The Little-Known Southern Underground Railroad Into Mexico Is an Important Piece of Black History Image: Routes of the underground railroad (Remezcla) In July 1863, numerous local newspapers throughout Texas reported that three enslaved Africans “stole a bale of cotton” and used the bundle to float across the Rio Grande and into neighboring Mexico, where [...]
He Fought for His Freedom in the Revolution Then His Sons Were Sold Into Slavery Jude Hall was one of the most revered black veterans of the American Revolution. That didn't stop the kidnappers from targeting his boys. (History.com) Born into slavery before the American Revolution, Jude Hall fought valiantly in several of the war’s [...]
The Underground Kitchen That Funded the Civil Rights Movement Georgia Gilmore’s cooking fueled the Montgomery bus boycott. Photo: Georgia Gilmore poses for photographers after testifying as a defense witness in the bus boycott trial of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., March 21, 1956, in Montgomery. (Associated Press) (Atlas Obscura) On December 5, 1955, four [...]
It’s time to recognize Sally Hemings as a first lady of the United States Photo: A man reads a plaque about Sally Hemings at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's estate in Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday, June 16, 2018. (Steve Ruark / Associated Press) (Los Angeles Times) It is now widely understood that my ancestor Sally Hemings, [...]
Lincoln moved to end slavery on New Year’s Day 1863. It went on for three more years. Image: The first reading of the Emancipation Proclamation before President Abraham Lincoln's Cabinet, painted by F.B. Carpenter. (Library of Congress) (Washington Post) On New Year’s morning of 1863, President Abraham Lincoln hosted a three-hour reception in the White [...]
