In 1972, I was eighteen years old and voted in the presidential election. This was my first time voting, and I was excited to use the power of the ballot. I grew up during the civil rights era and Black Power movement. I learned that one of the most important rights of American citizens is …
American women have always been involved in politics. They may have been excluded from party membership, voting, or running for office but they were vocal about political issues and participated in party activities. Women in western territories were voting long before the national woman suffrage amendment of 1920. There were so many great women who …
To prepare for this article, I read a book entitled, Women, Politics, And American Society. The book is the third edition and a collaborative effort written by four female authors, Nancy E. McGlen, Karen O’Conner, Laura van Assendelft and Wendy Gunther-Canada. This edition helps readers fully understand women’s struggles by tracing the efforts, achievements, and …
Women’s History Month- The Early Women’s Movement Read More »
I grew up in the South during legal segregation. My parents were not able to obtain meaningful employment because of racist Jim Crow laws. They worked on farms, picking and chopping cotton. After the cotton season was over, Dad worked as a day laborer and MaDear worked in private homes. They worked whatever odd jobs …
Black History Month is observed every February, but many people are not familiar with how or why it was created. To understand why it was created, we have to look back to Dr. Carter G. Woodson. As the son of formerly enslaved parents and the second Black American to earn a doctorate from Harvard, Woodson …
The nature of slavery is not always understood. At the time the trade developed, both Africans and Europeans had a tradition of slavery, but the traditions were different. African slavery was a domestic institution. It was necessary to do something with captives of war, criminals, and wrong doers. The African answer was to turn them …
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called Birmingham “the most thoroughly segregated big city in the U.S.” In 1962, a federal court ordered the city to integrate its park. Rather than obey the order, the city closed its parks. The city gave up its professional baseball team rather than play with Black players. Like all Southern …
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” Read More »
The antebellum period refers to the years after the War of 1812 and before the Civil War. The era was marked by the development of separate northern and southern economies, westward expansion of the nation, and a spirt of reform. During this time, some black people were considered free, but this freedom was not freedom …
I grew up in the segregated South but read many books. Our school library had volumes of books by influential authors. My parents were poor, but when they could spare extra money, bought some of the books. They believed that it was important to give their children, and all young children, the message that life …
I had never heard of the Slave Trail of Tears until recently. I read and research to prepare information for my blog posts. Sometimes, the research leads me down a path of darkness. Many of us are still searching for answers to questions that continue to trouble us. To understand the history of slavery, I …