African-American history

Tom Molineaux: The Enslaved African Who Punched His Way to Freedom in America

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...

The Hermosa: How an American Shipwreck in the Bahamas Led to the Liberation of 38 Enslaved Africans

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...

Remembering Medgar Evers: The Civil Rights Leader Assassinated by a Klansman in 1963

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 L. Gaines: The Student Who Mysteriously Vanished After Winning a Segregation Case Against the University of Missouri

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 1826 Ohio River Uprising: The Slave Revolt That Ended a Notorious Slave Trader’s Reign

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 & Thornton Blackburn: The Former Slaves Who Established Toronto’s First Taxi Service

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,...

The Creole Mutiny of 1841: The Most Successful Slave Revolt in U.S. History

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 Copeland Jr.: The Untold Story of the Man Executed for Resisting Slavery and Whose Body Was Used for Medical Research

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,...

Stockmen Trade: The 19th Century Practice of Renting Enslaved Men to Plantation Owners for Breeding in America

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: The Little-Known Slave Revolt on American Waters in 1826

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...
- Advertisement -

Latest News

Remembering Ruth First: The Woman Who Was Assassinated by South African Police for Opposing Apartheid

Ruth First was a journalist, activist, and scholar who dedicated her life to exposing the cruelty of apartheid in...