan Tull, owned property and was possibly the financial backer of the building of the hotel.—Albert Robinson was born enslaved in 1845 in Missouri, but the exact location is not known. During the Civil War, he befriended a military officer and came to San Diego with the officer after the war. The officer may have been Major Levi Chase, who came to San Diego in 1868, but this cannot be confirmed. In 1886 Robinson was living in Julian and was a cook for a ranch. He met Margaret Tull, a San Diego native, and married her that year. As a wedding gift from Margaret’s parents, the couple received a piece of land in Julian, which would become the site of the hotel.—Soon after their marriage, the Robinsons opened a restaurant and bakery, named the Robinson Restaurant and Bakery. Margaret served a Sunday night chicken dinner every night that quickly made their restaurant popular within the community. For almost a decade, the restaurant enjoyed success.—In 1897 the Robinson Restaurant and Bakery was demolished to begin construction on the Hotel Robinson. Margaret’s mother, Susan, was most likely involved in financing the construction. Local community members, C. R. Wellington and F.L. Blanc, oversaw the construction. It was completed and opened in the same year. The hotel was built with fourteen guest rooms, a full kitchen, dining room, and a parlor room.The hotel became a social center of the community, famous for its hospitality and cooking. Many settlers would eat most of their meals at the hotel and visit daily. Some of the wealthiest and most influential families in San Diego at the time, such as the Scripps and the Whitneys, were also frequent guests, as well as visiting senators and congressman. A monthly dance for all community residents was held at the Julian town hall, right across the street from the hotel. After each dance, Margaret would prepare a midnight feast at the hotel for all the participants.—On June 10, 1915, Albert died to an unknown illness. Margaret continued to operate the hotel and restaurant until 1921. She sold the hotel to the Martin Jacobs for $1500. The Jacobs family continued to own the hotel for forty-seven years. During this period, the hotel was renamed to the Julian Hotel, in honor of the previous Julian Hotel, built in 1872 and burned in 1900. Today, the Julian Hotel is the only hotel in the town and is furnished in an early twentieth century style in keeping with the original vision that the Robinsons had. Thanks to present-day owners, Steve and Gig Ballinger, the hotel is a part of the National Register of Historic Places and a California Point of Historical Interest.
Entrepreneur Albert Robinson, born enslaved built The Hotel Robinson in 1897, in San Diego CA. The hotel is now a part of the National Register of Historic Places. It was one of the first hotels owned and operated by an African American, and the oldest continuously operated hotel in Southern California. —The hotel is now a part of the National Register of Historic Places and is a Point of Historic Interest for the state of California, thanks to the present owners’ efforts.—Albert Robinson and his wife, Margaret Tull Robinson, originally ran the hotel. Margaret Tull’s father was the first African American man to be a juror in San Diego County. Her mother, Susan Tull, owned property and was possibly the financial backer of the building of the hotel.—Albert Robinson was born enslaved in 1845 in Missouri, but the exact location is not known. During the Civil War, he befriended a military officer and came to San Diego with the officer after the war. The officer may have been Major Levi Chase, who came to San Diego in 1868, but this cannot be confirmed. In 1886 Robinson was living in Julian and was a cook for a ranch. He met Margaret Tull, a San Diego native, and married her that year. As a wedding gift from Margaret’s parents, the couple received a piece of land in Julian, which would become the site of the hotel.—Soon after their marriage, the Robinsons opened a restaurant and bakery, named the Robinson Restaurant and Bakery. Margaret served a Sunday night chicken dinner every night that quickly made their restaurant popular within the community. For almost a decade, the restaurant enjoyed success.—In 1897 the Robinson Restaurant and Bakery was demolished to begin construction on the Hotel Robinson. Margaret’s mother, Susan, was most likely involved in financing the construction. Local community members, C. R. Wellington and F.L. Blanc, oversaw the construction. It was completed and opened in the same year. The hotel was built with fourteen guest rooms, a full kitchen, dining room, and a parlor room.The hotel became a social center of the community, famous for its hospitality and cooking. Many settlers would eat most of their meals at the hotel and visit daily. Some of the wealthiest and most influential families in San Diego at the time, such as the Scripps and the Whitneys, were also frequent guests, as well as visiting senators and congressman. A monthly dance for all community residents was held at the Julian town hall, right across the street from the hotel. After each dance, Margaret would prepare a midnight feast at the hotel for all the participants.—On June 10, 1915, Albert died to an unknown illness. Margaret continued to operate the hotel and restaurant until 1921. She sold the hotel to the Martin Jacobs for $1500. The Jacobs family continued to own the hotel for forty-seven years. During this period, the hotel was renamed to the Julian Hotel, in honor of the previous Julian Hotel, built in 1872 and burned in 1900. Today, the Julian Hotel is the only hotel in the town and is furnished in an early twentieth century style in keeping with the original vision that the Robinsons had. Thanks to present-day owners, Steve and Gig Ballinger, the hotel is a part of the National Register of Historic Places and a California Point of Historical Interest.
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