The Black Cabinet, sometimes referred to as the “Federal Council of Negro Affairs,” was composed of influential Black professionals within the federal government and symbolized the potential for real change…
Author: mirtisr
Mary Ellen Pleasant: Pioneer, Entrepreneur, Benefactor
Mary Ellen Pleasant, an African American entrepreneur and abolitionist, is renowned for her efforts in the Underground Railroad and her support of the abolitionist movement. She used her considerable resources…
Ben Chester White, Gunned Down By The KKK
Ben Chester White (January 5, 1899 – June 10, 1966) was an African-American caretaker in Natchez, Mississippi. White had spent his entire life as a caretaker on the Carter family…
Joseph Laroche, The Only Black Passenger Aboard The Ill-Fated Titanic
Walter Joseph Philippe Lemercier Laroche, born in Haiti on May 26, 1886, was the nephew of Cincinnatus Leconte, who had served as president of the country. At the age of…
Civil Rights Act of 1871: Combating the Ku Klux Klan
The Civil Rights Act of 1871, enacted by the United States Congress during the turbulent Reconstruction Era, is a landmark in American legislative history. Its passage was prompted by a…
The Niagara Movement, A Precursor to the NAACP
The Niagara Movement, founded in 1905, pioneered the early 20th-century fight for African American civil rights. It set forth a bold and uncompromising vision for equality, advocating for African Americans’…
Andrew “Rube” Foster, aka “Father of Black Baseball”
Andrew “Rube” Foster was born in Calvert, Texas on September 17, 1879. His journey from a talented pitcher to a visionary league organizer is a testament to his enduring legacy.…
The Lost Cause Myth, A Cycle of Historical Distortion and Racial Oppression. At The Start of The Jim Crow Era.
The Lost Cause myth and the Jim Crow era, two intricately woven threads in the fabric of American history, share a complex and troubled relationship. Emerging from the ashes of…
Invisible Shackles: The Impact of Black Codes on African Americans In The Years Immediately Following the Civil War.
After the Civil War, as the nation grappled with the aftermath of slavery, the question of freed Black people’s status in the South remained unresolved. The Black Codes were created,…
Forced Labor and Legal Loopholes: Conviction and Forced Labor After the 13th Amendment and Vagrancy Act of 1866
The Vagrancy Act of 1866 and the 13th Amendment are connected through their impact on the legal status and treatment of individuals considered vagrants or prisoners, particularly in the context…