
Lesser-Known Stories

Black Power and 'The Black G.I.'
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.

The Mississippi Health Project II: AKA Revisits Its Model for Community Health Care
In June and October of 2021, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. offered an array of health services to Mississippi residents in underserved communities.

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

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

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

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

Homer G. Phillips Hospital and School of Nursing
Homer G. Phillips Hospital served as a preeminent training facility for African American nurses and physicians during segregation.

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

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

Preacher Jarena Lee: Praise in the Meantime
Jarena Lee experienced both the intense religiosity of the late 1700s and discrimination against women as she sought to become a preacher.

The Man Behind Tennessee Whiskey
Nathan “Nearest” Green was the first known Black master distiller and creator of the blueprint behind Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey.

Crossing the Color Line to Freedom
William and Ellen Craft, fugitives from slavery, devised a cunning plan that crossed 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 Water Spirit Will Take Us Home
The mass suicide by captive Africans at Igbo Landing marks one of the most significant acts of resistance by enslaved people.