FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Feb. 15, 2008
CONTACT:  Jay D. Vogt, (605) 773-3458, Jay.Vogt@state.sd.us

State Historical Society recognizing Black History Month

PIERRE—February is Black History Month in the United States and Canada, and the South Dakota State Historical Society is marking the designation with an exhibit of historic photographs of and publications on Afro-Americans in the state and the release of Forgotten Lives: African Americans in South Dakota by Betti VanEpps-Taylor.

“It is an opportunity to remember the important people and events in the history of Afro-Americans in North America,” said Jay D. Vogt, director of the State Historical Society, headquartered in the Cultural Heritage Center. “The history of Afro-Americans in South Dakota is often overlooked. Black History Month provides historians the opportunity to highlight the significant contributions to society made by people with African heritage. 

“History books often cover the broad themes of history, and the details of various individuals and organizations sometimes do not get the attention they deserve,” Vogt said. “In South Dakota, the history of Afro-Americans is being more fully explored.”

Over the years, the State Historical Society’s quarterly journal, South Dakota History, has featured articles on the Sully County African-American “Colony,” Yankton’s African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, and others. The journal’s “Dakota Images” has highlighted African-American luminaries such as Oscar Micheaux, Leonard “Bud” Williams and Theodore “Ted” Blakey.

VanEpps-Taylor brings together much of this history in Forgotten Lives, and these subjects figure into the exhibit, which is in the lobby of the Cultural Heritage Center. Available for $17.95 plus shipping and tax, Forgotten Lives can be purchased from most bookstores or ordered directly from the South Dakota State Historical Society Press. Visit www.sdshspress.com or call (605) 773-6009.   

In addition to VanEpps-Taylor, independent scholars Joyce Jefferson of Rapid City and Lawrence Diggs of Roslyn are conducting research and presentations on Afro-American heritage and race relations. Jefferson will be presenting a free program based on two characters from Forgotten Lives at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 24, at the Cultural Heritage Center.

“Black History Month gives us the opportunity to reflect on the history of a little known heritage in South Dakota,” Vogt said. “However, it should also stir us to pay closer attention to the history of other minority people, especially as our state’s demographics change, to collect, preserve and interpret that heritage, also.”