Tag: History

After emancipation, formerly enslaved Black Americans built communities of their own, acquired land, raised families and created places where they could live with greater independence from racism. Known as freedom colonies, these historically significant settlements were established during Reconstruction and to escape Jim Crow. Residents created support systems that allowed families to live more independently, establishing churches, schools and homes. Today, descendants are working to preserve these communities by maintaining family land, organizing reunions and passing histories to younger generations, ensuring these important places and stories are not forgotten.

Hampton University, founded in 1868, educated formerly enslaved African Americans and Native American students. Its 314-acre waterfront campus offers 110 programs, including a top engineering school and aviation program. The iconic Emancipation Oak marks where Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was first read in the South. Hampton University Museum, the nation's oldest African American museum, houses over 9,000 objects including works by Henry O. Tanner. The institution has produced notable alumni including Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter, MSNBC president Rashida Jones, and comedian Wanda Sykes, maintaining strong pirate pride and traditions.

The Los Angeles Lakers will begin their 2025–2026 season with a starting five who have been looking forward to Thanksgiving so they can have pumpkin pie and green bean casserole with no hot sauce. What happened to the unofficial NBA team of Black America? The team that was once dripping with swag and a showcase for Black excellence now looks like it was assembled by a committee that thinks diversity means putting hot sauce on a turkey sandwich.

Long before she made history as Africa's first elected female president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was a political prisoner who faced severe persecution. Yet, every trial only sharpened her resolve. Around this time in 2011, her tireless fight for democracy earned her the Nobel Peace Prize—just days before Liberians overwhelmingly re-elected her to lead them into a era of stability.

Black women have always been at the center of movements, even when history did not give them credit. For many Black LGBTQ+ changemakers, the intersectionality of race and sexuality creates even greater barriers. Women like Barbara Smith and Stormé DeLarverie turned identity into power, while others like Lori Lightfoot, Laphonza Butler and Karine Jean-Pierre wielded visibility into political action. These disrupters, activists, artists and politicians expanded what leadership can look like.

On September 17, 1849, Harriet Tubman and her two brothers courageously set out to escape the plantation for freedom up north. However, her brothers quickly turned back out of fear, leaving Tubman to push forward into the unknown completely alone. While history books rightly honor her as the legendary Moses of Her People, the full truth of her brilliance is far more complex than most classrooms ever let on.