July 9, 1841: Four Black Men executed for a bank robbery
On July 9, 1841, four Black rivermen—Madison Henderson, Alfred Amos Warrick, James W. Seward, and Charles Brown—were executed on Duncan’s Island, just south of St....
Category : African American history
JUNETEENTH
“The year 1865 came in, speaking joyful words in our ears… We hail it with joy, because it finds us surrounded with light… This year,...
Amelia’s Song: From Sierra Leone to South Carolina
“Ever since they left Thies, the women had not stopped singing. As soon as one group allowed the refrain to die, another picked it up,...
William Tucker: The first African American child
“Out under the moon and the stars, alone with his son…he walked to the edge of the village, lifted his baby up with his face...
The Lincoln Motion Picture Company: First Black American Movie Company
The Lincoln Motion Picture Company was the first movie company organized by Black filmmakers, and developed a solid reputation for producing films that, according to...
The Chicago Defender: The most influential Black weekly newspaper in America
The Chicago Defender was the United States’ most influential Black weekly newspaper by the advent of World War I, with more than two thirds of...
The Scottsboro Boys: Nine young Black men falsely accused of rape
The Great Depression of the 1930s, threw millions of Americans out of work. During the depression years, Blacks and whytes routinely “hoboed” (hitchhiked) freight trains,...
Bloody Sunday: Selma
“They came with horses. They came with nightsticks. And I was standing, and people were running… I did not run, so he hit me at...
The Five African Americans whose signatures have appeared on US currency
The Register of the Treasury was an office of the United States Treasury Department. The signature of the Register of the Treasury appeared on United...
The Rosewood Massacre
On January 1, 1923 a massacre was carried out in Rosewood, a town with about 150 residents. Rosewood was an all-black community, except for one...