History

Mary Prince: The First Black Woman to Publish an Autobiography of Her Life in Slavery

Mary Prince was the first Black woman to publish an autobiography detailing her experiences in slavery. Born into slavery in Bermuda, she was sold multiple times and endured severe hardships across the Caribbean. In 1828, she traveled to England,...

Louis-Benoît Zamor: The Enslaved African Who Helped Topple a French Aristocrat

Born in Chittagong (modern-day Bangladesh) in 1762, Louis-Benoît Zamor was taken as a child by British slave traders and trafficked to France, where he was gifted to Madame du Barry, the mistress of King Louis XV. However, rather than...

Rhineland Bastard: The Hidden History of Nazi Persecution of Afro-Germans

Coined in post-World War I Germany, the term Rhineland bastard was used to describe Afro-German children born to German mothers and Black African soldiers who served in the French occupation forces. From the outset, these children were dehumanized, framed...

William Bowser: The Enslaved African Who Was Executed for Participating in a Slave Ship Revolt in 1826

On April 26, 1826, a desperate struggle for freedom unfolded aboard the Decatur, a coastwise slave ship sailing from Baltimore, Maryland, to New Orleans. Among the enslaved Africans on board was 24-year-old William Bowser, a young man who had...

William Still: The Abolitionist Who Helped 649 Africans Escape Slavery in America

William Still, was a very important figure in the abolitionist movement in the United States. Known as the "Father of the Underground Railroad," Still played a crucial role in aiding and assisting at least 649 enslaved Africans escape to...

Sophiatown: The Black Cultural Hub That Was Destroyed Under Apartheid and Rebuilt as a Whites-Only Area

Sophiatown, also known as Sof’town or Kofifi, was a vibrant cultural and intellectual hub in Johannesburg, South Africa, before its destruction under apartheid. A unique freehold township, it was one of the few urban areas where Black South Africans...

Annice: The Enslaved Woman Who Drowned Her Children to Deprive Her Master of Future Slaves

On August 23, 1828, Annice became the first enslaved woman known to be executed in Missouri. She was hanged for the murder of five children—including two of her own—whom she drowned in a desperate act of defiance against slavery....

Lemuel Walters: The Man Lynched in 1919 for Dating a White Woman

Lemuel Walters was a Black man in Longview, Texas, who was lynched in June 1919 after being accused of making “indecent advances” toward a white woman. His murder was one of the many acts of racial violence that erupted...

John Punch: The First African to Receive a Life Sentence of Slavery in America

John Punch, born around 1605 in Angola, holds a significant place in American history as the first person in British colonial America to be legally sentenced to lifelong servitude as punishment for a "crime". His case, decided in 1640...

James Meredith: The Student Whose Enrollment at the University of Mississippi Sparked a Riot and Military Intervention

James Meredith is a civil rights activist, writer, and U.S. Air Force veteran best known for integrating the University of Mississippi in 1962, an act that sparked a deadly riot and forced the U.S. government to deploy thousands of...
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Nathan “Nearest” Green: The Enslaved African Who Taught Jack Daniel the Art of Whiskey

Nathan “Nearest” Green is one of the most influential, yet long-overlooked, figures in the history of American whiskey. Born...
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