Black History

Despite the 1954 “Brown v. Board Of Education” Supreme Court ruling, which struck down the segregation of public schools, a White mob in a small Texas town used violence to bar Black students from attending classes. On this day in 1956, 12 students were approved for registering in to Mansfield High School only to be […]

Tuesday afternoon, First Lady Michelle Obama (pictured at podium) greeted a group of mostly Black grade school students at the White House to screen a documentary on the life of civil rights leader Whitney Young. Delivering a firm message regarding the importance of education and striving for excellence, Mrs. Obama was certain to remind the […]

Astronomer and almanac author Benjamin Banneker (pictured), who was largely self-educated, rose in prominence in the 18th century via his written works and the accuracy he displayed in predicting solar and lunar eclipses. However, it was Banneker’s challenge, by way of written correspondence, to then-Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson on the act of slavery that […]

The tale of Joan (pronounced “Jo-Ann”) Little (pictured left) is one replete with the hardships of a young African-American woman struggling to survive in a world that has been unkind to her gender. Coupled with the harsh realities of her upbringing, crime became a refuge for Little. Despite this, Little would become the first woman to […]

President Abraham Lincoln‘s (pictured left) historic issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation in September 1862 began the long and arduous process of undoing the horrors of slavery. While historians have long speculated on the machinations behind Lincoln bringing the ending of slavery into law, it appears that the President hoped freed slaves would consider returning to […]

The Brownsville Raid of 1906, also known as the “Brownsville Affair,” in Texas resulted in the largest U.S. Army dismissal in the history of the military branch. On the night of August 13th, a shooting spree took place in the town of Brownsville that claimed the life of a White bartender and wounded a Hispanic […]

African-American explorer Matthew Henson has achieved fame for being part of a team led by Robert Peary that claims they were the first people to reach the Geographic North Pole. Although historians have disputed the claims, Henson and Peary are still regarded as pioneering explorers by all involved. Henson was born on this day in […]

Monday evening, President Barack Obama honored the historic contributions and achievements made by the Negro League. Meeting in the Blue Room of the White House, the President welcomed former baseball players, scholars, foundation representatives, and historians. SEE ALSO: Harper Lee: “To Kill A Mockingbird” Author A Victim Of Elder Abuse Around a dozen former players […]

The long, ugly history, regarding the lynching of Blacks in America was not formally acknowledged until 2005. Amazingly, there had been no federal law enacted to outlaw the racist practice, despite hundreds of bills that were introduced to Congress and seven presidents who urged lawmakers to pass the law between the years of 1890 and […]

The lynching of two married African-American couples, known in some circles as the “Lynching At Moore’s Ford Bridge,” took place in Northern Georgia on this day in 1946. An angry mob of White men attacked the couples, with one of the wives seven months pregnant and a man in the group an Army veteran of […]

The 1965 March in Selma, Ala., also known as “Bloody Sunday,” has long been immortalized in lore via photos, articles, and other means of media. The gripping details of the event make up the story for a new graphic novel comic (pictured) that was promoted by one of the Civil Rights Movement’s most-visible leaders, Rep. […]

The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution was a long and contested legal battle between Union President Abraham Lincoln (pictured with pen) and the Confederate states that resisted freeing slaves and officially abolishing slavery. Although Lincoln knew his efforts would not overturn the practice of slavery without the backing of Congress, he would still […]