Local Black history celebrated during America's 250th anniversary – The Tribune-Democrat

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Updated: February 7, 2026 @ 1:20 am
Bruce Jordan, a member of the local African-American Heritage Society, speaks during a Juneteenth veteran recognition ceremony in Johnstown’s Central Park on Monday, June 19, 2023.
Deacon Jeffrey Wilson, Pleasant Hill Church talks about not being allowed in the Johnstown Housing Authority Prospect Community meeting on Wednesday, March 22, 2023.

The Rev. Sylvia King, Johnstown’s first Black mayor, is shown with her grandson Brandon King Jr., 4, who’s playing with her new gavel at an oath of office ceremony inside the city’s council chambers, downtown Monday, Jan. 5, 2026.
Daniel Perkins
Cambria County Military Hall of Fame Class of 2023 member Navy Capt. Lawrence Brandon Jr. speaks during an induction ceremony at 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial in downtown Johnstown on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023.
The Rev. Sylvia King, Johnstown’s first Black mayor, is shown during her first city council meeting as mayor, downtown on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026.

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Bruce Jordan, a member of the local African-American Heritage Society, speaks during a Juneteenth veteran recognition ceremony in Johnstown’s Central Park on Monday, June 19, 2023.
Daniel Perkins
The Rev. Sylvia King, Johnstown’s first Black mayor, is shown during her first city council meeting as mayor, downtown on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026.
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – From the early days of the United States’ existence, when sometime around 1805 ex-slave Godfrey Wilmore settled a tract of land in the wilderness that later became a town that bears his name, to modern times, when the Rev. Sylvia King recently was elected as Johnstown’s first Black mayor, Black residents have played integral roles in the development of Cambria County.
There have been important religious leaders, elected officials, athletes, military personnel, business owners, entertainers and many others.
The Rev. Sylvia King, Johnstown’s first Black mayor, is shown with her grandson Brandon King Jr., 4, who’s playing with her new gavel at an oath of office ceremony inside the city’s council chambers, downtown Monday, Jan. 5, 2026.
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Deacon Jeffrey Wilson, Pleasant Hill Church talks about not being allowed in the Johnstown Housing Authority Prospect Community meeting on Wednesday, March 22, 2023.

Cambria County Military Hall of Fame Class of 2023 member Navy Capt. Lawrence Brandon Jr. speaks during an induction ceremony at 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial in downtown Johnstown on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023.
Dave Sutor is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at (814) 532-5056. Follow him on Twitter @Dave_Sutor.
In 1758, the British army constructed the Post at Loyalhanna, later known as Fort Ligonier, in what was then the colonial frontier of North America.
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First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
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