Why Didn’t Movies about Passing Cast Black Actors?
"Social problem" films were all the rage after World War II. So how could movies about racism be so conservative?
How Civil Rights Groups Used Photography for Change
As one activist said, “If our story is to be told, we will have to write it and photograph it and disseminate it ourselves.”
Zora Neale Hurston
In a controversial letter, the versatile author expressed frustration with critics of segregation.
How St. Louis Domestic Workers Fought Exploitation
Without many legal protections under the New Deal, Black women organized through the local Urban League.
The New Negro and the Dawn of the Harlem Renaissance
In 1925, an anthology of Black creative work heralded the arrival of a movement that had been years in the making.
How Black-Owned Record Stores Helped Create Community
What was it like for Black American music lovers during the age of segregation to find a place they could call their own?
The History of the Black Seminoles
The community's resilient history speaks of repeated invasions and resistance to enslavement.
Black Americans in the Popular Front against Fascism
The era of anti-fascist struggle was a crucial moment for Black radicals of all stripes.
The Poem That Inspired Radical Black Women to Organize
Beah Richards is best known as an actor, but in 1951 she wrote a sweeping poem that influenced the Civil Rights Movement.
Racism and the Fear of “Voodoo”
During Reconstruction, lurid tales of African-derived religious practices in Louisiana made news all over the country—especially when worshipers included white women.