Connecting the past to the present for a better future.
I remember reading about The Underground Railroad when I was in junior high school. The Railroad was a large network of secret contacts between free Black people and white people to help escaped enslaved people reach freedom. I remember reading about Fredrick Douglass, Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman. I remember the book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, …
After the westward expansion of the United States in the early 1800’s, there was a need for a labor force. This labor was provided by enslaved people. There was a one mile stretch of productive agriculture regions from South Carolina to Texas. The key crop was cotton and that plant became king in the South. …
American history involves many slave revolts. According to C.L. Lincoln’s book, The Negro Pilgrimage in America, between 1663 and 1864, there were at least a hundred and nine separate slave revolts on land. Between 1699 and 1845, fifty-five revolts took place on slave ships at sea. According to historians, the first recorded slave revolt in …
Black people fought for America’s freedom while many of them were not free. According to History.com, The Revolutionary War was an insurrection by American Patriots in the 13 colonies to British rule, resulting in American independence. The tension between England and the colonies erupted in violence in Boston, Massachusetts on March 5, 1770. A detachment …
The first inhabitants of the continent of America are the Native Indians and Alaskans. These indigenous people inhabited North, Central and South America. According to historians, it is estimated that 18-20 million Native Americans lived in the country called the United States when Europeans first arrived. According to the 2010 Census, approximately 5.2 million people …
My maternal great grandparents were enslaved people in Mississippi. According to U.S. census records, my grandfather was born in either 1884 or 1885. My grandmother was born shortly afterwards. I don’t know anything about my paternal great grandparents. It is believed they were also slaves. Their son, my grandfather, married my grandmother, a woman of …
Kwanzaa is an annual celebration of African-American culture. It is a non -religious celebration and is held December 26 to January 1. It was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga based on African harvest festival traditions from various parts of Africa. It is a meaningful holiday that gives African Americans an opportunity to pay tribute to …
When I was in public school, I remember the history teacher teaching us about the Atlantic slave trade and Middle Passage but don’t remember all the details. It is possible that the teachers didn’t know the complex history or could only teach part of the truth. It is also possible that I blocked some of …
I didn’t learn the true history of black Americans when I was in school. I grew up in poverty in the segregated South during the civil rights era. I lived some of the history but was curious about the beginning. Black history month was dedicated to honoring a few well known black Americans. There were …