From highlighting important moments and Black contributions in history to supporting today’s artists and entrepreneurs, celebrate Black History Month in the Hershey Harrisburg Region by exploring a variety of engaging events and arts & culture experiences.
Support Black Owned Businesses
Coda Rouge co-owners Jameson Christopher and Sachiko Baez have transformed an old building on Harrisburg’s 6th Street to a unique restaurant experience that highlights a multicultural-influenced menu, Black history and local Black artists. It’s a hidden gem worth seeking out for breakfast, brunch, and pop-up themed dinners!
At Millworks Studio 104, you'll find bold artwork from Reina Aguilar Wooden. Born in Harrisburg and now making art in the town she loves, Reina not only invites guests to learn about her art but is tireless in her efforts to uplift other local artists.
Explore more Black-owned businesses in PA's Capital City.
Visit Murals, Monuments, and Museums
In Midtown, visitors often stop to photograph “Raffia.” The bold, towering mural in Harrisburg’s Midtown was created by Harrisburg-based Black artist Bryan “King Prolific” Hickman. Hickman says the “Afro-inspired” mural depicts a personal friend and Harrisburg resident.
“A Gathering At The Crossroads: For Such A Time As This,” is a monument dedicated to the residents of Harrisburg’s Old Eighth Ward - a neighborhood made up of primarily Black and immigrant residents - that was demolished to make way for the Capitol Complex.
The National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg is dedicated to telling the story of the American Civil War. Two floors of intricate and thoughtful exhibits tell the story of the war while focusing on the people and lives affected – including those with ties to Harrisburg.
Attend an Event
February 14: Community Free Day at the National Civil War Museum
February 14-22: Ephraim Slaughter: Freedom`s Witness
The Hershey Harrisburg Region has a long and storied past that often relates in fascinating or unexpected ways to some of the most important aspects, events, and iconic African American figures throughout Black History in America.
Digital Harrisburg
For history buffs, Digital Harrisburg is a collaborative interactive resource of individuals and educators devoted to exploring the history, society, and culture of Pennsylvania’s state capital.
One project includes historic maps and exhibits exploring Harrisburg’s Old 8th Ward – instrumental in the landscape of the Underground Railroad and a historically Black and immigrant neighborhood in Harrisburg that was razed as the Capitol grounds expanded - and the experiences of the Black community throughout Harrisburg’s history.
Underground Railroad
As early as 1836, the Harrisburg Anti-Slavery Society was founded and in 1847 the group brought noted reformers William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglas to hold a rally at the Dauphin County Courthouse.
Harrisburg became a key station in the "Underground Railroad" which stretched from Maryland northward to Canada. While many secretly opened their doors to provide haven to escapees who under federal law could be reclaimed by their "owners," sections of the old Eighth Ward neighborhood, which once stood behind the PA Capitol Building, and homes on Tanners Avenue in particular, became known as a nucleus of this activity.
*Historical marker: Dedicated in 2000 and located in Capitol Park on Walnut Street near Commonwealth Avenue in Harrisburg.
Thomas Morris Chester
Born in Downtown Harrisburg, PA in 1834, Thomas Morris Chester lived an impactful life in many ways. After attending college in Pittsburgh, he traveled to Africa for more schooling and became a teacher in Liberia. He left Africa around the start of the American Civil War and recruited black troops who raised the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. Chester led two Black emergency militia regiments to defend a potential attack of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania during the Gettysburg Campaign in summer 1863. Near the end of the war, Chester worked as a war correspondent for The Philadelphia Press. Chester passed away at his mother’s home and is buried at Harrisburg’s Lincoln Cemetery.
*Historical Marker: Dedicated in 1986 and located at Market Street near 3rd Street in Harrisburg.
Lincoln Cemetery
The Lincoln Cemetery was founded by the Wesley Union A.M.E. Zion Church in 1817 as an African American burial ground in the Harrisburg area. The congregation at Wesley Union was active in the Underground Railroad, which cut through the area. Many Civil War veterans are buried in Lincoln Cemetery, including Harrisburg’s last surviving veteran Ephraim Slaughter who died in 1943 after serving in both the 37th regiment of the U.S. Colored Troops and the 3rd N.C. Colored Infantry.
Lincoln Cemetery is also the resting place for war correspondent T. Morris Chester; abolitionist, educator, and newspaper publisher William Howard Day; and Harriett "Ma" McClintock Marshall who assisted with the care and education of the escaped slaves traveling on the Underground Railroad.
C. Delores Tucker (1927—2005)
C. Delores Tucker was a civil rights leader and activist for women. She spent a great deal of time in Harrisburg serving as the first African American Secretary of State in the nation after being appointed by PA Governor Milton Shapp. Tucker championed the PA Equal Rights Amendment and policies on affirmative action, voter registration by mail, and lowering the voting age to 18.
Delores Tucker also spearheaded the creation of the Commission on the Status of Women and led a successful crusade critical of the music industry and lyrics demeaning to women, African Americans, and children.
*Historical marker: Dedicated in 2006 and located at North Street in Harrisburg between 3rd & Commonwealth.
U.S. Colored Troops Grand Review 1865
More than 180,000 African Americans served in the Union Army during the American Civil War, including 11 regiments from Pennsylvania. In November 1865, the city of Harrisburg hosted a Grand Review parade for the regiments of the United States Colored Troops (USCT) who were not invited earlier that year to march in the Grand Review for Union armies along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. for President Andrew Johnson.
Thomas Morris Chester served as grand marshal for the parade which formed at State and Filbert Streets, now Soldier's Grove. The procession traveled through Harrisburg to the home of U.S. Senator and President Lincoln's former secretary of war Simon Cameron.
*Historical marker: Dedicated in 2006 and located at Soldier's Grove behind the PA Capitol Complex on Walnut Street and 7th Street across from the State Street Bridge.
Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA Scoring Record
Wilt Chamberlain set the single-game scoring record in the NBA (National Basketball Assoc.) by scoring 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a 169–147 win over the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962, at Hershey Sports Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Historical Marker: Dedicated in 2002 and located along the road at 100 Hersheypark Drive near the Hersheypark® Arena in Hershey.
Harrisburg Giants Baseball Club
The Harrisburg Giants were a U.S. professional Negro league baseball team based in Harrisburg. They joined the Eastern Colored League (ECL) for the 1924 season with notable players as Hall of Fame center fielder Oscar Charleston as playing manager, outfielder/first baseman Heavy Johnson who won the batting triple crown the previous year while playing with the Kansas City Monarchs, and the speedy outfielder Fats Jenkins who was also a well-known professional basketball player and member of the New York Rens.
Historical marker: Dedicated in 2005 and located between Walnut Street Bridge and the Senators Baseball Park on City Island.
