Images of Black Wyoming

Rhone Family home, Laramie, Wyoming, ca. 1905. American Heritage Center.

Throughout history, the desire to escape prejudice and mistreatment has led people to relocate in search of a better existence. African Americans often joined in the westward movement in the United States for this reason. Laws concerning Black citizenship and land ownership were not as rigid in the West, and with fewer people, there was naturally more opportunity for everyone. From mountain men to teachers, to businesspeople, Wyoming’s history has been enriched by many African Americans. The Images of Black Wyoming, curated by University of Wyoming student Paige Emerich with a grant from the U.W. President’s Advisory Council on Minorities and Women’s Affairs, represent a few of the noteworthy stories of African Americans who have been influential in the state of Wyoming. Some only stayed for a short while and others a lifetime. Some lived ordinary lives and some extraordinary ones but they are all part of The West’s diverse and unique heritage.

Size: 14 framed items (1 crate).

Brochure (PDF)

• The Bozeman Trail Diaries of Robert Dunlap Clarke
• Japanese-American Girl Scouts at Heart Mountain Relocation Camp, 1942-1945
• Home Front on the Frontier: Wyoming During World War I
• Landscape of the Range
• Thomas Kennet-Were
• J. K. Moore
• Photographers of Wyoming
• More Pronghorn Than People
• In Pursuit of Equality
• Rural Images (
• University of Wyoming
• The Virginian 1902-2002 (
• Washakie: Through the Lens of Time
• Wyoming Stock Growers Association
• Wyoming Water
• Wyoming Women

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