During the brutal era of chattel slavery in the United States, slave owners viewed literacy as a direct threat to the institution of slavery. They feared it could empower their slaves to pursue freedom, access abolitionist literature, or organize...
Charles Deslondes was an enslaved African man who was brutally executed for leading the 1811 German Coast Revolt, widely regarded as the largest slave uprising in U.S. history, involving over 500 people.
Born around 1789 on the plantation of Jacques...
Margaret Crittendon Douglass was a white woman and former slaveholder, who was convicted and jailed in Norfolk, Virginia, for teaching Black children to read. Her story is a reminder of the brutal measures taken to suppress Black education during...
The Society of Jesus, known as the Jesuits, is a Catholic religious order renowned for its commitment to education, missionary work, and theological scholarship. However, their history includes a troubling chapter: the 1838 sale of 272 enslaved Africans to...
Blackshear was a man known for his towering strength, standing six feet four inches and weighing around 250 pounds. Not only was he a skilled craftsman and mechanic, but he was also exploited for another purpose: breeding children who...
The Samba Rebellion of 1731, a purported slave revolt in French colonial Louisiana, remains one of the lesser-known events in early American history, recorded primarily through the writings of Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz, a French historian who lived...
Henrietta Wood holds a unique place in American history as the formerly enslaved woman who won the largest reparations verdict ever awarded for slavery in the United States.
Born into slavery in Kentucky, Henrietta Wood’s life began in bondage under...
In the shadowed history of the United States, few places symbolize the brutalities inflicted upon enslaved African people as Lumpkin’s Jail in Richmond, Virginia. Known as one of the largest and most notorious slave jails in 19th century Richmond,...
Wyatt Outlaw, the first African American to serve as Town Commissioner and Constable of Graham, North Carolina, was a pioneering leader and dedicated advocate for African American rights in Alamance County. He faced violent opposition for his stance against...
Lucy Terry was a gifted storyteller, orator, and poet, renowned for being the author of “Bars Fight” (1746), the oldest known literary work by an African American.
Lucy Terry was born around 1733 on the African continent. Like many others...
