02/19/2019
HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State University’s Forsyth Library will feature guest speaker Angela Bates, executive director of the Nicodemus Historical Society and Museum, from 12:30 to 1:30 on Wednesday, Feb. 27 in the Forsyth Library South Study Area.

Bates will present “Nicodemus, KS: A Story of Black Migration to Western Kansas,” a story about migration to and from Nicodemus in the late 1800’s.

Each year, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History announces a Black History month theme to focus the attention of the public and explore historical issues of importance to those of African descent.

The theme selected for 2019 is Black Migrations which highlights the movement of freed slaves to new geographical regions and social realities. In the early 20th century, black migration patterns often included a move from the south to the Midwest region.

Nicodemus, located 54 miles from FHSU’s campus, is a National Historic Site under the U.S. National Park Service. Settled in the free state of Kansas in 1877, Nicodemus is the oldest and only remaining all-black settlement west of the Mississippi.

Bates, a descendant of original Nicodemus homesteaders, worked to get Nicodemus designated a National Historic Site and serves as a speaker for the Kansas Humanities Speakers Bureau.

The lecture is free and open to the public.