Berry Washington, an elderly African American man in his seventies, became a tragic symbol of racial injustice when he was lynched in Milan, Georgia, on May 26, 1919. His crime? Defending two young Black girls from a violent assault...
Every generation of humans somehow figured out ways to make God in their image. The heart of man is desperately wicked, and what better way to justify this than to have God on his side. In God's name, everything...
Abu al-Misk Kafur, born in 905, was a black eunuch and freed slave who ascended to the highest echelons of power, ruling Egypt and parts of Syria as the de facto ruler from 946 until his death in 968.
Kafur’s...
In March 1860, Rev. Jermain Wesley Loguen, a formerly enslaved man turned abolitionist, received a shocking letter from Sarah Logue, the wife of his former enslaver. In the letter, Sarah demanded that Loguen either return to her as a...
On December 31, 1862, African Americans across the United States gathered in churches, homes, and secret meeting places, anxiously awaiting the dawn of a new year. This night, known as Freedom’s Eve, was unlike any other in American history....
Ona Judge Staines, also known as Oney Judge, was an enslaved woman who famously escaped the household of the first president of the United States, George Washington, and became a symbol of resistance against slavery.
Ona Judge was born around...
The Christmas holiday, a time typically associated with joy and festivity, held a complex and multifaceted significance for enslaved Africans across the Americas and the Caribbean. While some slaves embraced the brief moments of relaxation and celebration, others saw...
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, 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...
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...
