| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 17,842 [1] (2020) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Sioux Falls, Yankton |
| Part of a series on |
| African Americans |
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Black South Dakotans are residents of the U.S. state of South Dakota who are of African-American ancestry. African Americans have been present in South Dakota since before its statehood, when the area was part of Dakota Territory.
The earliest known Black person to have entered what would become South Dakota was York, an explorer and enslaved man who accompanied Clark on the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1804. Recounting an enounter with local Native Americans, Clark wrote in his journal, "York made Inds. believe that he had been wild like bear & tamed.... Those who had seen whites and not blacks thought him something strange and from his very large size more vicious than whites. Those who had seen neither made no difference between white & black". [2]
When Dakota Territory was established in 1862, Governor William Jayne urged the legislature to prohibit slavery. Until 1868, language in its organic act prohibited non-white men from voting and barred non-white children from attending public schools; the word "white" in both cases was removed in 1868. By 1870, 94 African Americans had moved to the territory, many moving from the Gulf Coast by way of the Missouri River. These earliest African-American settlers primarily settled in Yankton, Buffalo, and Bon Homme Counties, and in settlements like Yankton. [3]
On George Armstrong Custer's Black Hills Expedition of 1874, the only woman in attendance was Sarah Campbell, an African-American woman who worked as the group's cook. [4] Campbell is reported to have been the first non-Native American woman to have entered the Black Hills [5] and was the first Black South Dakotan woman to own property and ran her own business. [6] During the resultant Black Hills gold rush, several African Americans moved to the Black Hills, as many as 100 by 1880. [4] Nat Love was a prominent cowboy who lived in Deadwood during the 1870s, where he won several sharpshooting and cattle roping competitions. [7]
During the 1880s, the 25th Infantry Regiment, a segregated division of Buffalo Soldiers, was stationed at several Dakota Territory forts: first at Fort Randall, then Fort Hale, and finally at Fort Meade. The 25th quelled conflicts between the U.S. government and settlers with Native Americans, provided disaster relief to settlers after heavy flooding in 1881, and participated in civil duties. During 1881, members of the 25th accompanied Sitting Bull from Saskatchewan, Canada, to Fort Randall, where he would be imprisoned for two years. [8] Conflicts between local residents of Sturgis arose in 1885, resulting in one lynching of a soldier, two civilian deaths, and a raid by soldiers on a brothel. One resident wrote to President Grover Cleveland asking that the regiment be reassigned. The letter was forwarded to Alfred Terry, then commander of the Dakota Territory troops, who reviewed the situation and rejected the request. The 25th stayed at Fort Meade until 1892. [9]
Beginning in the 1880s, several African-American families began moving to Yankton. They established the Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1885. [10] At that time, the social atmosphere between Black and White South Dakotans was described as friendly. [7]
In 1883, the Blair family, led by Norvel Blair, settled homestead claims in rural Sully County. [11] In 1906, Benjamin Blair and other Black community leaders met in Yankton to found the Northwestern Homestead Movement with the purpose of encouraging other Black families to move to South Dakota. [12] As more families joined the Blairs in Sully County, the area became known as Blair Colony or the Sully County Colored Colony. [11]
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, other African Americans settled in urban centers like Yankton, Sioux Falls, Huron, and Mitchell; or in more rural areas like Edgemont and Mellette County. [13] Many established Black churches, such as Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Second Baptist Church in Yankton, Pilgrim Baptist Church and St. John's Baptist Church in Sioux Falls, and Bethel African Methodist Episcopal in Huron. [14]
Population growth briefly slowed during World War I but resumed again in the 1920s. The 1920 US Census counted 832 Black South Dakotans, 144 of whom were in Yankton and 83 in Sioux Falls. By this time, anti-Black racism began to increase in South Dakota, which before had largely consisted of isolated incidents. The Ku Klux Klan saw a statewide increase in membership during this time and held marches in Sioux Falls and burned crosses in Yankton and the Black Hills. In response, Black residents of Sioux Falls and Yankton founded branches of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). [15] In 1930, the first Get-To-Gether Picnic, a gathering of Black South Dakotans, was held. The event later grew to attract African Americans from neighbouring states. [16]
The Great Depression and Dust Bowl heavily affected all South Dakotans. In 1930, only 308 of the 646 Black South Dakotans counted in the 1930 US Census were employed. [17] Louise Mitchell, a Sioux Falls cosmetologist, founded the Booker T. Washington Service Center in 1930, a charity to help impoverished and homeless local African Americans. [18] Many Black South Dakotans found work in Sioux Falls as cosmetologists, studying under Mitchell and James Moxley. [19] Others joined the Civilian Conservation Corps or worked in construction. [18] Many Black South Dakotans moved away due to the harships of the Great Depression, many seeking fortune elsewhere. [20] Blair Colony was largely abandoned by 1940 as most of its residents moved away, looking for work. [11]
During World War II, many Black South Dakotans enlisted in the military, and assigned to segregated squadrons. To improve troop morale, a branch of the United Service Organizations was opened in the basement of the St. John's Baptist Church in Sioux Falls. This group also functioned as a resource for Black servicemembers to find lodging. It later expanded into its own building at 115 North Dakota Avenue. [21]
Around 1950, the NAACP was restructured and renovated. [22] Two new chapters of fraternal organizations, the Prince Hall Alpha Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, Omega Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star, were founded by Black community leaders across the state. [23]
Although South Dakota did not have any large-scale demonstrations during the civil rights era, it felt the effects of nationwide policy changes in its wake and had its own civil rights advances. South Dakota had its own committee for the United States Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) established in 1957. The South Dakota Civil Rights Council was founded in 1961 to promote civil rights and address racial prejudice. [24] Martin Luther King, Jr. arrived in Sioux Falls in January 1961 and was honored at a reception at the Sheraton Hotel. [25]
During this time, the NAACP conducted a statewide survey of treatment of African Americans and found significant evidence of discrimination, especially barring African Americans from visiting certain businesses. [26] A 1961 survey by the Black Hills Civil Rights Committee reported that Black South Dakotans were barred from 92% of taverns and 86% of bars or nightclubs in Rapid City; [a] follow-up surveys by other organizations found the refusal rate to be between 80 and 88%. [28] Similarly, high refusal rates were reported in hair salons and barbershops, hotels and motels, restaurants, and other venues. [29]
The New York Times also published an article on racial segregation in South Dakota, bringing the state into the national spotlight. The CCR subsequently launched its own investigation, and a committee meeting to discuss the various reports of discrimination was held on December 11, 1962. [30] The following year, the CCR also published a report, "Negro Airmen in a Northern Community: Discrimination in Rapid City, South Dakota", which found high levels of segregation and prejudice against Black airmen serving at Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City, reporting difficulties in housing, being refused service at businessess, and segregated education. [31] The CCR report prompted the passage of South Dakota Senate Bill 1, which prohibited discrimination based on "race, color, religion, or national origin" in establishments serving the public. [32] Efforts to ratify the Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibited poll taxes, in South Dakota were spearheaded by the state NAACP and passed on 23 January 1964. [33]
The South Dakota African American History Museum opened in the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science in Sioux Falls in 2008. [34]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 541 | — | |
| 1900 | 465 | −14.0% | |
| 1910 | 817 | 75.7% | |
| 1920 | 832 | 1.8% | |
| 1930 | 545 | −34.5% | |
| 1940 | 474 | [35] | −13.0% |
| 1950 | 727 | 53.4% | |
| 1960 | 1,114 | [36] | 53.2% |
| 1970 | 1,627 | [37] | 46.1% |
| 1980 | 2,152 | [38] | 32.3% |
| 1990 | 3,291 | 52.9% | |
| 2000 | 4,685 | 42.4% | |
| 2010 | 10,207 | 117.9% | |
| 2020 | 17,842 | 74.8% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 22,730 | [39] | 27.4% |
| U.S. Decennial Census, 2000–2020 [1] [b] | |||
During the 2020 United States census, 17,842 respondents identified solely as Black or African American; 26,307 reported this identity alone or in combination with one or more other races. [1] Of those identifying solely as Black or African American, 10,120 were male and 7,722 were female, [40] and the median age was 26 years. [41] In total, there were 5,576 households; of these, 1,269 were owned housing and 4,307 were renting. [42]
Prior to 2000, only 9.8% of South Dakota's immigrants originated in Africa. By 2009, that number had increased to 27.2%; and again to 31.3% since 2010. A 2018 report by the American Immigration Council found that Sudan and Ethiopia were two of the countries where most of South Dakota's immigrants originated from. Most of South Dakota's refugees come from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [43]
This is a list of notable African Americans who were born, raised, or spent a significant amount of time in South Dakota.
South Dakota is a landlocked state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota Sioux tribe, which comprises a large portion of the population with nine reservations currently in the state and has historically dominated the territory. South Dakota is the 17th-largest by area, but the fifth-least populous, and the fifth-least densely populated of the 50 United States. Pierre is the state capital, and Sioux Falls, with a population of about 213,900, is South Dakota's most populous city. The state is bisected by the Missouri River, dividing South Dakota into two geographically and socially distinct halves, known to residents as "East River" and "West River". South Dakota is bordered by North Dakota to the north, Minnesota to the east, Iowa to the southeast, Nebraska to the south, Wyoming to the west, and Montana to the northwest.
Charles Mix County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,373. Its county seat is Lake Andes. The county was created in 1862 and organized in 1879. It was named for Charles Eli Mix, an official of the Bureau of Indian Affairs influential in signing a peace treaty with the local Lakota Indian tribes. The easternmost approximately 60% of the county comprises the Yankton Indian Reservation.
Springfield is a city in Bon Homme County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,914 at the 2020 census. As of 2023, about 1,250 of the residents were inmates at Mike Durfee State Prison. Springfield was named on account of there being numerous natural springs in the area.
Marty is a census-designated place (CDP) in southern Charles Mix County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 677 at the 2020 census.
FlandreauFLAN-droo is a city in and county seat of Moody County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,372 at the 2020 census. It was named in honor of Charles Eugene Flandrau, a judge in the territory and state of Minnesota. He is credited with saving the community of New Ulm, Minnesota, from destruction during conflict with the Sioux tribe in 1862.
Yankton is a city in and the county seat of Yankton County, South Dakota, United States.
Sioux Falls is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 121st-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into northern Lincoln County to the south, which continues up to the Iowa state line. The population was 192,517 at the 2020 census, and in 2022, its estimated population was 202,078. According to city officials, the estimated population had grown to 213,891 as of early 2024. The Sioux Falls metro area accounts for more than 30% of the state's population. Chartered in 1856 on the banks of the Big Sioux River, the city is situated in the rolling hills at the junction of interstates 29 and 90.
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.
Alfred Sully was an American military officer who served in the United States Army during the Mexican-American War and the American Indian Wars. He served as Brevet Brigadier General in the Union army during the American Civil War but was removed from command by John Gibbon for failure to suppress a mutiny by the 34th New York Infantry Regiment. He was cleared by a court of inquiry of any wrongdoing and sent to command the District of Iowa in the Department of the Northwest during the Sioux Wars. After the Civil War, he served as major in the United States Army and continued to fight in the Indian Wars including the Nez Perce War and out of Fort Dodge, Fort Harker and Fort Vancouver. He served as Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Montana in 1869 and as colonel of the 21st Infantry Regiment in 1873.
David L. Knudson is an American lawyer, former Majority Leader of the South Dakota Senate, and a member of the Republican Party.
The history of South Dakota describes the history of the U.S. state of South Dakota over the course of several millennia, from its first inhabitants to the recent issues facing the state.
South Dakota is a state located in the north-central United States. It is usually considered to be in the Midwestern region of the country. The state can generally be divided into three geographic regions: eastern South Dakota, western South Dakota, and the Black Hills. Eastern South Dakota is lower in elevation and higher in precipitation than the western part of the state, and the Black Hills are a low, isolated mountain group in the southwestern corner of the state. Smaller sub-regions in the state include the Coteau des Prairies, Missouri Coteau, James River Valley, and the Dissected Till Plains. Geologic formations in South Dakota range in age from two billion-year-old Precambrian granite in the Black Hills to glacial till deposited over the last few million years. South Dakota is the 17th-largest state in the country.
South Dakota is the 46th-most populous U.S. state; in 2019, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated a population of about 884,659. The majority of South Dakotans are White, and the largest religion is Christianity. In 2010, 93.46% of the population spoke English as their primary language.
Frank M. Ziebach was a political figure in the Dakota Territory during the territorial period from 1861 to 1889. He was a pioneer newspaperman, founding a number of newspapers in the Iowa and Dakota Territories, including the Yankton "Weekly Dakotan" in 1861, which is still published today as the Yankton "Press and Dakotan". He was known as the "squatter governor" of the Dakota Territory. Ziebach County, South Dakota was created in 1911, and is named for him.
The 1st Dakota Cavalry was a Union battalion of two companies raised in the Dakota Territory during the American Civil War. They were deployed along the frontier, primarily to protect the settlers during the Dakota War of 1862.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to South Dakota:
This timeline of South Dakota is a list of events in the history of South Dakota by year.
Fort James was a cavalry fort built in 1866 in Dakota Territory. It was soon decommissioned and its site now is in the state of South Dakota. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The Blair Colony, also known as the Sully County Colored Colony, was a homestead community established by African-Americans in rural Sully County, South Dakota, United States. It was first established by the family of Norvel Blair in 1883. Over time, Blair encouraged as many as 200 African-American settlers to move to the area. During the Great Depression, most of the settlers moved away, and the community is now largely a ghost town.
Pierre (capital) | |
| Topics | |
| Society | |
| Regions | |
| Larger incorporated places pop. over 5,000 | |
| Smaller incorporated places pop. 1,000 - 5,000 |
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| Largest CDPs pop. over 1,000 | |
| Counties |
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