Roots, the novel by Alex Haley, appeared on bookstore shelves in 1976; the mini-series debuted to record audiences a year later. Unflinchingly honest, it launched a necessary discourse on the brutality of slavery and the way its repercussions continue to shape the lives of black Americans.
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Juneteenth: Black America’s Independence Day
“On this day 150 years ago, more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, the slaves of Galveston, Texas finally received word that the Civil War was over.
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After the Rediscovery of a 19th-century Novel, a View of Black Female Writers is Transformed – KOLUMN
Two years ago, I was in the United Kingdom working on a follow-up project for my books “Black London” and “Black Victorians/Black Victoriana.” While looking through old British newspapers, I was astonished to read an 1893 announcement in The Daily Telegraph proclaiming Sarah E. Farro to be “the first negro novelist” with the publication of her novel “True Love.”
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African American Museum Exhibition Explores ‘Crisis’ of Incarceration
In one of Theodore Harris’ collages, now on view at the African American Museum in Philadelphia, bursts of red bleed over a printed ballot form, stickers and images layer the surface: U.S. Out of Iraq Now, Does Praying Do Any Good?, Stop Executions, the Death Penalty Is a Hate Crime.
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May 30 Is Founders Day: African American Milestone Little Known Observance – KOLUMN
On May 30, America will observe Memorial Day, to remember persons who died in service to the nation. But the day is also called Founders Day, says Dr. E. Curtis Alexander of Chesapeake, a noted author, educator and historian of Afro-Union military history during the Civil War.
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Surviving Freedom Riders Recall Violence Faced 55 Years Ago
In 1961, the Freedom Riders embarked on a journey to change America as they resolved to ride buses from Washington, D.C., to New Orleans while testing how integrated Southern bus stations actually were.
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9 Things You Need to Know About the National Mall’s Newest Museum
When it finally opens its doors, the National Museum of African American History and Culture will be one of the most contradictory institutions on the National Mall.
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Caribbean Memory Project Crowdsources Family Histories to Preserve Region’s Cultural Heritage
So you missed out on all those talks with your grandparents about what the good old days were like — or perhaps you’re curious about your family’s past and how you ended up in the Caribbean.
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Following the Trail of Vermont’s African American Heritage
If you think about black history in America, Vermont is probably not the first place that comes to mind.
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Route 66’s Legacy of Racial Segregation
Being black and traveling away from home during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation in the US was potentially life-threatening.
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