Idaho State Historic Preservation Office
Bethel Missionary Baptist Church congregation in Pocatello, circa 1960. – Image courtesy of Alfreda Vann and Idaho State Historic Preservation Office
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) - As Black History Month comes to a close, KIFI takes a look at Idaho s Black History.
Idaho has always had a very small population of Black Americans, but those who have chosen to settle in the Gem State have their own stories to tell.
A brief history of Idaho s Black population
Idaho’s Black population took off in the 20th Century, due in part to rising violence and racism in the South and a need for workers during World War II. As white men were enlisting in the military, women and Black men were filling the labor gap left behind.