The Oneida County History Center and For the Good Inc. will host a community photo identification, and documentation event on Friday, June 17, 2022, from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm to commemorate Juneteenth and encourage the preservation of preservation Black History in Oneida County. The public is invited to help identify people, places, and events from photographs in the Oneida County Black History Archive (on loan from Hamilton College) and a selection of photos from the History Center archives.
Nothing is worse than finding a beautiful photograph of a smiling child, a wedding day, a church picnic, or a summer gathering with no identification. An image of someone’s family, friends, and neighbors lost in the memories of our past citizens. Pictures are worth a thousand words, but these words need to be recorded to ensure that the vivid memories of the community stay bright for future generations. Join the Oneida County History Center and For the Good Inc. to help capture and preserve the memories of Oneida County’s Black community.
The Oneida County Black History Archive was donated to the Burke Library Special Collections at Hamilton College by Kirkland alumna Cassandra Harris-Lockwood K’74. The collection includes oral histories (written and audio files), photographs, and research materials on African-American history in Utica and the Mohawk Valley. A portion of this collection has been loaned to the Oneida County History Center for the identification event.
This event will take place June 17 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. in the History Center Main Gallery, located at 1608 Genesee Street, Utica, NY. Free and open to all.
