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...
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 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...
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”...
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, 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...
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...
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...
During the brutal era of chattel slavery in the United States, slave owners viewed literacy as a direct threat to the institution of slavery. They feared it could empower their slaves to pursue freedom, access abolitionist literature, or organize...
Garrett Morgan was an African American inventor and entrepreneur known for life-saving innovations like the Safety Hood, a precursor to the gas mask, and the traffic signal, which improved road safety. His story is one of overcoming systemic barriers,...
