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…
Category: Education
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’…
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…
Remembering The Life of Dr. J. Ernest Wilkins Jr., African American Nuclear Physicist of the Manhattan Project
Let us remember the remarkable life of J. Ernest Wilkins Jr., a pioneer in nuclear physics. Born on November 27, 1923, in Chicago, Wilkins’ academic journey began early, earning his…
Remembering Ida B. Wells
Ida B. Wells, a remarkable figure in American history, was born during slavery in 1862 in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Wells’ parents and one brother succumbed to yellow fever. After these…
Thaddeus Stevens, Advocate for Abolitionism and Racial Equality
Thaddeus Stevens (1792 to 1868), a Pennsylvania native, rose from modest beginnings to become a lawyer and a prominent advocate for abolitionism and racial equality. As a member of the…
Harsh Realities. Who benefits, and who suffers and has suffered?
Our nation’s past is filled with stories of triumphs, but what about those times of oppression, darkness, and despair? What about the most horrid chapter of them all – the…
Many Black Americans helped pave the way in transportation
FreightWaves celebrates some of the most influential African Americans in transportation industry history Brielle Jaekel · Friday, February 24, 2023 The most notable African American in relation to the transportation…
Remembering Bayard Rustin, Civil Rights Leader and Gay Activist
By: Jerald Podair | Feb 1, 2023 As I began writing “Bayard Rustin: American Dreamer,” my biography of the 20th-century radical leader and activist, one of my colleagues cautioned me not to “fall in love.”…