The great movement to the American West readily conjures up images of white American pioneers traveling by covered wagon in search of a new life. Films, stories, and history books perpetuate the imagery, often excluding the critical contributions and accounts of the many ethnic groups that made settlement of the West possible. In particular, the roles of African Americans remain widely unknown.

The stories of African Americans, both enslaved and free, provide a rich addition to the national narrative. Grueling duties as participants of the earliest Westward expeditionary parties in the 16^th century led to remarkable acts of ingenuity and entrepreneurship in the following centuries. Numerous black Americans sought opportunity and equality in the budding communities of the West, often looking to farming and ranching as a means to prosperity.  Frequently in small numbers, these new Westerners organized rich social and cultural lives, creating extensive social networks and church groups to help each other’s families.

Not limited to the rural communities, many African Americans recognized and capitalized on the labor demands of Western cities and towns. By 1870, for example, Denver, Colo., had attracted a sizable black middle class, including a number of physicians and lawyers. In fact, Denver’s first black female physician, Dr. Justina Warren Ford, arrived in 1902.  Equally enterprising black men and women whose wide-ranging contributions to the West included prospecting, land management, and community development, paralleled her achievement.

The BLM Division of Cultural and Paleontological Resources and Tribal Consultation worked in partnership with Coppin State University to uncover dozens of individual accounts of African Americans in the West. The publication, “Finding History’s Forgotten People: The Presence of African Americans in the Settlement of Colorado, c. 1534 to 1954,” is the result of months of extensive research. It reveals vast amounts of little known, but highly valuable, information concerning the role of African Americans in the development of the American West.

American history has often overlooked the noteworthy and unique contributions of many ethnic groups to the settling and cultivating of the American West. The Coppin State research project highlights the involvement of African Americans in many aspects of BLM’s management of Western public lands. These include the disciplines of homesteading, mining, cattle ranching and entrepreneurship. The research team set out to produce information that would help BLM create a more inclusive narrative on the role of African Americans in settling the West.  In its first phase, the Coppin State research team focused their attention on the state of Colorado. Their research provides detailed accounts of individual African Americans, the struggles they faced and overcame, their successes as well as failures and their overall contributions to early Colorado society.

“Finding History’s Forgotten People” highlights BLM’s commitment to advancing equal opportunity in higher education, enhancing access to federal programs and promoting the development of new partnerships. The BLM Office of Civil Rights encourages agency managers and employees to identify products and services that a Minority Serving Institution, such as Coppin State University, can provide. These partnerships create a true “win-win” situation that supports an institution’s professional development and curriculum while enhancing BLM’s commitment to effective stewardship of America’s public lands.

For more information on “Finding History’s Forgotten People,” contact BLM historian Michael Thomas, (202) 452-5192.

For more information on the BLM’s Diversity Executive Orders Program, contact Steve Shafran in the BLM’s Office of Civil Rights, (202) 254-3315.