The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment
On July 24, 1972, the Washington Star newspaper broke the story about the Tuskegee Institute syphilis experiment. From 1932 until 1972, the U.S. Public Health Service, in partnership with Tuskegee,…
World Famous Cotton Club Opens in Harlem
Opened in 1920, Harlem’s Cotton Club was a red-hot venue. However, despite its location, the club’s audience was whites-only, in stark contrast to its cast of all-Black performers that for…
The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre of Black Wall Street
100 years ago, a white mob destroyed an American neighborhood called “Black Wall Street,” murdering an estimated 300 people in Tulsa, Oklahoma. That incident — known as the 1921 Tulsa…
Garrett Morgan Uses His Newly Invented Gas Mask to Rescue Trapped Men
In 1916, 32 men were trapped in a mine near Lake Erie. Garrett Morgan saw an opportunity to prove his fireproof hood worked – and went in to rescue them.
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams Performs First Open Heart Surgery
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams was one of the few African-American surgeons of the early 1890s. He performed the first successful open-heart surgery at Provident Hospital in Chicago in 1893. James…
Nat Turner’s Slave Rebellion of 1831
Born into slavery, Nat Turner was an enslaved African American preacher with an indomitable spirit. Deep within the hearts of his fellow enslaved brethren, he planted the seeds of hope…
Slavery in the American Colonies
In the 17th century, as the British colonies in the Americas were getting established in places like Jamestown, VA, the system of chattel slavery was also developing. Today, we’ll learn…
John Brown Russwurm – America’s First Black Newspaper Publisher
John Brown Russwurm was an abolitionist who understood the power of the media. He published the first newspaper in American History owned by blacks and used it as a means…
John Henrik Clarke – Writer, Scholar, Activist of Authentic African History
A professor, Pan-Africanist writer, and historian, John Henrik Clarke, is credited with redressing the distorted view of African history by traditional scholars. Clarke noticed the systematic and racist erosion of…
Sojourner Truth- Abolitionist, Women’s Rights Activist, Author
Sojourner Truth’s story is one of hope, resilience, and strong resolve for better days. Born as Isabella Baumfree to enslaved parents in 1797, she experienced what it meant to work…