Making Invisible Histories Visible
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- Making Invisible Histories Visible
- Lesson Plans and Resources
- iBooks on Omaha and Nebraska History for Primary Students
- Omaha Mapping Projects
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African American Histories
- African American Artists
- African American Athletes & Facilities
- African American Churches
- African American Civil Rights Organizations - 1950s-1960s
- African American Civil Rights
- African American Contributions to Jazz, Gospel, Hip-Hop
- African American Dramatic Arts
- African American Education - Dorothy Eure & Lerlean Johnson
- African American Educators & Education
- African American Firefighters
- African American Homesteaders
- African American Law Enforcement
- African American Migration to Omaha
- African American Musicians of Omaha
- African American Newspapers
- African American Owned Businesses
- African American Politicians
- African American Social Life
- African American Workers at Omaha's Railroads & Stockyards
- African American Workers at the Naval Ammunition Depot in Hastings
- African Americans in the Civil War
- African Americans in Vietnam
- Charles B. Washington - Journalist and Civil Rights Leader
- Elizabeth Davis Pittman - Lawyer/Judge
- Green Book Omaha
- Marlin Briscoe - Professional Football Player
- Native Omaha Days
- Nebraska's Role in the Underground Railroad
- Sen. Edward Danner - Politician & Civil Rights Activist
- Sudanese Refugees
- Tuskegee Airmen
- European and Asian Immigrant Histories
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Historic Neighborhoods & Buildings
- 24th and Binney/Wirt/Spencer Streets
- 24th and Lake Streets
- Central Park Neighborhood - 42nd and Grand Avenue
- Dahlman Neighborhood - 10th and Hickory Streets
- Hartman Addition Neighborhood - 16th and Williams Streets
- Indian Hills/Southside Terrace Neighborhood - 30th and Q Streets
- Jefferson Square Neighborhood - 16th and Chicago Streets
- Long Neighborhood - 24th and Clark Streets
- Orchard Hill Neighborhood - 40th and Hamilton Streets
- Smithfield Neighborhood - 24th and Ames Avenue
- St. Mary's Neighborhood - 30th and Q Streets
- Latino Histories
- Music Histories
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Native American Histories
- Black Elk and John G. Niehardt
- Chief Standing Bear and Susette La Flesche Tibbles
- Dr. Susan LaFlesche Picotte - Native American Doctor
- Native American Education and Boarding Schools
- Native Americans in the Military
- Pre-statehood Interaction of Native Americans and Europeans
- Preserving Native American Tradition
- Restoring the Ponca Tribe
- The American Indian Movement in the 1960s and 1970s
- The Indian Congress at the 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition
- The Omaha Native American Indian Tribe
- OPS Elementary School History
- Redlining in Omaha
- Nebraska's Role in the Underground Railroad
OPS Elementary Schools - Northeast Area
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Brief Explanation of Area:
The Northeast area spans from Dodge Street to the south, Sorensen Parkway/Storz Expressway to the north, Fontenelle Boulevard to the west, and the Missouri River to the east. In all, 25 past and current elementary schools are in this area. This area contains some of OPS’ first elementary schools, built in the 1860s, 1870s, and 1880s as the population north of downtown Omaha grew.
The area was filled with immigrant families, including Italians, Irish, and Scandinavians, and later Jewish and African Americans who emigrated from the South. Schools not only taught students during the day but English classes at night to their immigrant parents. The picture is from the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society archives.
Starting in the 1940s, whites lured by new homes and easy financing moved out of the area to Omaha’s western suburbs. African Americans were forced to stay, and unable to move because of restrictive covenants in the new suburbs and the inability to get loans for housing.
Northeast Area Map
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The icons represent the Omaha Public Elementary Schools located in the northeast area of Omaha. Blue represents current elementary schools, and the black icons are schools no longer in existence.
Click on the icons to learn more about each school.
Schools Include; Central Park (originally part of District 38), Lake, Long (Original King), Monmouth Park, Beechwood, Capitol Avenue, Cass School, Central Grade, Clifton Hill, Conestoga, Druid Hill, Fairfax (Clifton Hill Annex), Franklin. Izard Street (North School), Jefferson Square, Kellom (formerly Paul Street School), Kennedy. King. Lothrop. Omaha View (became Howard Kennedy), Paul (became Kellom). Pershing (District 61), Saratoga, Sherman, and Skinner
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Video - OPS Elementary School History – Omaha’s Northeast Area
A six-minute video highlighting interviews with former Omaha Public School elementary school students Brenda Council (Lothrop), Rod Mullen (Monmouth), Boris Moore (Franklin), and Johnny Nesbit (Lothrop and Skinner) about their experience attending school in the 1950s, 1960s and 1990s.
Video
A 3-minute presentation produced by students participating in the 2022 Omaha Public Schools Making Invisible Histories Visible program highlighting the history, demographics, and 1976 desegregation plan of Kellom, King, Pershing, Central Park, and Conestoga Elementary Schools in the Northeast area of Omaha.
Brief Explanation of Desegregation/Busing:
Before Omaha Public School’s court-ordered “Desegregation Plan” that implemented mandatory busing from 1976 to 1999, schools within the Northeast Division were predominantly Black. In 1976, students attending Saratoga, Kellom, Clifton Hill, Kennedy, Conestoga, Lothrop, and Druid Hill attended their home school, Kindergarten through 3rd grade. Then they were bused in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade to predominately white schools west or south of their neighborhoods.
Demographics in 2020-2021:
In the 1970s, the Northeast area schools were 75 to 98% African American. In 2020-21, that number shifted to 50 percent African American with a mix of Hispanics, Whites, and Asians filling in the rest.
2022 MIHV Project
Reflections
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I got to talk to people who weren’t white and who weren’t men, and I got to hear their side of things. There is so much I want to learn now… - Scout
Some highlights of what I learned were the integrated busing program, the Brown II pushback, and how everything affected the kids who experienced it all. – Oliver
My understanding has changed drastically because, before this program, I didn’t know most of these schools existed, but now I know their origin and history. – Jeffrey
With the interviews, you just get a more personal view of what happened and how it affected people and the communities. My understanding of Omaha has changed in good and bad ways. I think that it was good that they had a more diverse school system, but I think it’s bad that they had to force that upon students, teachers, and schools. – Izzy
MIHV made me understand the experiences of those who came before me and how drastically times have changed. – Anahi
Resources
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Interviews July 2022:
Brenda Council, Lothrop Elementary
Boris Moore, Franklin Elementary
Rod Mullen, Lake, Monmouth and Waconda
Johnny Nesbit, Lothrop and Skinner
Publications:
The Plan - Desegregation of the Omaha Public Schools, 1981-82
United States District Court Desegregation Plan for the School District of Omaha, May 1976
Desegregation Task Force Recommendations to the Superintendent, October 1998
Other Resources:
The Durham Museum Archives
Google Earth
Google Maps
NorthOmahaHistory.com
The Omaha World-Herald Archives
The Omaha Public Schools Archives/TAC Building
OPS.org