History

The Christmas Panic of 1765: How a Slave Revolt Rumor Disrupted Christmas in Charleston

In December 1765, Charleston, South Carolina, was thrown into chaos when rumors of an impending slave insurrection by enslaved Africans disrupted the city’s Christmas festivities. The fear of rebellion cast a shadow over the season’s celebrations, leaving white residents...

Louis Hughes: The Enslaved African American Who Was Bought as a Christmas Gift as a Child

Louis Hughes, was one of the many enslaved African Americans who experienced the horrors of slavery in the United States. Hughes’ story, recounted in his memoir Thirty Years a Slave, reveals the cruelty of a system that dehumanized African...

How Lynching Became Public Events and Black Body Parts Were Turned into Trophies During America’s Jim Crow Era

Lynching was one of the most brutal tools of racial terror in the United States, serving as a public spectacle of white supremacy and a tool of social control over African Americans. Between the late 19th century and well...

Mitchell Daniel: The Black Man Lynched in Georgia for “Talking Too Much” About Another Lynching

On April 27, 1899, in Leesburg, Georgia, Mitchell Daniel, a Black community leader, was lynched by white neighbors in what became another dark chapter of racial terror in the United States. His “crime” was talking too much about the...

Hazel Scott: The Black Singer Who Was Blacklisted for Challenging Racial Discrimination in the US

Hazel Dorothy Scott was a brilliant jazz and classical pianist, actress, as well as a bold advocate for racial equality and justice. Her immense talent, outspoken stance against racial discrimination, and refusal to conform to societal norms ultimately made...

The Lynching of Richard Dickerson and the Destruction of Black-Owned Businesses in Ohio, 1904

Richard Dickerson was an African American laborer living in Springfield, Ohio, whose lynching by a white mob on March 7, 1904 became the catalyst for further racial violence, including the targeted destruction of Black-owned businesses in the city’s “Levee”...

Memoirs of a Blind African Slave: The Remarkable Journey of Jeffrey Brace

Jeffrey Brace, originally known as Boyrereau Brinch, was born in West Africa in 1742 and led a peaceful life among his community until the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade changed his destiny forever. His memoir, The Blind African...

Jean Amilcar: The African Child Who Was Gifted to France’s Queen Marie Antoinette in 1787

Jean Amilcar, a young African boy, was kidnapped from Senegal, taken to France by the Governor of French Senegal, Stanislas de Boufflers, and in 1787, was given as a gift to Queen Marie Antoinette, an act that demonstrated how...

The Story of Eleanor Butler: A White Woman Enslaved for Marrying an Enslaved African in 1681

In colonial Maryland in 1681, a young Irish woman named Eleanor Butler, also known as Irish Nell, made a bold and controversial decision that would forever change her life. At just 16 years old, she defied societal norms by...

Ten Years After Escaping, Frederick Douglass Wrote This Powerful Letter to His Former Enslaver

Frederick Douglass was one of the most influential African American leaders of the 19th century. Born into slavery in Maryland, he endured severe hardships but learned to read and write secretly—a skill that fueled his desire for freedom. In...
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The Christmas Panic of 1765: How a Slave Revolt Rumor Disrupted Christmas in Charleston

In December 1765, Charleston, South Carolina, was thrown into chaos when rumors of an impending slave insurrection by enslaved...
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