Tag: untold stories

The 250th anniversary of America arrives as historians confront the full truth of the American Revolution and Black soldiers, spies and petitioners whose stories have been pushed to the margins. Around 5,000 Black men fought on the Patriots' side, while thousands more fought for the British. From double agents at Yorktown to Dunmore's Proclamation, Black contributions were vast and often crucial to victory.

The 250th anniversary of America arrives as historians confront the full, complicated truth of the Revolution and Black soldiers, spies and petitioners whose stories have been marginalized. While around 5,000 Black men fought for the Patriots, thousands more fought for the British. From double agents securing victory at Yorktown to Dunmore's 1775 proclamation pulling enslaved people into British lines, Black contributions were vast and often crucial. Figures like James Armistead Lafayette, a double agent who gained freedom in 1787, and Belinda Sutton, who petitioned for reparations based on her decades of forced labor, reveal how the Revolution extended into petitions, education and early Black community building.