Black Homesteaders The Focus of Great Plains Lecture

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Researchers at the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln next month will discuss in a lecture the new research on black homesteaders in the Great Plains.

The Paul A. Olson Great Plains Lecture is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 19 at the center, 1155 Q St., in Lincoln. The center says about 70% of the black homesteaders settled in clusters or “colonies,” including one in DeWitty, Nebraska.

DeWitty was located ten miles northwest of Brownlee, in northern Nebraska's Cherry County.  

Last year, the Homestead National Monument of America, west of Beatrice, featured a display and information on Black Homesteaders settling in the plains.