For decades they hid Jefferson’s relationship with her, now Monticello is making room for Sally Hemings (The Washington Post) The room where historians believe Sally Hemings slept was just steps away from Thomas Jefferson’s bedroom. But in 1941, the caretakers of Monticello turned it into a restroom. The floor tiles and bathroom stalls covered over [...]
The Lesser-Known History of African-American Cowboys (Pictured: Nat Love, aka "Deadwood Dick") One in four cowboys was black. So why aren’t they more present in popular culture? Few images embody the spirit of the American West as well as the trailblazing, sharpshooting, horseback-riding cowboy of American lore. And though African-American cowboys don’t play a part [...]
(Photo: An installation about Ona Judge, often referred to by the diminutive Oney, in the exhibition “Lives Bound Together: Slavery at George Washington’s Mount Vernon.” Credit Justin T. Gellerson for The New York Times) In Search of the Slave Who Defied George Washington The costumed characters at George Washington’s gracious estate here are used to [...]
How Author Timothy Tyson Found the Woman at the Center of the Emmett Till Case (Vanity Fair) With a renewed cultural interest in the 1955 murder that catalyzed the 20th century civil rights movement, an interview with the author of a new book who tracked down the long-hidden woman at its center. On a steamy [...]
Staring Down Development, Neighbors Seek Historical Recognition for Austin's Emancipation Park (Photo: Thomas J. White and members of the Emancipation Association. Credit: Austin History Center) Our story begins at a dead end near 13th Street and Walnut Avenue in the Chestnut neighborhood of East Austin, just down the street from where Leslie Padilla has lived for about [...]
Meet The Man Believed To Be The First Black Millionaire In Texas (KERA) William Madison McDonald is far from a household name these days, but he was a legend in his day. Born 150 years ago, McDonald is widely believed to have been the first black millionaire in Texas. The son of a former slave, [...]
Opinion: Why We Need a National Monument to Reconstruction (NY Times) Although Americans are already looking ahead to the next presidential administration, President Obama retains the power to shape his legacy and our nation in his remaining weeks in office. He has already used his final months to create several national monuments, and we urge [...]
Austin Businesswoman Helps Bring a Slice of African-American History to UT Austin's Blanton Museum When the Blanton unveils its reinstalled permanent collection in February, a 10-foot-tall, three-dimensional portrait made of 3,840 hair combs is sure to capture visitors’ attention. The portrait depicts Madam C.J. Walker, an African-American entrepreneur who’s often called the first self-made female [...]
"Slave poets": The radical, revolutionary faith of Christmas spirituals (Dallas News) There are about 6,000 known spirituals, sometimes called "sorrow songs." This extraordinary body of literature contains multiple sub-sets, none more potent, more poignant, more powerful than those that deal with the Christmas narratives. The stories in Luke's gospel about the birth of Jesus resonated [...]
The Struggle and Triumph of America's First Black Doctors African American physicians have dealt with distrust and misperceptions for more than a century (Pictured: John Henry Jordan, the first black doctor in Coweta County, Georgia, with his wife, Mollie, and his son, Edward) African American doctors still face barriers when it comes to educational opportunities [...]
