Letter From Wild West — June 2021
For bad or worse, ‘outlaws’ come to mind at the mention of Indian Territory
Decades-Long Mystery Surrounding Harriet Tubman’s Maryland Home Solved, Archaeologists Say
“We couldn’t understand why we weren’t finding anything. It was like, ‘Where is this place?’”
Planning for a Victorious South
'Colossal Ambitions' examines Confederate expectations for a place as a global power—with slavery
Nicodemus: How a Small Town in Kansas Became America’s Largest Black Colony
For more than 50 years the town of Nicodemus, Kansas, beat the odds and its harsh surroundings to provide opportunity for former slaves and their descendants
The Supreme Court Decision That Changed America: Brown v. Board of Education
Finally, the justices overturned Jim Crow, tossing out Plessy v. Ferguson 'separate but equal' standard
Elizabeth Keckly: The Black Woman Who Became a Part of the Lincoln Family
Mary Todd Lincoln's closest confidante was a seamstress born in slavery
James Baldwin’s Challenge to America: Not Your Negro and Not Willing to Settle
The esteemed 20th-century writer demanded that White society accept its culpability in the betrayal of Black people
Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee: ‘Do While You Can’
Charles McGee never thought much of flying until he started training at Tuskegee. When he finally left the U.S. Air Force, he had 30 years and three wars behind him.
After Decades-Long Delay, One of the First Black Special Forces Officers May Be Awarded Medal of Honor
The Army “somehow lost the nomination.” Twice.
Benjamin ‘Pap’ Singleton: The ‘Moses’ who Helped Thousands of Blacks Find Freedom
Helping many Blacks get to freedom, Benjamin 'Pap' Singleton's efforts earned him the affectionate nickname “Moses of the Colored Exodus.”
“Wake, Nicodemus”: A Ballad by Abolitionist Henry Clay Work Inspired by a Black Settlement
Work's ballad relates the tale of a man named Nicodemus, who was brought to America on a slave ship and later purchased his freedom.
Honoring Anna Mae Robertson and the ‘Six Triple Eight,’ WWII’s First and Only All-Black Female Battalion
With the motto, 'no mail, low morale,' the battalion tackled a two-year backlog of mail in 1945
Active Participants: African Americans and the Reconstruction of Democracy in America
A landmark study gave African Americans credit for being important actors in their freedom quest
American History Review: New Orleans’ Culture a Gumbo Built on Jazz and Freedom
The hidden history of Economy Hall recalls a brotherhood of Black leaders who built a vibrant community.
Excerpt from ‘A Shot in the Moonlight’ by Ben Montgomery
"A Shot in the Moonlight" by Ben Montgomery is the true story of George Dinning, a freed slave, who in 1899 joined forces with a Confederate war hero in search of justice in the Jim Crow South.
