In the spring of 2018, library patrons Karen Dinkle Bunton and Jerry Bunton, along with their friend Lisa Kleman, approached the library with a massive collection representing 150 years of their family’s history.
The treasure trove of photographs, documents, and ephemera covers five generations of the Dinkles, an African American family that has lived in the Rochester area since the late nineteenth century. The materials proved especially interesting to the Local History & Genealogy Division because they document the lives of African Americans, a population that is underrepresented in our special collections.
After carefully culling through the wealth of items that Karen and Jerry generously provided, the staff of the Local History division developed a new exhibit to showcase the family’s fascinating story: Everyday People: the Dinkle Family and Rochester’s African American Past.
Exhibit poster designed by Corrine Clar.
The exhibit explores the city’s black heritage through the eyes of the Dinkles, an ordinary local family whose lives have at times intersected with larger historical events and sociopolitical movements.
The Dinkles, who came to the Rochester area in the 1870s from Virginia, were among the thousands of southern families that moved north seeking improved living conditions and employment opportunities in the wake of the Civil War. Like many African American migrants to Rochester, the Dinkles eventually settled in the Third Ward (now Corn Hill), which had been home to a black community since the early nineteenth century.
Circa 1875 map of the historic Third Ward neighborhood. From: City of Rochester Plat map, 1875.
While African Americans initially chose to live in the area given the presence of the A.M.E. Zion Church on Favor Street, in the twentieth century, families such as the Dinkles often found themselves in the Third and Seventh Wards because discriminatory practices restricted their access to other residential areas.
The family nevertheless persevered in the face of such challenges.
Jonathan T. Dinkle, a star athlete in his youth, established the city’s first black-owned taxi business on Clarissa Street in the 1940s.
Jonathan T. Dinkle in the 1930s. Courtesy of Karen and Jerry Bunton.
His son Robert Dinkle Sr. also served his Third Ward community by becoming a Scoutmaster, spending 15 years leading Troop 255, the unit affiliated with Mt. Olivet Baptist Church.
Troop 255 Badge. Robert Dinkle Sr.’s two sons, Robert Jr. and Rodney, were members of the troop. Courtesy of Karen and Jerry Bunton.
Robert Dinkle Sr. also served his country in addition to his community. He joined the (segregated) armed forces during the Second World War and defended the freedoms of his country abroad even as African Americans were denied many of these same freedoms at home.
Robert Dinkle Sr. with his mother Aldean circa 1945. Courtesy of Karen and Jerry Bunton.
Some members of Karen Dinkle Bunton’s family actively worked towards improving such racial inequities at the local level. Karen’s maternal aunt, Doris Price, was heavily involved in the civil rights movement. She co-founded the Rochester branch of the Black Panthers and helped organize Malcolm X’s visit to the city in 1965.
L to R: Doris Price, Rev. Franklin D.R. Florence, Malcolm X, Constance Mitchell in February 1965. From: Democrat & Chronicle, May 12, 2018.
Following Martin Luther King’s assassination, Doris Price’s other activist group, Your Neighbors, put together a silent protest march. Karen Dinkle Bunton’s mother, Muriel Dinkle, and other Third Ward residents led the procession.
Despite these connections to major historical moments and movements, the Dinkles have remained, according to Karen Dinkle Bunton, “just an ordinary family that moves along.” Because of this, the items in their collection help give insight into what everyday life has been like for African Americans in Rochester over the past 150 years.
We invite you to come join us in the Local History & Genealogy Division to delve into the city’s African American roots as seen through the lens of the Dinkle family.
Everyday People: the Dinkle Family and Rochester’s African American Past, will be on display on the second floor of the Rundel Library from August 5, 2019 into 2020.
-Emily Morry
Local History ROCs! 
Well, this is just absolutely wonderful! Thank you to Emily for writing this blog post about the Dinkle Exhibition. And thank you to Michelle and Christine for working so hard to create this exhibition! Can’t wait to see it!
Thanks, Lisa! Just to clarify: the exhibit was created by the Local History Exhibits Team, which includes myself, Emily, our colleague Veronica Shaw, and our former colleague Amy Pepe. Corinne Clar from the library’s Graphics department created the design, and Arianna Ackerman (also from Graphics) handled the printing. Christine and our other colleagues in Local History were, as always, a great support, as was the Wheatland Town Historian, Barb Chapman. But most of all, we owe thanks to you, Karen, and Jerry for bringing Karen’s family’s story (and the wonderful artifacts used to tell it) to us in the first place. We can’t wait for you all to come see the exhibit!!
Thank you!