The Enterprise — Elizabeth Floyd Mair 
A long road: A sign unveiled on Aug. 20 explains that the Rapp Road Community Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. Most of the homes are still occupied by descendants of the original African-American settlers who built them starting in about 1930 and who were part of the Great Migration of blacks from the South to the Midwest and Northeast, fleeing Jim Crow laws and looking for economic opportunity. The Preservation League of New York applied for a grant to have the sign made after it designated, in 2016, the Rapp Road district one of “Seven to Save” in the state. Beverly Bardequez, president of the Rapp Road Historical Association, sits next to the sign, which she called “one more thing to let us know that our efforts are not in vain.” Beside Bardequez is her aunt, Emma Dickson, the original driving force behind residents’ determination to preserve the district and keep developers at bay. The sign stands on Dickson’s property. Bardequez said she was happy that Dickson, who suffered a massive stroke some years ago, was able to be present for the unveiling. To the left of the sign is Frank Commisso Sr., an Albany County legislator who worked closely with Dickson over the three decades he spent as the ward leader for the Rapp Road area, Bardequez said. 

The Enterprise — Elizabeth Floyd Mair 
Unveiling: Anne Pope, at left, leans in to speak with Beverly Bardequez on Sunday as Bardequez pulls off the cloth that covers a sign stating that the Rapp Road historic neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The unveiling took place during the weekend of the 60th family reunion of the Rapp Road community. Pope, director for the northeast region of the NAACP, grew up in Shubuta, Mississippi, the same small town from which the original settlers of the Rapp Road neighborhood came, beginning in the 1930s.