Journey From Jerusalem: An Illustrated Introduction to Erie’s African American History, 1795-1995, by Sarah S. Thompson

Abstract

In the past, Pennsylvania historiography has been less than egalitarian in its treatment of African Americans, focusing (and some would argue justly so) on the Keystone State’s major black communities in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The 1990s however, have seen the beginning of a different trend with publications about smaller, significant and lesser known Pennsylvania communities. These include Richard E. Harris’ Politics and Prejudice: A History of Chester (PA) Negroes (1991), Emerson I. Moss’ African-Americans in the Wyoming Valley 1778-1990 (1992), James T. Williams’ Northern Fried Chicken: A Historical Adventure into the Black Community of Scranton, Pa. (1993) and Alice Roston Carter’s Can I Get A Witness? Growing Up in the Black Middle Class in Erie, Pennsylvania (1991).