Oneida County Black History Archive

For The Good, Inc., in conjunction with Uitca College, Dr. Jan DeAmicis, Professor of Sociology, and Dr. Paul Young, Assistant Professor of History, has undertaken the development of the Oneida County Black History Archive. Utica College has provided For The Good, Inc. with a full time Intern, Amanda Dummett, a Utica College Senior, whose task it is to assist in the establishment of this important work.

Cassandra Harris-Lockwood, President and CEO of For The Good, Inc. and Director of the Archive, realized that without serious effort, Utica would lose the human component necessary to establish a Black Archive. Many elders of the oldest Black families, who are able to recall experiences of Black Uticans since the turn of the last century, are in their 80’s and 90’s.

“Utica has such a rich history and the Black community is no exception. Our window to chronicle the life and times of the original African-Americans in Upstate New York is slowing drawing to a close. The foundation of work that Drs. DeAmicis and Young have provided is precious and vital,” said Harris-Lockwood.

For the past 30 years, Dr. DeAmicis has compiled important information on Black Uticans. Known more for his work on the Underground Railroad, DeAmicis has interviewed members of the ancient Black families of Utica whose ancestors were slaves and married members of local Indian tribes. DeAmicis has also researched the migrant workers that resettled in Utica from the South. Professor DeAmicis’ research is now being housed at For The Good, Inc. where it is being studied extensively.

Dr. Young indicated that he was, “pleasantly surprised” to find that Utica, like other communities in New York, had a history of Civil Rights activism. That discovery caused him to look closer at Utica’s African-American community and its place in the history of the Civil Rights Movement in New York. Dr. Young has interviewed African-American residents of Utica and Rome who are familiar with the history of the area and sees the Oneida County Black History Archival Project as a means of synthesizing and publicizing a hitherto-untold story.

Utica has an intricate, compelling, and interesting Black history that has caught the attention of both its citizens and academia. President of Utica College, Todd Hutton, was so sufficiently captivated with the project that he approved the intern to work along with Professor Young, Professor DeAmicis, and the staff of For The Good, Inc.

A survey questionnaire has been developed and refined, and will be delivered to identified respondents who will be able to answer important questions that cannot be answered in any other way. The questionnaire asks vital questions about the individual’s experience living in Oneida County. Subsequently, respondents will then have an in-depth interview, based upon their answers, which will be transcribed and filed.

There have been many exciting discoveries to date. One such discovery has been the “Colored Picnic” at Sylvan Beach. This was the only day in July where African-Americans from around Upstate were allowed to attend Sylvan Beach. When Blacks from Syracuse, Utica, and Rome would convene, they would usually don their best clothing and take photos. “It was a day to celebrate the emancipation of Blacks from slavery,” says George Thompson Jr. (from Deansboro) when asked about this event. The “Colored Picnic” was held the third Thursday in July.

Clearly, this one-day annual event illustrates the little known fact as to how segregated Upstate New York society was.

Very recently there was an exciting mystery photograph gifted to the Archive Project by Professor DeAmicis. In the 30” x 5” picture there is a very large group of over 150 Black people that are well dressed and standing on bleachers. The women are posed in white and the men are suited in various uniforms or suits. The location and reason for the gathering is a beautiful mystery that the Archive intends to uncover because it can hold a very important aspect of Upstate’s Black history.

Amanda Dummett, the Black History Intern states, “Being a part of the Oneida County Black History Archive has been a learning experience of immeasurable capacity. I have learned about the History of Utica, a history I would not have learned had I not been an intern on this project. As a college student attending Utica College, I knew very little about the history of Utica and its African American population. In the past two months I have learned more about Utica than I could have imagined. Working on this project has piqued my interest in my own ancestry. This has been welcome experience that can be used in my future endeavors.”