Lloyd Lionel Gaines was a civil rights pioneer who sued the University of Missouri for denying him admission to its law school solely because he was African American. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in his favor, mandating that Missouri...
The Ohio River Uprising of 1826 was a bold act of resistance by approximately 75 enslaved Africans being transported south by Edward Stone, a notorious slave trader, and his associates. On September 17, while traveling down the Ohio River,...
Lucie and Thornton Blackburn were born into slavery in the United States, they escaped to freedom in Canada, where they not only built a new life but also made significant contributions to their adopted homeland. Among their many achievements,...
In 1841, a group of enslaved African-Americans aboard the American brig Creole staged a daring revolt that would become the most successful slave revolt in U.S. history. Led by Madison Washington, the rebels seized the ship, killed one slave...
John Anthony Copeland Jr. was a man whose life and death embodied the struggle for freedom and justice in a nation deeply divided by slavery. Born free on August 15, 1834, in Raleigh, North Carolina, Copeland was arrested, tried,...
The 19th century in the United States was marked by the brutal and dehumanizing institution of slavery, which included various practices that exploited enslaved Africans for economic gain. One such practice was the "stockmen trade," a term used to...
The Decatur slave-ship mutiny was an act of resistance that took place in April 1826 aboard a coastwise slave ship sailing from Baltimore, Maryland, to the New Orleans slave market. This mutiny was part of the broader struggle against...
James Robinson was an enslaved African American who was lured into fighting in the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 against the United Kingdom and its allies with the false promise of freedom if the wars were...
Antoine Lavalette, a French Jesuit priest and missionary, is remembered not only for his involvement in spreading Catholicism but also for his dark history of brutality. Born on October 26, 1708, Lavalette was sent to the Caribbean island of...
Jermain Wesley Loguen, born into slavery in 1813, rose to become one of the most influential abolitionists in American history. Known as the “King of the Underground Railroad,” Loguen’s fearless dedication to helping enslaved Africans escape to freedom made...
