Category: Historical Events
The stolen cells of Henrietta Lacks and their ongoing contribution to science
In the past century, Henrietta Lacks has, arguably, done more to advance medicine than any other person. She played a material role in the development [more…]
The racist history of America’s interstate highway boom
BY LIAM DILLON, BEN POSTON NOV. 11, 2021 3 AM PT When President Eisenhower created the U.S. Interstate Highway System in 1956, transportation planners tore through the nation’s [more…]
How Pittsburgh’s Freedom House Pioneered Paramedic Treatment
March 1, 20155:19 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered ERIKA BERAS Twitter In the 1960s, Pittsburgh, like most cities, was segregated by race. But people [more…]
The Failed 1846 Amendment That Tried to Contain Slavery
Debate over the Wilmot Proviso inflamed North-South divisions ahead of the Civil War. by AABYE-GAYLE D. FRANCIS-FAVILLA JUN 7, 2022 As the United States grew [more…]
California Once Tried to Ban Black People
The new state’s leaders banned slavery—but tried to kick free black people out. ERIN BLAKEMORE UPDATED: SEP 1, 2018 ORIGINAL: FEB 9, 2018 When Peter [more…]
In the 1800s, the American Colonization Society relocated thousands of freed Black Americans to West Africa. It led to the creation of Liberia.
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 [more…]
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 [more…]
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 [more…]
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: [more…]
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 [more…]