Tom Molineaux was an African American boxer who rose from slavery to become one of the most celebrated boxer of his time. Known for his strength and skill, he gained his freedom through boxing and became famous for his...
In 1840, the American slave ship Hermosa ran aground in British Bahamas while transporting 38 enslaved Africans from Richmond, Virginia, to New Orleans, Louisiana. British authorities, having abolished slavery in 1833, intervened and freed the captives, sparking a diplomatic...
Medgar Wiley Evers was a prominent American civil rights activist, the first field secretary for the NAACP in Mississippi, and a World War II veteran, who dedicated his life to fighting racial segregation and injustice. His efforts to improve...
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 Africans aboard the American brig Creole staged a daring revolt "The Creole Mutiny of 1841" that would become the most successful slave revolt in U.S. history. Led by Madison Washington, the rebels seized...
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...