Heritage
Juneteenth: A Commemoration of Black Independence
Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration that commemorates the actual ending of slavery.
Alabama heralds ‘last slave ship’ discovery; ponders future
Dives into murky water, painstaking examinations of relics and technical data and rigorous peer review led historians and archaeologists to confirm last week that wreckage found in the Mobile River in 2018 was indeed the Clotilda, the last known ship to bring enslaved Africans to the United States.
How poverty is reshaping the story of Emmett Till’s murder
Scholars continue to debate what, exactly, happened to Emmett Till the morning of his murder. But that hasn’t stopped a poor Mississippi community from trying to profit off one version of the story.
A brief history of slavery reparation promises
Reparations has emerged as a hot topic among Democratic candidates hoping to replace Trump in 2020. But until now, the issue has only rarely received national attention.
Duke Ellington’s melodies carried his message of social justice
From spirituals about the trials of slavery to the fight for civil rights and the modern rhythms of swing music, Duke Ellington told a story about black life that was both beautiful and complex.
COBA Dancers: Passion through Performance, Education, and Research
The Toronto-based Collective of Black Artists (COBA) has been working to introduce audiences to African and Caribbean dances for 25 years. Keeping stories alive through dance and drumming provides connection and memory for the things we leave behind either by choice or urgency.
General’s family: From segregation to command in 100 years
Brig. Gen. Milford H. Beagle, Jr., commanding general of Fort Jackson, shares how his great-grandfather and others contributed significantly to this country without knowing what their contributions would mean to the future of the military.
‘Bloody Sunday’ altered history of a horrified nation
The images of that day in 1965 were quickly seared into the American consciousness: helmeted Alabama state troopers and mounted sheriff’s possemen beating peaceful civil rights marchers in Selma, Ala., as clouds of tear gas wafted around the Edmund Pettus Bridge. On...
Biblical guide marks 400 years since enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia
A Christian anti-hunger group has released a devotional guide to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of enslaved Africans in Jamestown, Va.
Lessons from an Anthem
Chris Broussard, ESPN analyst and president of the K.I.N.G. movement, explores the contemporary relevance of Lift Every Voice and Sing.
After the rediscovery of a 19th-century novel, our view of black female writers is transformed
Sarah E. Farro’s rediscovered novel tells us that black women of her time read, discussed and emulated the works of people who were not like them.
Sister Thea Bowman takes step further toward canonization
Servant of God Sr. Thea Bowman, a trailblazing African-American sister who was the first black sister in her white congregation, the first black woman to address the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and an inspiration to thousands of people with her words and songs, is another step further toward sainthood.
Why Christians Should Celebrate Black History Month
Jemar Tisby, co-founder of the Reformed African American Network, makes a case for the relevance and importance of Black History Month.
11 Must-Read Books for Black History Month
Check out these must-have books from Black authors, spanning time periods, themes and genres. They tackle the Black experience with grace, courage, originality, and historical context.
The enigmatic man who founded southern Africa’s largest church
ZCC members at Moria City. Sowetan/Edward Maahlamela Every Easter weekend, several millions of Zion Christian Church (ZCC) faithful from across southern Africa descend on “Moria city”, the church’s capital in the north of the country, for their annual pilgrimage. The...
Black Panthers and Black Lives Matter — parallels and progress
Comparing the 1960s and 1970s Black Panther Party and today’s Black Lives Matter movement reveals parallels and progress.
How Jackie Robinson’s wife, Rachel, helped him break baseball’s color line
Jackie Robinson couldn’t have achieved what he did without his wife, Rachel, whose spirit was as formidable as his own.
How Tarana Burke founded the “Me Too” movement in Selma, Alabama
“This is really about people being able to walk through life with their dignity intact.”
MLK: Remembering the Dream
We’re honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with engaging articles, podcast shorts, video, and useful resources.
Two-Minute Podcast Shorts on Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. Melvin Banks draws Biblical connections and insight into the life and leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. Take a few minutes to enjoy these two-minute podcast shorts.
Tuskegee Airman John Lyle dead at 98
Lyle died Saturday at his home on Chicago’s South Side, his wife, Eunice, said Monday. She added that Lyle had been battling prostate cancer.
5 religious facts you might not know about Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass, known as the father of the civil rights movement, 19th-century abolitionist, and former slave was also a licensed preacher. Here are five religious facts about Douglass.
The hidden history of black nationalist women’s political activism
Too often, Black history focuses on black men, sidelining black women and diminishing their contributions. This is true in mainstream narratives of black nationalist movements in the United States.
How Maya Angelou made me feel
“I want to acknowledge how Maya Angelou made me feel as a young black American woman, and how those feelings have defined how I experience myself as a complete human being.”
Southern Baptist seminary report ties founders to slaveholding, white supremacy
A 71-page report released Wednesday (Dec. 12) from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the Southern Baptist Convention’s flagship seminary, says its early trustees and faculty “defended the righteousness of slaveholding.”
George H.W. Bush’s legacy on racial issues is complicated
George H.W. Bush got elected president after a campaign marked by the infamous Willie Horton ad, about a black murderer who raped a white woman while on a weekend furlough from prison. On the other side of the racial ledger, Bush appointed Gen. Colin Powell as the first black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Unearth Hidden Stories from African-American History in Digital Archive
The Slave Societies Digital Archive holds approximately 600,000 images dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries.
One of the last survivors of 1921 Tulsa race riot dies at 103
Olivia Hooker, one of the last survivors of the 1921 Tulsa race riots and among the first black women in the U.S. Coast Guard, has died. She was 103.
Old ‘Traveling while black’ guidebooks still resonate today
Have you seen the movie “Green Book?” Although Green Books ceased publication some 50 years ago, they are worth reflecting on in light of the fact that for drivers of color, the road remains anything but open.
Rev. James Lawson recommended for Congressional Gold Medal
The Rev. James Lawson, a United Methodist minister known for his advocacy of nonviolence in the civil rights era and beyond, has been recommended for a Congressional Gold Medal.
African-American GIs of WWII: Fighting for democracy abroad and at home
Until the 21st century, the contributions of African-American soldiers in World War II barely registered in America’s collective memory of that war.
How World War I sparked the artistic movement that transformed black America
With Africa as a source of inspiration, a “New Negro” emerged out of the ruins of the Great War – not broken and disenchanted, but possessed with a new sense of self, one shaped from bold, unapologetically black models.
Author Ntozake Shange of ‘For Colored Girls’ fame has died
Playwright, poet and author Ntozake Shange, whose most acclaimed theater piece is the 1975 Tony Award-nominated play “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf,” has died.
Ethiopia Gets Its First Female President
Ethiopia’s parliament has made Sahle-Work Zewde the country’s first female president. And while the role is largely ceremonial, her appointment carries power in what it signifies.
Forgotten black scholar studied – and faced – structural racism in the 1940s
Allison Davis and his wife Elizabeth Stubbs Davis were among the first black anthropologists in the country. Bringing their experiences on the wrong side of the color line to mainstream social science, they made landmark contributions.
Desegregating blood: A civil rights struggle to remember
Until 1950 the Red Cross segregated blood. It was thousands of African-Americans during World War II who forced the Red Cross to include them as donors and helped pave the way for activism of the 1960s.
How African American folklore saved the cultural memory and history of slaves
All over the world, community stories, customs, and beliefs have been passed down from generation to generation. This folklore is used by elders to teach family and friends about their collective cultural past. And for African Americans, folklore has played a particularly important part in documenting history too.
Christian Surgeon who recites Bible and Quran to patients wins UN award
Dr. Evan Atar Adaha knows that faith matters to many of his patients. Before administering the anesthetic for surgery, he recites verses from the Bible or the Quran with his patients.
‘Coming of Age in Mississippi’ still speaks to nation’s racial discord, 50 years later
Does Anne Moody’s memoir represent how far we’ve come as a society. Or is it a stark reminder of how far we need to go?
America’s always had black inventors, even when excluded from patents
Though U.S. patent law was created with color-blind language to foster innovation, the patent system consistently excluded black inventors born or forced into American slavery from recognition.
Marlin Briscoe reflects on days as pioneering quarterback
Marlin Briscoe didn’t want to be pigeonholed simply because of stereotypes against black men. He was a star quarterback in college, and he believed he had the talent, intelligence and leadership skills to be one in the pros.
The Danger of ‘Casually Forgetting’ Racial Violence
Southwest Virginia has casually forgotten the racial violence at its heart, as if this ugly history never happened.
Arthur Mitchell, pioneering black ballet dancer, dies at 84
Arthur Mitchell broke barriers for African-Americans in the 1950s as a ballet dancer with the New York City Ballet and went on to become a driving force in the creation of the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
Unraveling the Hidden Black History of Appalachian Activism
Placing Black people in Appalachia’s history is not simply a matter of recognizing diversity. Rather, it forces a different angle, a truer way of seeing the region and its relationship to the South and the United States.
Memorial service marks anniversary of ’63 church bombing
The four girls killed when a bomb placed by Ku Klux Klan members ripped through a Birmingham church in 1963 were remembered in a Saturday memorial service on the 55th anniversary of the deadly attack.
The story of Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, America’s first black pop star
When Greenfield appeared on the scene, she shattered preexisting beliefs about artistry and race.
Vermont town honors the nation’s first ordained black minister
More than 220 years after the first ordained black minister in the U.S. became a pastor in a small, predominantly white community in Vermont and preached about brotherly love, freedom and unity, people there are honoring his life and work with an historic marker.
Ties between urban horsemen, Mennonites bolster old trade
At an inner-city stable in one of the grittiest areas of Baltimore, a vanishing breed of urban horsemen prepares for its weekly visit to Pennsylvania Dutch country, where Mennonite farmers are helping to carry on a merchant tradition handed down through generations of African-American families.
The Forgotten Voices of Race Records: Pullman Porters, the Rev TT Rose, and the ‘Man with a Clarinet’
The Pullman Porters, the Rev TT Rose, and the ‘Man with a Clarinet’ — In the 1920s, many black musicians were exploited by record companies, and faded into anonymity. Here are some of their stories.
From Ministry to Muckraking: The Biblical Basis for Investigative Reporting
More than a dozen years ago I was a finalist for a reporting job at a small newspaper. All I needed to do was survive an interview with the top editor. The other editors warned me, saying their boss took perverse pleasure from smashing the hopes of naive reporters. I...