Speaker at Northern educates community on forgotten Montana African-American history

Editor’s note: This corrects Ken Robison’s background and his comments on the Montana Historical Society’s information on Montana African-Americans.

The lecture room in Cowan Hall had every seat filled Tuesday with students, faculty and community members who all came to hear about Montana's forgotten role during the Civil Rights movement.

Historian Ken Robison, who gave the presentation, said he was pleased.

"I was really impressed with the turnout. The room was full," he added. "You can tell stories about Martin Luther King Jr., but this hits closer to home."

Robison said he felt that black history should be something that is talked about year round and not just in February.

As an example of the importance of this type of education, he recounted a story published in The Missoulian. Saturday in Missoula Ibrahin Mena from Caracas, Venezuela, was in a grocery store picking up sponges when another person came up to him and said, "Those are perfect for you. You need to buy those to use for your skin."

Robison passed around the article which said Mena didn't respond to the racial slur, but instead posted a message of love.

Robison said he led with this story to show that, even today, instances of racism still occur.

The history of African Americans in Montana is a project Robison said he has been working on for just a few years. A native Montanan and retired U.S. Navy captain, Robison is historian at the Overholser Historical Research Center in Fort Benton and historian for the Great Falls/Cascade County Historic Preservation Commission. He focuses on historic preservation across central Montana.

He added that the Montana Historical Society says it does any information prior because there weren't many African Americans in Montana.

Robison discussed various African-American individuals who have lived in Montana, including two men who had served in the famed 54th Massachusetts Regiment and came to Montana and settled down.

One of the men was Sgt. Alex Branson. Robison said Branson lived in Lewistown and was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. That was a non-profit organization founded in 1866 that was for veterans of the Civil War from the Union side. The Grand Army of the Republic was dissolved in 1956 after its last member died.

Robison said Montana became a collective for Confederate soldiers and former citizens of the Confederacy.

He told the story of Roy Winburn, who had served in World War I in France and was injured. The soldier returned home to Montana and worked at the Great Northern Railroad Terminal in Great Falls in the baggage department. He eventually worked his way up to be a manager of the department.

The man oversaw both black and white workers, Robison said. His position of authority did cause a stir, but he was "accepted because he was so highly respected and had the friendship of all the employees."

Robison said boxer Leo Lemar started a jazz club in the 1930s — after Prohibition — in Great Falls called the Ozark Club. He added that the Ozark Club was iconic for many reasons such as its long, narrow, dark hallway that patrons needed to pass through to access the club, the quality entertainment and the dancing.

However, Robison added, the characteristic that was most notable about the club was that is was tolerant and accepting of all races. While many of the clubs during this era were segregated, the Ozark Club admitted whites and blacks, said Robison.

Many famous jazz legends including Duke Ellington performed at the Ozark Club. Lemar maintained a strong relationship with the chief of police and the mayor of Great Falls. He always made sure that his establishment operated in a respectable manor.

The Ozark Club burned down several years later. The cause was never determined, but Robison said he suspects it was racially motivated. The Ozark Club was never rebuilt and a parking lot is all that's left of the prominent night club.

In June of 2007, The History Museum in Great Falls hosted Night at the Ozark Club where they featured prominent African-American jazz artists. Robison said while the History Museum has put on similar events since then, the overall meaning has been lost.

He added that, lately, the bands that have been invited to play haven't been African-American. Robison said he felt that was a disservice to Lemar's legacy as well as the legacy of the Ozark Club.

Robison said that there may be a new director coming in at the History Museum and he is hopeful that they can bring Night at the Ozark Club back to what it used to be.

Robison added that Alma Jacobs, another prominent African-American, was critical in the establishment of the Great Falls Public Library. He said that it is unofficially known as the "house that Alma built."

A mural of Jacobs is displayed on the side of the library and a plaza was dedicated to her.

Robison said churches played a great significance in African-American history as well. In Great Falls, he said, the oldest African-American church, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, was the "heart of the black community."

It was founded by Ed and Elizabeth Simms and still stands today after being rebuilt in 1917 and renamed to Union Bethel Church.

Robison said when he got back from his time in the Navy, he knew he wanted to focus on history.

"Then what I looked toward was what aspects of Montana history have been neglected, and African-American history really stood out," he added.

Robison said he hopes that people take away an understanding of the importance of history. He added that not all events in the Civil Rights movement have to be sad stories and stories of hope and progress can be found.

Robison is featured in a new book coming out in February called "Black America and the Civil Rights Movement in the West."