Recent Stories

In the Jim Crow era, black travelers in the United States often had a difficult time finding hotels that would allow them to stay, or restaurants and other facilities that would allow them to purchase goods and services. Racist practices dominated…

Read's was a popular chain of drug stores/luncheonettes in the 20th century with approximately 39 outlets around Baltimore, scattered around central Maryland; It was the Walgreens of its day, with lunch spots. Like many establishments of a…

The current Roye-Williams Elementary School began it's building life as a segregated, all-black school serving the Havre de Grace/Aberdeen area of Harford county. In 1953, Harford County Public Schools opened the K-12 Havre de Grace…

The Flying Clipper was a relatively upscale and spacious restaurant, nightclub and motel on Route 40 in Aberdeen at the time of the 1961 Freedom Ride. The CORE brochure listed it as "Still Segregated," hence it was a likely Freedom Rider…

The New Ideal Diner existed in downtown Aberdeen, Maryland in 1961 and into the 21st century. In 1961, it was listed as the "Ideal" restaurant in the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) brochure for Freedom Riders and listed as…

In 1961, the Aberdeen Diner existed in the south western edge of Aberdeen, along Route 40 near a creek and where a 7-11 store currently stands. When Freedom Riders came through Aberdeen, they stopped at the diner. They were met by the owner reading…

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Harford Civil Rights Project

Harford Civil Rights is a free mobile app that allows users to learn about the 20th Century African-American civil rights movement in Harford County, Maryland. Located in central Maryland in the greater Baltimore region, civil rights activists, educators, students and others took actions in the 1950s and 1960s that boldly challenged the segregated status quo.

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