Why the “Black Playboy” Folded After Just Six Issues
Duke magazine aimed to celebrate the good life for the era’s growing Black middle-class.
Freedom Libraries and the Fight for Library Equity
Freedom libraries in the south provided Black residents with access to spaces and books, whether in church basements or private homes.
The Emancipation Proclamation: Annotated
Abraham Lincoln proclaimed freedom for enslaved people in America on January 1, 1863. Today, we've annotated the Emancipation Proclamation for readers.
Desegregating Bowling Alleys
The bowling desegregation movement began during World War II, but wouldn’t end there.
How Black CB Radio Users Created an Audible Community
CB radio was portrayed as a mostly white enthusiasm in its heyday, but Black CB users were active as early as 1959.
Cedric Robinson and the Black Radical Tradition
Cedric Robinson proposed that the Black radical tradition was necessitated into existence by “racial capitalism.”
The Ghosts of Slavery in Charles Chesnutt’s Fiction
What begins as a magical escape from the horrors of plantation life soon turns into a spine-chilling testament to slavery’s dehumanizing effects.
Teaching Black Women’s Self-Care during Jim Crow
Maryrose Reeves Allen founded a wellness program at Howard University in 1925 that emphasized the physical, mental, and spiritual health of Black women.
The Work of Pioneering Musicologist Eileen Southern
The scholarship of Black music was transformed by Southern's work, and is now being honored by a new initiative.