Stories

Paul Jennings, enslaved by James and Dolly Madison, bought his freedom and published a personal memoir in 1865.

Jarena Lee experienced both the intense religiosity of the late 1700s and the discriminatory practices against women as she sought to become a preacher.

Nathan "Nearest" Green, the first known Black master distiller, created the blueprint for Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey.

William and Ellen Craft devised an ingenious plan to escape slavery that took them across race, gender, and class lines.

"Free" Frank McWorter, founded New Philadelphia, Illinois, the first known town to be founded and platted by an African American.

The mass suicide by captive Africans at Igbo Landing marks one of the most significant acts of resistance by enslaved people.

Octavius Catto was a civil rights activist in Pennsylvania . Learn about his life and impact in Philadelphia’s Black community during Reconstruction.

In June and October of 2021, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. offered an array of health services to Mississippi residents in underserved communities.

George Henry White was the last African American Congressman of the 1800s. Learn about his life before and after Congress and his commitment to justice.

Entrepreneur and philanthropist Bridget “Biddy” Mason helped to establish the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles.

Skydiving entrepreneur Howard “Skippy” Smith founded one of the first Black-owned and managed war production plants during World War II.

Homer G. Phillips Hospital served as the preeminent training facility for African American nurses and physicians during segregation.

James McCune Smith, the first African American to hold a medical degree, fought against the false scientific claims of Black inferiority.

In 1866 police and white civilians attacked the African American community in Memphis, Tennessee. Learn about the massacre and listen to survivor testimony.

'The Black G.I.', a documentary made by the public television program Black Journal, provides a unique view of Black military life during the Vietnam War.

In 1900, W.E.B. Du Bois traveled to the 1900 Paris Exposition, a world’s fair featuring the innovations of the new century.

In 1881 Washerwomen in Atlanta formed a union and went on strike to demand better wages. Learn about the harsh conditions they faced and how they won.

Social worker, educator, and civil rights activist Vivian Carter Mason worked across racial lines to fight for equal education in Norfolk, Virginia.

Literary author and editor Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins used the power of the press to challenge society’s assumptions about Black women.

The Rollin sisters shaped the politics of Reconstruction-era South Carolina. Learn how they challenged society’s views of Black women and fought for equality.

African Americans who inherited land from their ancestors are fighting to keep their land and family legacies.

The COVID-19 Pandemic has highlighted many systemic inequalities that impact African American health and access to health care.

African Americans established schools for their communities and have taken innovative approaches to education while challenging segregation and discrimination.

African American servicemen and women have pushed boundaries and climbed to the highest ranks of the military.

Supreme Court rulings gutting the legal protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 have allowed states to restrict access to the ballot.