Jefferson and Hemings: How Negotiation Under Slavery Was Possible Image: Mothers being separated from their children at a slave auction. Although enslaved people held little leverage, some tried to negotiate to keep their families together. (Credit: Benoitb/Getty Images) When she couldn’t negotiate with her enslaver, Harriet Jacobs went to extensive lengths to avoid his [...]
How Enslaved Chefs Helped Shape American Cuisine Black cooks created the feasts that gave the South its reputation for hospitality Image: The Gilbert Stuart painting “Portrait of George Washington’s Cook” may depict Hercules, the first president’s famous chef. (Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons) (Smithsonian.com)"We need to forget about this so we can heal,” said an elderly [...]
Abner Haynes and Lester Hayes highlight inductees for the 2018 PVILCA honors banquet (Photo: Abner Haynes starred at Dallas Lincoln High School and integrated the football program at North Texas State before becoming an All-Pro running back in the American Football League.) [...]
The disappearing story of the black homesteaders who pioneered the West Photo: The historic lunchroom at Dearfield, Colo., is collapsing. (Courtesy of the Black Homesteaders in the Great Plains Proiect) (The Washington Post) Ever heard of Blackdom in New Mexico? Dearfield in Colorado? What about DeWitty in Nebraska? Didn’t think so. Neither had I [...]
When the Fourth of July Was a Black Holiday After the Civil War, African Americans in the South transformed Independence Day into a celebration of their newly won freedom. (Photo: Wesley Hitt / Getty Images) (The Atlantic) “What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July?” Famed black abolitionist and former slave Frederick [...]
People wondered if Durham's Ernie Barnes would be an athlete or an artist. He was both. Image: "Homecoming" by Ernie Barnes, 1994, will be included in "The North Carolina Roots of Artist Ernie Barnes" exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of History, which opens June 29 and runs through March 3. (The Ernie Barnes [...]
The Unheralded Pioneers of 19th-Century America Were Free African-American Families In her new book, ‘The Bone and Sinew of the Land’, historian Anna-Lisa Cox explores the mostly ignored story of the free black people who first moved West Photo: The first map of the United States, published in 1784 by Abel Buell, shows the [...]
The Forgotten Girls Who Led the School-Desegregation Movement Before the 9-year-old Linda Brown became the lead plaintiff in Brown v. Board of Education, a generation of black girls and teens led the charge against the “separate but equal” doctrine in public schools. Photo: Millicent Brown, left, 15, daughter of state NAACP President J. Arthur [...]
Exploding Myths About 'Black Power, Jewish Politics' Photo: From left Bishop James Shannon, Rabbi Abraham Heschel, Dr. Martin Luther King and Rabbi Maurice Eisendrath. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington Cemetery, February 6, 1968. (Charles Del Vecchio/Washington Post/Getty Images (Texas Public Radio) Many Americans tell the story of Black-Jewish political relations [...]
The Issue on the Table: Is “Hamilton” Good For History? In a new book, top historians discuss the musical’s educational value, historical accuracy and racial revisionism Photo: Opening night of the Broadway musical “Hamilton” at the Richard Rodgers Theatre (WENN Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo) (Smithsonianmag.com) Even if it hadn’t won big at the [...]
