The Story of Juneteenth
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863. It took over two years for the news to reach some enslaved people.
Loving v. Virginia and the Origins of Loving Day
Loving Day celebrates the SCOTUS decision in Loving v. Virginia in 1967 which struck down the laws of the 16 states still forbidding interracial marriage.
How Septima Poinsette Clark Spoke Up for Civil Rights
The daughter of a slave, Septima Clark graduated from college, became a teacher, and became a fierce advocate for social and cultural change.
A Formerly Enslaved Woman Successfully Won a Case for Reparations in 1783
In one of the earliest examples of reparations, an ex-slave named Belinda petitioned the government and was granted an annuity.
What It Was Like To Be an African-American Soldier During the Civil War
What was it like to be one of the 186,017 African Americans who served in the Union Army during the Civil War?
The Historic Achievement of the Pullman Porter’s Union
The achievements of the Pullman Porter's Union were a significant civil rights victory for both U.S. labor and the civil liberties of African-Americans.
The Secret Order Behind the Underground Railroad
William Lambert and George De Baptiste, free-born black men, used the underground railroad to help slaves escape to British Canada.
Ronald Reagan and the Rewriting of Martin Luther King’s Legacy
Ronald Reagan invoked Dr. King's legacy to fit with his larger political and rhetorical aims.
St. Francis Square: How a Union Built Integrated, Affordable Housing in San Francisco
How a union built integrated affordable housing in early 1960s San Francisco.
Remembering Historian John Hope Franklin
Franklin helped to change the way we think about slavery and Reconstruction.