A Mosaic of Homesteaders: Black Homesteaders in the West

This program gives a focused look on how the call of free land impacted Black Americans through peer reviewed studies that brought people westward. The Homestead Act of 1862 provided opportunity to thousands of Black farmers to own land and build communities. Homesteading attracted groundbreaking independent Black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux and agronomist and inventor George Washington Carver. Black homesteaders also founded intentional communities like Nicodemus, Kansas, where they built businesses, schools and churches and held elected offices at the local and state level. Their perseverance and grit helped their communities not only survive thrive, using the Homestead Act to build new lives and provide a better future for their children. In this lesson, participants will learn from a park ranger how Black Americans gained life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness through homesteading.

Visit the National Park Service website to learn more .