Black History Month: Searching for Sojourner Truth
By Jane Cook on February 27, 2020
In this article, Jane Hampton Cook searches old newspapers to learn about Sojourner Truth, including her meeting with Abraham Lincoln in October 1864... (Read More)
Category: African American History & Genealogy
Reactions to First Black Senator in U.S. History: Hiram Revels
By Tony Pettinato on February 25, 2020
An article about the mixed reactions to Hiram Rhodes Revels becoming the first African American member of the U.S. Congress, on 25 February 1870... (Read More)
Common African American Last Names & Their Meanings
By Sarah Stevens on January 10, 2020
Uncover the origin of your African American last name, what it means, and how you can use this to trace your family history... (Read More)
Juneteenth: Texas Slaves Freed at Last
By Tony Pettinato on June 19, 2019
An article about Juneteenth, to celebrate the declaration by Union General Granger on 19 June 1865 in Galveston, Texas, that “all slaves are free.”.. (Read More)
On This Day: Tuskegee Airmen’s Example Helped Desegregate the Military
By Tony Pettinato on March 19, 2019
An article about the 99th Pursuit Squadron (the “Tuskegee Airmen”), which was activated on 19 March 1941, the first Black unit of the Army Air Corps... (Read More)
On This Day: Police Attacked Civil Rights Marchers on ‘Bloody Sunday’
By Tony Pettinato on March 7, 2019
An article about “Bloody Sunday,” when police in Selma, Alabama, attacked a peaceful march of African American demonstrators on 7 March 1965... (Read More)
Dred Scott Decision: Supreme Court Denied Citizenship to Blacks
By Tony Pettinato on March 6, 2019
An article about the U.S. Supreme Court issuing its Dred Scott decision on 6 March 1857, ruling that Blacks could not be citizens in the United States... (Read More)
Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936-1938
By Gena Philibert-Ortega on February 28, 2019
In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega writes about an African American genealogy resource: slave narratives recorded by the Federal Writers’ Project... (Read More)
On This Day: Lunch Counter ‘Sit-in’ Galvanized Civil Rights Movement
By Tony Pettinato on February 1, 2019
An article about the “Greensboro Sit-In,” when four African American students sat down at the segregated lunch counter in a Woolworth’s store in NC... (Read More)
