Black History

Explore accounts of Oklahoma’s Freedmen as told by their descendants in these stories of resistance and resilience on the Western frontier. The Freedmen of Oklahoma were black people, both enslaved and free, who had been living among the Indian nations. After the official abolition of slavery in 1866, they forged an identity as their own people as they faced the challenges of the western frontier. By 1906, before Oklahoma statehood, over 20,000 people were classified as “Freedmen” from Five Tribes: Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole Nations. For decades, their descendants have been rediscovering their family history and restoring its place in the larger narrative. Angela Walton-Raji has compiled this collection of stories, told by descendants from all five tribes, to ensure that the Freedmen of Oklahoma claim their vibrant part of the state’s heritage.

Ohio was at the heart of it all.

During a dark time in United States history, thousands of freedom seekers traveled the Underground Railroad through Ohio. The Buckeye State hosted about half of all fugitive slave traffic of the antebellum era. A mix of Northern and Southern settlers in the state added drama to a struggle that led to major benefits for the state and the country. Unfortunately, this epic past was obscured by silence and secrecy and then distorted with misinformation and folklore—until now.

Author and native Ohioan Kathy Schulz accurately details the development and workings of Ohio’s Underground Railroad with true stories of Addison White, John Parker and others.

In many ways, the story of bondage in Virginia is the story of the state itself...

Richmond's 15th Street was known as Wall Street in antebellum times, and like its New York counterpart, it was a center of commerce. But the business done here was unspeakable and the scene heart wrenching. With over sixty-nine slave dealers and auction houses, the Wall Street area saw tens of millions of dollars and countless human lives change hands, fueling the southern economy. Local historian and author Jack Trammell traces the history of the city's slave trade, from the origins of African slavery in Virginia to its destruction at the end of the Civil War. Stories of seedy slave speculators and corrupt traders are placed alongside detailed accounts of the economic, political and cultural impact of a system representing the most immense, concentrated human suffering in our nation's history.

The story of Raleigh’s African American communities begins before the Civil War.

Towns like Oberlin Village were built by free people of color in the antebellum era. During Reconstruction, the creation of thirteen freedmen’s villages defined the racial boundaries of Raleigh. These neighborhoods demonstrate the determination and resilience of formerly enslaved North Carolinians. After World War II, new suburbs sprang up, telling tales of the growth and struggles of the Black community under Jim Crow. Many of these communities endure today. Dozens of never before published pictures and maps illustrate this hidden history.

Local historian Carmen Wimberly Cauthen tells the story of a people who—despite slavery—wanted to learn, grow, and be treated as any others.

New York City is blessed with an incredible array of public sculptures.

One overlooked aspect of this collection is its monuments of Black Americans, each with its own remarkable story. The first appearance of a Black person in a city monument came in the Civil War Soldiers’ Monument in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery in 1876, but this was a nameless symbolic figure. It wasn’t until 1945 that Booker T. Washington became the first identifiable Black American honored in a New York City monument. In 2007, the city dedicated its first monument to a Black woman, Harriet Tubman. Behind every first is a story of triumph over adversity and exclusion. Local author David Felsen reveals the stories behind thirty inspiring monuments that have endured, as well as how they found their place in the city’s history.

Author and journalist Cody McDevitt tells the story of one of the worst civil rights injustices in Western Pennsylvania history.

In 1923, in response to the fatal shooting of four policemen, the mayor of Johnstown ordered every African American and Mexican immigrant who had lived in the city for less than seven years to leave. They were given less than a day to move or would face crippling fines or jail time and were forced out at gunpoint. An estimated two thousand people uprooted their lives in response to the racist edict. Area Ku Klux Klan members celebrated the creation of a “sundown town” and increased their own intimidation practices. Figures such as Marcus Garvey spoke out in Pittsburgh against it as newspapers throughout the country published condemnations.

Through a fascinating narrative and stunning vintage photographs, readers will discover the struggles and triumphs of the African Americans of Hampton Roads.

It was in Hampton Roads, Virginia, that hundreds gained their freedom. The teeming wharves were once a major station on the Underground Railroad, and during the Civil War, escaped slaves such as Shepard Mallory, Frank Baker and James Townsend fled to Fort Monroe to become contrabands under the protection of General Benjamin Butler. Upon arrival in the region, many took up arms for the Union, and the valiant deeds of some placed them among the first African American Medal of Honor recipients. Join Professor Cassandra L. Newby-Alexander as she charts the history of this remarkable African American community from the Civil War to Reconstruction.

The story of Black Fairfax has long been untold.

The free Black population of Fairfax Court House dates to at least the 1820s. After the Civil War, newly freed Black citizens expanded the hamlet of Jermantown dramatically. Additional segregated neighborhoods, including School Street, which overlapped today’s George Mason University, and Ilda, off Guinea Road, grew and thrived. In the second half of the nineteenth century residents built schools, churches, and a cemetery. These families persevered under Jim Crow in the early twentieth century. After incorporation, the City of Fairfax annexed these historically Black localities, and their separate character began to disappear. This group of authors with deep roots in Fairfax tells the stories of their communities.

People of African descent have shaped New Orleans from its earliest days into the vibrant city it is today. From the slaves and indentured servants who drained the swamps, erected the buildings, constructed the levees, and dug the canals to the Freedom Riders who fought for racial equality in a segregated South, New Orleans' history and black history in America are intricately connected.

Historian Keith Weldon Medley recounts the rich history of African and African-American cultural influence on one of America's most-beloved cities. This in-depth account is one of personal significance for the author, who was raised in New Orleans' Faubourg Marigny and whose family history is tied to the area. Through fifteen self-contained chapters, Medley takes a chronological and focused look at some of New Orleans' most prominent people and places.

Rife with detailed histories of Faubourg Trem�, Congo Square, and many other pivotal locations, Medley's subjects include the Mardi Gras Indians, the Zulu Parade, and Louis Armstrong and his upbringing in black Storyville. Tales of many other prominent New Orleanians also fill the pages, such as educator and civic leader Fannie C. Williams, founder of the People's Defense League Ernest Wright, and civil rights attorney A.P. Tureaud.

Author Tony Kail traces Memphis’s colorful Hoodoo heritage from the arrival of Africans in Shelby County to the growth of conjure culture in juke joints and Spiritual Churches.

Widely known for its musical influence, Beale Street was also once a hub for Hoodoo culture. Many blues icons, such as Big Memphis Ma Rainey and Sonny Boy Williamson, dabbled in the mysterious tradition. Its popularity in some African American communities throughout the past two centuries fueled racial tension - practitioners faced social stigma and blame for anything from natural disasters to violent crimes. However, necessity sometimes outweighed prejudice, and even those with the highest social status turned to Hoodoo for prosperity, love or retribution.

Before chain coffee shops and luxury high-rises, before desegregation and the 1968 riots, Washington’s Greater U Street was known as Black Broadway.

From the early 1900s into the 1950s, African-Americans plagued by Jim Crow laws in other parts of town were free to own businesses on U Street and built what was often described as a “city within a city.” Stores, banks, and barbershops along with theaters, restaurants and hotels crowned a neighborhood know for Black affluence. U Street competed with Harlem in its heyday, and showed Black culture to the world.

Local author and journalist Briana A. Thomas narrates U Street’s rich and unique history from the early triumph of Emancipation to the days of Civil Rights pioneer Mary Church Terrell and music giant Duke Ellington through the recent struggles of gentrification.

During World War II, no American city suffered a worse housing shortage than Detroit, and no one suffered that shortage more than the city's African American citizens.

In 1941, the federal government began constructing the Sojourner Truth Housing Project in northeast Detroit to house 200 black war production workers and their families. Almost immediately, whites in the neighborhood vehemently protested. On February 28, 1942, a confrontation between black tenants and white protesters erupted in a riot that sent at least 40 to the hospital and more than 220 to jail. This confrontation was the precursor to the bloodiest race riot of the war just sixteen months later.

Gerald Van Dusen, author of 2020 Michigan Notable Books nominee Detroit's Birwood Wall, unfolds the background and events of this overlooked moment in Motor City history.

Slavery is a tragic chapter in the history of Wilkes County with a lasting legacy. Prominent businessmen and celebrated civic leaders, like General William Lenoir and William Pitt Waugh, were among the county's largest slaveholders. Judith Williams Barber endured forty-five years of slavery and garnered respect from both white and black residents. Her story is linked to free person of color and noted landowner Henderson Waugh, whose illustrious, slaveholding white father connected the two families—one slave and the other free. Author Larry Griffin takes readers on an emotional journey to separate fact from myth as he chronicles the history of slavery in Wilkes County.

 Prominent businessmen and celebrated civic leaders, like General William Lenoir and William Pitt Waugh, were among the county's largest slaveholders. Judith Williams Barber endured forty-five years of slavery and garnered respect from both white and black residents. Her story is linked to free person of color and noted landowner Henderson Waugh, whose illustrious, slaveholding white father connected the two families—one slave and the other free. Author Larry Griffin takes readers on an emotional journey to separate fact from myth as he chronicles the history of slavery in Wilkes County.

Stories of a People

Throughout history, African Americans passed along folk tales to ease burdens and make sense of experiences. Tracing back to West Africa, this storytelling tradition provided laughter, instruction and resilience. Animal stories often were proverbs for adults and teaching points for children. Two pioneering Black schoolteachers told of their careers in education. An eyewitness described the Charleston Race Riot in 1919. Others gave testimonies of Denmark Vesey’s attempted slave rebellion. Author Damon L. Fordham presents this collection of Black South Carolina stories and narratives based on interviews and research, including his travels in Africa.

The riveting, heart wrenching story of slave traders and abolitionists, kidnappers and freedmen, cruelty and courage on Maryland's eastern shore.

African Americans, both enslaved and free, were vital to the economy of the Eastern Shore of Maryland before the Civil War. Maryland became a slave society in colonial days when tobacco ruled. Some enslaved people, like Anthony Johnson, earned their freedom and became successful farmers. After the Revolutionary War, others were freed by masters disturbed by the contradiction between liberty and slavery. Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman ran from masters on the Eastern Shore and devoted their lives to helping other enslaved people with their words and deeds. Jacqueline Simmons Hedberg uses local records, including those of her ancestors, to tell a tale of slave traders and abolitionists, kidnappers and freedmen, cruelty and courage.

Read the stories of freedom seekers as they passed through Delaware in the decades before the Civil War.

Countless men and women traveled to freedom on an informal network of back roads and friendly houses that comprised the Delaware Underground Railroad. Traveling at night and guided by the North Star, Harriet Tubman journeyed through the First State on her initial escape from enslavement, and she heroically retuned here more than ten times to lead others out of the prison of slavery. Frederick Douglass, the eloquent spokesman for abolition, traveled the Delaware Underground Railroad on his escape from bondage. Often assisted by the Quaker businessman Thomas Garrett, these freedom seekers blazed an unmatched trail of cunning and bravery.

Local author Michael Morgan tells the remarkable story of this dark and neglected chapter in Delaware history.

From farmers to pastors, teachers to sailors, and everything in between, the Black history of Hanover County reflects the dedication and values of the community.

Freedwoman Betsy Hogg Tinsley, in time, became one of the largest landowners in Ashland. Founded in 1870, Brown Grove Baptist Church has been the center of its neighborhood for more than 150 years.

During the time of segregation, Lucian Hunter of Mechanicsville worked to make sure that Black students could get to school. The Barksdale Theatre in the Hanover Tavern produced Virginia’s first professional play based on the African American experience. Tracing their history back to 1796, the Brooks family boasts military service across five generations.

Author and local social studies teacher Joe Gorman celebrates the rich history and proud heritage of Hanover County African Americans.

Much like the rest of the nation, South Central Pennsylvania struggled with slavery. The institution lingered locally for more than fifty years, although it was virtually extinct everywhere else within Pennsylvania.

Gradually, anti-slavery views prevailed. The Appalachian Mountains and the Susquehanna River provided natural cover for fleeing slaves, causing an influx of travel along the Underground Railroad. Locals like William Wright and James McAllister assisted these runaways while publicly advocating to abolish slavery. Historian Cooper Wingert reveals the struggles between slavery and abolition in South Central Pennsylvania.

Richmond is a classic Southern city, most notable as the Confederate capitol. However, the irony of Richmond is that much of its beautiful architecture was built by Black laborers.

The city's vast and varied collection of architecture provides an archive of African American history, both of enslaved and free peoples. Author Selden Richardson explains how iconic symbols of old Richmond and the generations of Black laborers who helped assemble it are embodied in both the preserved and the forgotten architecture of the city. After you finish this book, it will be as if the buildings in Richmond tell their own stories to you.

After the Civil War, Black landownership in Fairfax County increased by leaps and bounds.

By the 1870s, retired Union officers were purchasing land that they sold to African Americans like Joshua Ball, Joshua Pearson, Robert Bradley and John Coates. Merrifield, the Pines and Williamstown soon emerged as vibrant communities founded by born-free Blacks, the formerly enslaved and their descendants. These African Americans quickly established farms to provide for their families and engaged in truck farming to stimulate trade. They formed charitable organizations and a church. Unfortunately, from the 1960s through the 1980s, these towns disappeared due to eminent domain practices, modern progress and gentrification. Historian Marion Ransell Dobbins unearths the legacy of these vanished communities.

Men of ValorIn the late 1800s, the new state of Washington promised peace and prosperity to new settlers. At least thirty-three African American men who had served during the Civil War answered the call. Paul Barrows, a former legislator from Mississippi, established the Calvary Baptist Church of Spokane. Gideon H. Stump Bailey became the first African American Justice of the Peace in Franklin. Allin Alfred Hawkins, born into slavery, became one of the wealthiest African American farmers in the Yakima Valley.Author Cynthia A. Wilson uncovers the stories of these courageous men.

Galveston was the birthplace of Juneteenth. Issued in Galveston on June 19, 1865, General Orders, No. 3 announced to the people of Texas that all slaves were free. It is one of the Island's most important historical moments. Although Juneteenth has now become the basis for a national holiday, many Americans wonder how and why this date emerged as the basis for the oldest continually celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery. To even begin to answer these questions, it is necessary to return to the historic roots of the event itself. The Galveston Historical Foundation’s African American Heritage Committee tracks Emancipation Day observances through previously unknown images and untold stories which are also part of an interactive exhibit experience at Ashton Villa, the site of Galveston’s city-wide Juneteenth celebration.

The Nurse Midwife Who Transformed the South

Discover the true story of Maude Callen, South Carolina’s pioneering Black nurse-midwife, who brought life-saving healthcare to the rural South from 1923 to 1990. When Callen arrived in Pineville by mule-drawn wagon, she left behind Savannah’s social elite for a world of poverty, disease, and loss. But she stayed—changing lives one birth, one patient, one home visit at a time.

In 1951, Life magazine featured her work in a moving photo essay by W. Eugene Smith, awakening the nation to her quiet heroism. Donations poured in, and Callen’s legacy grew.

Award-winning journalist Lindsay Street brings Callen’s story to life with rich historical detail, rare archival materials, and Callen’s own words. This inspiring biography is a must-read for lovers of Black history, Southern history, and untold stories of American medical pioneers.

Perfect for readers who cherish deeply human stories of perseverance, service, and courage.

Through grit and determination, the founding Black families of Sourland Mountain and surrounding Central New Jersey put down roots, built homes, established churches and navigated their lives in an unforgiving world.

Through extensive research and interviews authors Elaine Buck and Beverly Mills reveal stories of the families who shaped the region for generations.

Discover Long Island's pivotal role in the Underground Railroad and the stories of the brave men and women whose legacy lives on today.

From the arrival of the Quakers in the seventeenth century to the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation, Long Island played an important role in the Underground Railroad's work to guide slaves to freedom. In Old Westbury, the Post family established a major stop on the freedom trail with the help of an escaped Virginia slave. In Jericho, families helped escaping slaves to freedom from the present-day Maine Maid Inn. Elias Hicks helped free 191 slaves himself and worked to create Underground Railroad safe houses in many northeastern cities. Some former slaves even established permanent communities across the island. Visit the safe houses--many of which are still standing today--and explore the journey of runaway slaves on Long Island.

The Path to Freedom in Missouri and Illinoisb/>

People enslaved here experienced the same horrors as those held captive in other states, and their stories of courage and perseverance are amazing. Priscilla Baltimore purchased her own emancipation and founded a freedom village. Caroline Quarlls escaped to Canada. Many who fled for their lives spent time bunkered in the basement of Hanson House. The region's Congregationalists brought a fiery. brand of abolitionism. And Prairie Park still holds the faded “haint” blue paint traditionally used on slave dwellings. Author Julia Nicolai details these and other adjective stories.p/> 

The Life of a Trailblazer

Matilda Arabella Evans was born four years after the abolition of slavery and raised on a family farm in eastern Aiken County. She was the first African American woman in South Carolina to obtain a medical license and fervently championed better healthcare for African Americans, with a particular focus on children. Her early life experiences, academic accomplishments, strong religious beliefs and innovative medical approaches made her a crucial figure in enhancing healthcare accessibility for families in South Carolina, especially during the difficult era of racial segregation, when she also served as a civic advocate to uplift her local community. Authors Dr. Walter B. Curry, Beverly Aiken Muhammad and Anusha Ghosh reveal the inspirational story of Dr. Evans and her remarkable journey throughout her career.

Josiah Henson was born into slavery in La Plata, Maryland, and auctioned off as a child to pay his owner’s debt. After numerous trials and abuse, he earned the trust of his slaveholder by exhibiting intelligence and skill.

Daringly, he escaped to Canada with his wife and children. There he established a settlement and school for fugitives and repeatedly returned to the United States to help lead others to freedom along the Underground Railroad. He published a bestselling autobiography and became a popular preacher, lecturer, and international celebrity. He is immortalized as the inspiration for the title character in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Author Edna M. Troiano recounts the amazing life of Maryland’s Josiah Henson and explores the sites devoted to his memory.

Founded in March 1912, DC branch of the NAACP quickly became the leading organization advocating for the city's Black community.

President Woodrow Wilson's institution of Jim Crow segregation in the federal government in the spring of 1913 galvanized the African American community of DC and the NAACP launched a formidable crusade against Wilson's racist policies. As the preeminent civil rights organization of the nation's capital, it also developed a dual role as a watchdog body to prevent the passage of legislation in Congress that negatively affected African Americans.

Archivist and historian Derek Gray chronicles and analyzes the work of the DC NAACP through the civil rights era to the achievement of Home Rule in the District.

During the Great Migration of 1916-1940 over two million African Americans left the American South seeking a greater quality of life, with the Steel City a major destination.

Men and women packed up what they could fit in a suitcase or the trunk of a car and left behind their homes and families in search of better opportunities in the budding industries of the North and Midwest. They were escaping discriminatory laws and racial violence.

Purchasing a car was one of the first things African Americans did as they moved into the middle class, providing a sense of freedom and automony unexerienced before. This mobility and the freedom to come and go as one pleases revolutionized the Black middle class in Pittsburgh and played a pivitol role in the Great Migration's effects upon the region.

The Frick Pittsburgh's Car and Carriage Museum presents the harrowing history of Pittsburgh in the Great Migration and the role the car played in the growth of Black mobility and automony.

John Muller explores Frederick Douglass's final years in Washington D.C., a part of Douglass's life rarely written about.

The remarkable journey of Frederick Douglass from fugitive slave to famed orator and author is well recorded. Yet little has been written about Douglass's final years in Washington, D.C. Journalist John Muller explores how Douglass spent the last eighteen years of his life professionally and personally in his home, Cedar Hill, in Anacostia. The ever-active Douglass was involved in local politics, from aiding in the early formation of Howard University to editing a groundbreaking newspaper to serving as marshal of the District. During this time, his wife of forty-four years, Anna Murray, passed away, and eighteen months later, he married Helen Pitts, a white woman. Unapologetic for his controversial marriage, Douglass continued his unabashed advocacy for the rights of African Americans and women and his belief in American exceptionalism. Through meticulous research, Muller has created a fresh and intimate portrait of Frederick Douglass of Anacostia.

“This Great Hospital Fight” – Dr. Drake

At the height of racial and political tensions in early twentieth-century Houston, two unlikely figures became allies. Dr. William M. Drake, a pioneering surgeon and Black community leader, and Joseph Cullinan, a white oil magnate and founder of the company that became Texaco, united in a desperate effort to save a hospital that symbolized hope. The Houston Negro Hospital was born from America’s Black hospital movement. Dedicated on Juneteenth 1926, it embodied a bold experiment to bring dignity and health care access to a community that was systematically denied both in the Jim Crow South.

Journalist and storyteller Carlton Houston—whose ancestors played a role in this remarkable heritage—reveals the untold, human drama behind the institution that would become Riverside General. Discover the vision, conflict, and resilience that shaped a century of health care through the struggle of those determined to save lives.

Hidden History of Black Cincinnati reveals the untold stories that shaped a city and defined a people. 

Long before the Civil Rights Movement or the Harlem Renaissance, Black Cincinnatians were building communities, owning businesses, and resisting injustice in bold and brilliant ways. B.F. Howard and Pullman Porter Arthur J. Riggs co-founded the international organization now known as the Black Elks, and Margaret Garner’s tragic flight to freedom inspired Toni Morrison’s Beloved and ignited national debates on slavery. Celebrated painter Robert S. Duncanson rose to international acclaim in the nineteenth century despite the limitations of race.

Writer, historian, and cultural advocate Kareem A. Simpson unearths these powerful stories and more with clarity and care, offering a rich portrait of a city’s soul and the Black lives that shaped it.

Tarheel Quakers and the Fight Against Slavery

Quakers settled the Carolina Colony in the 1650s, bringing their slaves and servants with them. Industrious coastal Quakers soon rose to prominence on the backs of their enslaved men and women, and Piedmont Quaker lives were enriched by the people they enslaved as well. Sparked by the observations of John Woolman, Carolina Quakers took up the battle against slavery in the 1700s, beginning with themselves. Legal conflicts, the Free Negro program, colonization, the North Carolina Manumission Society and the Underground Railroad were the results. Combining North Carolina slave narratives, runaway slave ads, digital archives, local histories and internet blogs, Tim Allen re-creates the inspiring story of Tarheel Quakers who fought each other and the state to abolish enslavement in antebellum North Carolina.

The uplifting story of the valiant Tuskegee men and women whose impact on Philadelphia during World War II will surprise even the most avid armchair historian.

At the outbreak of World War II, Philadelphians heeded the call, including the valiant airmen and women of Tuskegee. Although trained in Alabama, the prestigious unit comprised dozens of Philadelphia-area natives, second only to Chicago in the country. They served as fighter pilots, bombers, nurses and mechanics, as well as in many other support roles. The African American service members had to overcome racism and sexism on the homefront in order to serve with great distinction. Their battle for equality didn't end at the war's conclusion. Tuskegee alumni continued to serve their nation by working to secure civil rights and serve their community back home in Philadelphia. Author Robert Kodosky presents the trials and triumphs of Philadelphia's Tuskegee airmen and women.

Nadine McIlwain and Geraldine Radcliffe reveal the celebrated legends, unsung heroes and historic firsts of African Americans residing in the Canton community.

From Canton’s earliest days, the black population has contributed to the city’s, and even the nation’s, prominence and prosperity. During World War II, nineteen-year-old Harold White joined the famed Tuskegee Airmen of the Ninety-Ninth Fighter Squadron. Only a few years later, Dorothy White persevered through prejudice to become Canton’s first black teacher, paving the way for a long line of dedicated teachers stretching to the present day. Renowned R&B group the O’Jays formed in Canton, and professional golfer Renee Powell is just one of many local athletes to reach the heights of her profession.

James Island remains one of the few places in the United States where descendants of slaves can easily trace their roots to one of the seventeen slave plantations.

For many African Americans, it is hard to imagine how far this small island on the coast of South Carolina has come. It has left them with a legacy of the pain of living in a time and place wrought with hardship but somehow still intermingled with the happiness that comes from a community built on family, love, strength and honor. In this powerful collection, local resident and oral historian Eugene Frazier chronicles the stories of various James Island families and their descendants. Frazier has spent years collecting family and archival photographs and family remembrances to accompany the text, while also paying homage to men and women of the United States military and African American pioneers from James Island and surrounding areas.

Discover the Black pioneers who shaped St. Lawrence County through grit and determination. From its origins as part of New France through the Civil War and eventual industrialization of the region, St. Lawrence County has been shapped by all too often overlooked Black families and individuals. Author Bryan S. Thompson reveals the history of the African American community in New York's North Country. 

An unsettling story of corruption and exploitation in the Ocean State from slave ships to politics.

Over thirty thousand slaves were brought to the shores of colonial America on ships owned and captained by James DeWolf. When the United States took action to abolish slavery, this Bristol native manipulated the legal system and became actively involved in Rhode Island politics in order to pursue his trading ventures. He served as a member of the House of Representatives in the state of Rhode Island and as a United States senator, all while continuing the slave trade years after passage of the Federal Slave Trade Act of 1808. DeWolf's political power and central role in sustaining the state's economy allowed him to evade prosecution from local and federal authorities--even on counts of murder. Through archival records, author Cynthia Mestad Johnson uncovers the secrets of James DeWolf.

The Nurse Midwife Who Transformed the South

Discover the true story of Maude Callen, South Carolina’s pioneering Black nurse-midwife, who brought life-saving healthcare to the rural South from 1923 to 1990. When Callen arrived in Pineville by mule-drawn wagon, she left behind Savannah’s social elite for a world of poverty, disease, and loss. But she stayed—changing lives one birth, one patient, one home visit at a time.

In 1951, Life magazine featured her work in a moving photo essay by W. Eugene Smith, awakening the nation to her quiet heroism. Donations poured in, and Callen’s legacy grew.

Award-winning journalist Lindsay Street brings Callen’s story to life with rich historical detail, rare archival materials, and Callen’s own words. This inspiring biography is a must-read for lovers of Black history, Southern history, and untold stories of American medical pioneers.

Perfect for readers who cherish deeply human stories of perseverance, service, and courage.

In 1895, Senator Benjamin Tillman of South Carolina attempted to solidify his political power. He proposed to rewrite the South Carolina Constitution to deny African Americans their constitutional rights and make racial segregation the law of the state. Six Black leaders—Robert Anderson, Isaiah Reed, Robert Smalls, William J. Whipper, James Wigg and Thomas E. Miller—went to the state capitol in the face of insult and ridicule to make an eloquent stand against these developments. The erudite and forceful addresses of these men drew worldwide headlines but are largely forgotten today. Author Damon L. Fordham attempts to rectify that omission and inspire generations to come.

The Golden Isles are home to a long and proud African American and Gullah Geechee heritage.

Ibo Landing was the site of a mass suicide in protest of slavery, the slave ship Wanderer landed on Jekyll Island and, thanks to preservation efforts, the Historic Harrington School still stands on St. Simons Island. From the Selden Normal and Industrial Institute to the tabby cabins of Hamilton Plantation, authors Amy Roberts and Patrick Holladay explore the rich history of the region’s islands and their people, including such local notables as Deaconess Alexander, Jim Brown, Neptune Small, Hazel Floyd and the Georgia Sea Island Singers.

A part of the Underground Railroad, read here of enslaved people and their stories of using Virginia's waterways to achieve freedom.

Enslaved Virginians sought freedom from the time they were first brought to the Jamestown colony in 1619. Acts of self-emancipation were aided by Virginia's waterways, which became part of the network of the Underground Railroad in the years before the Civil War. Watermen willing to help escaped slaves made eighteenth-century Norfolk a haven for freedom seekers. Famous nineteenth-century escapees like Shadrack Minkins and Henry Box Brown were aided by the Underground Railroad. Enslaved men like Henry Lewey, known as Bluebeard, aided freedom seekers as conductors, and black and white sympathizers acted as station masters. Historian Cassandra Newby-Alexander narrates the ways that enslaved people used Virginia's waterways to achieve humanity's dream of freedom.

America's Oldest Black Swim Club/

When it opened in July of 1959, the Nile Swim Club welcomed over one thousand people to its pool. The only problem that day, remembers Bill Mellix, then 13, “None of us knew how to swim.” In the 1930s, an African American middle class began moving into Yeadon, leading to one of the nation’s first Black suburban enclaves. By the end of the 1950s, Ebony magazine dubbed Yeadon Philadelphia’s “Black Mainline.” The town remained majority white however, and strict racial segregation was enforced, including the local pool. Typical for the time, white residents maintained it as a private swim club to avoid public desegregation laws. The response of Yeadon’s African Americans proved unique. They built their own pool and opened it to all, regardless of race. It attracted members from the Philadelphia area, including New Jersey and offered a variety of programming. Celebrities such as Harry Belafonte and members of the Supremes visited. Decades later, hip hop icon D.J. Cash Money and actor Will Smith started out at the Nile as MCs. Join author Robert Kodosky as he reveals the incredible history and legacy of the Nile Swim Club and the vibrant landmark it remains today.

In 1924, the Virginia State Legislature passed the Racial Integrity Act.

The act banned interracial marriage down to “a single drop” of African blood. Just three months later, Curtis W. Harris was born in Dendron, Virginia. Harris was the sixth child of impoverished sharecroppers, living in a desolate outpost of the Commonwealth, but in time he would lead the fight against the Racial Integrity Act and many other racially restrictive laws. Despite being arrested multiple times and beaten, Rev. Harris would help reverse centuries of racial discrimination that began when slaves first arrived in Virginia in 1619.

Author William Paul Lazarus tells the story of Harris’ determination in the face of intense hostility, which took him to the forefront of America’s Civil Rights Movement, arm-in-arm with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

History You Didn’t Learn in School

Discover powerful stories left out of most history books. Author Jeffrey Bennett reveals the hidden legacy of Black Virginians. From 1865 to 1877, over 80 Black politicians served across the state. Learn about a brave Black woman who spied on Confederate President Jefferson Davis while disguised as an enslaved worker.

See the history of more than seventy Black communities lost in Virginia. Read the story of a 135-year-old church and the meaning behind land passed down through generations. These stories show the strength and impact of Black families before and after slavery. Perfect for history lovers and older readers, this collection brings forgotten voices back to life.

Many of the unsung heroes of the Underground Railroad lived and worked in Washington, D.C.

Men and women, black and white, operatives and freedom seekers - all demonstrated courage, resourcefulness and initiative. Leonard Grimes, a free African American, was arrested for transporting enslaved people to freedom. John Dean, a white lawyer, used the District courts to test the legality of the Fugitive Slave Act. Anna Maria Weems dressed as a boy in order to escape to Canada. Enslaved people engineered escapes, individually and in groups, with and without the assistance of an organized network. Some ended up back in slavery or in jail, but some escaped to freedom. Anthropologist and author Jenny Masur tells their stories.

Learn and discover how African-Americans have held a prominent place in the history of Chattanooga dating back to the 16th century.

Did you know that Chattanooga is the hometown of the first African-American appointed to lead counsel on a Supreme Court case? The home of the nation's oldest student, who learned to read at age 116? The home of the African-American blacksmith who put shackles on the "Andrew's Raiders" after the Great Locomotive Chase? The site of one of the first integrated police departments in the South? Author Rita Lorraine Hubbard chronicles the ways African-Americans have shaped Chattanooga, and presents inspirational achievements that have gone largely unheralded over the years - and so much more!

Southern New Jersey was a hotbed of slave fugitives, freedmen and abolitionists in the Civil War era.

The proud 22nd Regiment of the United States Colored Troops included hundreds of Black New Jerseyans ready to fight for emancipation and the Union cause. Abolitionists such as Harriet Tubman, Abigail Goodwin and Benjamin Sheppard operated among key landmarks of the Underground Railroad in South Jersey counties such as Cape May, Cumberland and Salem. Slavery and the rights of Black Americans were at the forefront of the region's attention including stories such as a melee in a Cape May hotel between Black waiters and white patrons, the covert signaling of boats ferrying fugitive slaves across the Delaware River and the daring rescue of a runway slave from the hands of slave catchers by local church worshipers. Author Ellen Alford reveals the history of abolition and the Underground Railroad in South Jersey.

In the earliest days of America's founding, Vermont stands out: a consitution that banned slavery outright and allowed those without land the right to vote, created a fertile ground for those cast aside in neighboring states--women, native american and african american people--to thrive and to to lead.

Vermont's constitution, drafted in 1777, was one of the most enlightened documents of its time, but in contrast, the history of Vermont has largely been told through the stories of influential white men. This book takes a fresh look at Vermont's history, uncovering hidden stories, from the earliest inhabitants to present-day citizens striving to overcome adversity and be advocates for change. Native Americans struggled to maintain an identity in the state while their land and rights were disappearing. Lucy Terry Prince was the first female African American poet who rose above racism to argue her case before Vermont's governor and won. Educator and historian Cynthia Bittinger unearths these and other inspirational stories of the contributions of women, Native Americans and African Americans to Vermont's history.

A Harrowing Heritage of Resilience

During the era of Indian Removal, scores of men, women and children of African descent were forced west alongside the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole Nations. 

Hidden History of Black Cincinnati reveals the untold stories that shaped a city and defined a people. 

Long before the Civil Rights Movement or the Harlem Renaissance, Black Cincinnatians were building communities, owning businesses, and resisting injustice in bold and brilliant ways. B.F. Howard and Pullman Porter Arthur J. Riggs co-founded the international organization now known as the Black Elks, and Margaret Garner’s tragic flight to freedom inspired Toni Morrison’s Beloved and ignited national debates on slavery. Celebrated painter Robert S. Duncanson rose to international acclaim in the nineteenth century despite the limitations of race.

Writer, historian, and cultural advocate Kareem A. Simpson unearths these powerful stories and more with clarity and care, offering a rich portrait of a city’s soul and the Black lives that shaped it.

History You Didn’t Learn in School

Discover powerful stories left out of most history books. Author Jeffrey Bennett reveals the hidden legacy of Black Virginians. From 1865 to 1877, over 80 Black politicians served across the state. Learn about a brave Black woman who spied on Confederate President Jefferson Davis while disguised as an enslaved worker.

See the history of more than seventy Black communities lost in Virginia. Read the story of a 135-year-old church and the meaning behind land passed down through generations. These stories show the strength and impact of Black families before and after slavery. Perfect for history lovers and older readers, this collection brings forgotten voices back to life.

A Harrowing Heritage of Resilience

Beginning in the 1820s, Indian removal saw scores of families of African descent forced west alongside the so-called Five Civilized Tribes. The Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole Nations all brought their own slaves on the arduous, obligatory journey. These tribes demonstrated shared patterns—including Native women enslavers—as well as important distinctions. Seminole records more frequently preserved the names of their enslaved, reflecting resistance to removal and the central role of Black Seminoles. But enslaved people were present at every stage of removal, even when misclassified or omitted entirely from official records. Power operated differently within each tribe. Gender shaped vulnerability and authority. Enslavement and forced migration reconfigured tribal societies during one of the most traumatic periods in their histories. Drawing on oral accounts and extensive documentation, Terry J. Ligon’s unique scholarship restores voice and lineage to the remarkable survival of those carried west in bondage on the Trail of Tears. 

Nannie Berger Hairston was a crusader for justice in twentieth-century Virginia.

Nannie Berger Hairston was born in West Virginia in 1921, half a century after the end of the Civil War. She attended segregated schools, graduated, married and started a family. When Nannie’s husband, John, lost his job in the coal mine, the Hairstons moved to Southwest Virginia. It was the height of Jim Crow, and yet, against great odds, she and John became leaders in the community, advocating for civil rights and social justice. Nannie Hairston’s advice was sought by the powerless as well as the powerful. At the time of her death in 2017, she had taken her place as an icon for truth, justice and love.

Local author Sheree Scarborough uses Nannie Hairston’s own words to tell her story.

Author and researcher Char McCargo Bah recounts the stories of the men and women buried in Alexandria's freedman's cemetery and the search for their descendants.

At the beginning of the Civil War, Federal troops secured Alexandria as Union territory. Former slaves, called contrabands, poured in to obtain protection from their former masters. Due to overcrowding, mortality rates were high. Authorities seized an undeveloped parcel of land on South Washington Street, and by March 1864, it had been opened as a cemetery for African Americans. Between 1864 and 1868, more than 1,700 contrabands and freedmen were buried there. For nearly eighty years, the cemetery lay undisturbed and was eventually forgotten. Rediscovered in 1996, it has now been preserved as a monument to the courage and sacrifice of those buried within.

Victorine Quille Adams was a Baltimore native and the first African American woman elected to the city council. Born in 1912, she lived through stringent segregation, racial violence and economic turbulence

Victorine Quille Adams was a Baltimore native and the first African American woman elected to the city council. Born in 1912, she lived through stringent segregation, racial violence and economic turbulence.

Educated at Morgan State and Coppin State Universities, she took to the classroom and enriched the lives of her students. In 1946, she founded the Colored Women's Democratic Campaign Committee to educate African American women about the vote and the power of the ballot box. In concert with fellow educators Mary McLeod Bethune, Kate Sheppard and Dr. Delores Hunt, she persisted in educating and empowering voters throughout her life. Author Ida E. Jones reveals the story of this civic leader and her crusade for equity for all people in Baltimore.

A history of the Cream City's lost Black neighborhood told by the people who lived there

Some people don't have to imagine what Milwaukee's Bronzeville was like. They have only to remember. They recall Walnut Street alive with businesses serving a hard-working Black population making something out of the meager resources available to them. They describe religious establishments such as St. Marks Methodist Episcopal, St. Benedict the Moor, Calvary Baptist, and St. Matthews CME attending to the spiritual life and remember the Flame, the Metropole, and Satin Doll night clubs taking care of entertainment and secular needs. Above all, they recollect a people looking out for the well-being of all within its realm.

Gathering interviews with residents of the now vanished neighborhood, Dr. Sandra E. Jones reimagines Bronzeville not just as a place, but as a spirit engendered by a people determined to make a way out of no way.

Breaking glass ceilings, organizing clubs, and making history as the first in their fields, these trailblazing Black women paved the way for new generations.

From Nettie Craig Asberry, founder of the Tacoma NAACP, to Dr. Dolores Silas, now honored by a school bearing her name, these women forged a path amid adversity. Black women were crucial to the war effort, working as Rosies at Boeing during World War II, and in the post-war years, Seattle musicians like Edyth Turnham and Her Knights of Syncopation were in high demand. These teachers, scientists, and politicians served on boards, led protests, and fought for civil rights across the state.

Join author and historian Marilyn Morgan as she chronicles the incredible lives and contributions of Washington's Black women.

In 1984, Vanessa Williams broke the race barrier to become Miss America, but she was not the first Black woman to wear a pageant crown.

Black beauty pageants created a distinctive and celebrated cultural tradition during some of the most dismal times in the country's racial history. With the rise of the civil rights and Black Pride movements, pageantry also represented a component of social activism. Professor Kimberly Pellum explores this glamourous and profound history with contributions by dozens of former contestants who share their personal experiences.

A Hidden History of Unequal Access

During the Jim Crow era, many public libraries were segregated. The public library plays a fundamental role in communities by providing free educational resources, boosting literacy and knowledge, and serving as a place of refuge. Despite this, many were inaccessible to Black residents and continued to resist integration even after the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education. Discover the truth about the barriers imposed on the Black community and learn about the citizens-turned-activists who used protests and lawsuits to achieve more equitable library services. Their legacy resonates today as libraries continue to evolve and embrace more inclusive practices.

Join Fairfax County librarians Chris Barbuschak and Suzanne LaPierre as they investigate the overlooked and little-known history of segregated library services in Northern Virginia.