Yoonji Han Aug 8, 2022 On December 21, 1816, a group of fifty white elites gathered in a Washington, D.C. hotel to discuss the future of freed Black Americans. Following…
Author: mirtisr
The Proud Legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers
In 1866, an Act of Congress created six all-black peacetime regiments, later consolidated into four –– the 9th and 10th Cavalry, and the 24th and 25th Infantry –– who became…
For Pilot Bessie Coleman, Every ‘No’ Got Her Closer to ‘Yes’
Despite fierce obstacles in her path, the Black female aviator became a hero that would pave the way for generations to come by David Kindy Correspondent Once again, Bessie Coleman—the first…
The rise of reactionaries in the wake of the 1918 flu pandemic in Washington
Emergent movements, including a resurgence of the KKK, led to more anti-immigration policy, eugenics laws, religious fundamentalism and conservative leadership. By Knute Berger, Crosscut Published: July 10, 2022, The end…
How Edmonia Lewis Changed The Art World Forever
By Sarah January/June 11, 2022 Over the centuries the art world has seen many iconic sculptors. From Michelangelo to Picasso, Donatello to Rodin, these artists created some of the incredible…
Never forget that early vaccines came from testing on enslaved people
By Jim DownsJune 19, 2022 n response to the growing spread of monkeypox, public health leaders are for the first time since the 1970s opening the locked stockpiles of smallpox…
How Emmett Till’s murder inspired Rod Serling to create the original ‘Twilight Zone’ series
Frustrated by censors, Serling went a different route, with great success. Annie Reneau The original “Twilight Zone” series was unlike anything anyone had ever seen on television. Airing from 1959…
Slavery Didn’t End On Juneteenth. What You Should Know About This Important Day
June 17, 20216:00 AM ET Sharon Pruitt-Young It goes by many names. Whether you call it Emancipation Day, Freedom Day or the country’s second Independence Day, Juneteenth is one of…
Joseph H. Rainey 1832–1887
Joseph Rainey was sworn in on December 12, 1870—first African American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Born enslaved, Joseph Rainey was the first African American to serve…
The Overlooked Black History of Memorial Day
Nowadays, Memorial Day honors veterans of all wars, but its roots are in America’s deadliest conflict, the Civil War. Approximately 620,000 soldiers died, about two-thirds from disease. The work of honoring the dead began…