History

Born in the United States, James H. Gordon is best known for his courageous advocacy for social justice, particularly his efforts to end the dehumanizing exhibition of Ota Benga at the Bronx Zoo in 1906.

Bokilifu Boni, often simply referred to as Boni, was a Maroon leader who emerged as a formidable force against Dutch colonizers in Suriname during the 18th century

In the history of the United States, the brutal lynching of African Americans stands as a dark stain, revealing the depths of racial hatred and violence that permeated society in the early 20th century. One such tragic incident occurred...

Ota Benga was a Congolese member of the Mbuti pygmy tribe whose tragic story got international attention when he was displayed as a human zoo exhibit in the United States in the early twentieth century. Ota Benga was born in...

Harry Washington was an African who was enslaved by none other than George Washington, the future first President of the United States. However, Harry’s story transcends the chains of slavery, as he not only fought for his own liberation...

The Langa Massacre of 1985 stands out as a chilling example of police brutality during South Africa's tumultuous apartheid era. As mourners made their way to the funeral of one of the six individuals slain by apartheid police on...

Coffy, also spelled as Cuffy, Kofi or Koffi, was an enslaved man of Akan descent, played an important role in leading a major slave revolt, rallying more than 3,800 enslaved individuals against the colonial authorities in Berbice, present-day Guyana...

Titina Silá was born into a world shaped by colonial rule, where the people of Guinea-Bissau were subjected to the exploitative practices of Portuguese imperialism. The oppressive environment she grew up in later became a catalyst for her activism....

Willie James Howard, a 15-year-old African American living in Live Oak, Suwannee County, Florida, met a tragic fate on January 2, 1944, in a harrowing act of racial violence that shook the nation's conscience. The events leading to his death...

John Hartfield was a black man who met a gruesome fate in Ellisville, Mississippi, in 1919, for the supposed crime of being romantically involved with a white woman, Ruth Meeks. Born into a society deeply divided along racial lines, Hartfield...