Resistance Through Community: Nicodemus, KS
In this episode of Roots of Resistance: Radical Kansas, we explore the incredible community building of Nicodemus, the first all-Black settlement on the Great Plains. Founded in 1877, Nicodemus was built by formerly enslaved families seeking freedom and self-determination, overcoming systemic barriers, economic hardship, and racial exclusion to carve out a thriving community. We examine the Exoduster movement, the role of the Homestead Act, the challenges settlers faced, and the community resilience that kept Nicodemus alive.
Resources & Further Learning
Books on Nicodemus & Black Migration to Kansas:
- African Americans on the Great Plains: An Anthology edited by Bruce A. Glasrud and Charles A. Braithwaite
https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9780803220308 - Exodusters: Black Migration to Kansas after Reconstruction by Nell Irvin Painter
https://uncpress.org/book/9780807848164/exodusters - Creating the Black Utopia of Buxton, Iowa by Rachelle Chase (provides broader context of Black communities in the Midwest)
https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467140780
Primary Sources & Archives:
- Nicodemus National Historic Site (National Park Service)
https://www.nps.gov/nico/index.htm - Nicodemus Historical Society & Museum
https://www.nicodemushistoricalsociety.org - Library of Congress – Nicodemus Newspaper Archives
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/search/pages/results/?state=Kansas&city=Nicodemus&rows=20&sort=date
Descendants, Historians, & Journalists Covering Nicodemus:
- Angela Bates, Executive Director of the Nicodemus Historical Society, frequently writes and speaks about Nicodemus’s history and legacy. Check out her work here:
https://www.nicodemushistoricalsociety.org/about - Black Homesteaders of the South by Bernadette Pruitt (explores similar settlements)
https://lsupress.org/books/detail/black-homesteaders-of-the-south
Articles & Essays on the Exoduster Movement:
- Black Exodus: The Great Migration from the South by Isabel Wilkerson (Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Warmth of Other Suns)
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/10/03/the-great-migration-isabel-wilkerson - "Nicodemus and the All-Black Towns of Kansas" by the Kansas Historical Society
https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/nicodemus/11906
Black Farming & Land Justice Today:
- The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein (examines systemic racism in land ownership)
https://wwnorton.com/books/The-Color-of-Law - We Are Each Other’s Harvest: Celebrating African American Farmers, Land, and Legacy by Natalie Baszile
https://www.harpercollins.com/products/we-are-each-others-harvest-natalie-baszile - The National Black Farmers Association – Advocates for Black farmers’ rights and access to land.
https://www.blackfarmers.org - The National Black Food and Justice Alliance – Focuses on food sovereignty and land justice for Black communities.
https://www.blackfoodjustice.org - Justice for Black Farmers Act – Legislation aimed at addressing historical discrimination against Black farmers. Learn more and support:
https://www.booker.senate.gov/blackfarmers
Take Action & Stay Engaged:
- Support Nicodemus Homecoming, an annual event celebrating the legacy and descendants of Nicodemus:
https://www.nicodemushomecoming.org - Visit and support the Nicodemus National Historic Site, the only remaining Black settlement west of the Mississippi:
https://www.nps.gov/nico/index.htm
