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Black History

Originally published 09/24/2016
Obama hails opening of the African American Museum

‘This place is more than a building. It is a dream come true.’

Originally published 09/19/2016
Stunning pictures from inside the new National Museum of African American History and Culture

Appropriately for a public museum at the heart of Washington’s cultural landscape, the museum’s creators did not want to build a space for a black audience alone, but for all Americans.

Originally published 09/19/2016
Historians are uncovering the forgotten history of African-Americans in the California Gold Rush

"My favorite response when I give a talk is for somebody to say I hadn't thought of that or I didn't know that."

Originally published 09/12/2016
After 100 years in the making, new Smithsonian museum deemed a "miracle" (video)

It’s been a long road, and the story of the museum, like the African-American experience, is one of trial and triumph, reports CBS News correspondent Jan Crawford.

Originally published 09/05/2016
He Denied Blacks Citizenship. Now a City Is Deciding His Statue’s Fate.

Frederick, Md., is debating how to remove a bronze bust of Roger Brooke Taney, the Supreme Court chief justice who wrote the 1857 Dred Scott decision.

Originally published 09/02/2016
Slavery and the National Anthem: The Surprising History Behind Colin Kaepernick's Protest

"I cannot stand and sing the anthem. I cannot salute the flag. I know that I am a black man in a white world." - Jackie Robinson

Originally published 07/22/2016
With money from white supremacists, black activists have been funding “Back to Africa” movements for centuries

Keisha N. Blain

One man’s GoFundMe dares racists to put their money where their mouth is.

Originally published 07/19/2016
The 1968 Police Shoot-out with African Americans that America Forgot

James D. Robenalt

It happened just 5.6 miles from where Donald Trump will accept the Republican Party’s nomination for president.

Originally published 07/05/2016
The Secret Black History of the Revolution

Alan Gilbert

As we know all too well, the Revolutionary War was not fought so that all men could be free, but its role in creating the seeds of abolition should not be forgotten.

Originally published 06/07/2016
The Rape Scenes in “Roots” Suggest Why DNA Studies of African Americans Are so Vital

Pearl Duncan

Using DNA can help reveal the hell that was slavery.

Originally published 05/28/2016
Tales of African-American History Found in DNA

Geneticists have studied clues in the DNA of African-Americans about the history of slavery and the Great Migration.

Originally published 04/18/2016
Ripples From a Protest Past

Ian Wilhelm

In 1969, an armed occupation by black students roiled Cornell’s campus. Here’s why it still matters today.

Originally published 03/28/2016
This hashtag is highlighting the black women written out of history

The hashtag #BlackWomensHistoryMonth is highlighting women who have contributed greatly to American history, but are rarely given credit.

Originally published 03/23/2016
Story of the Week: Wall Street's First Black Millionaire

Elizabeth Elliott

Jeremiah Hamilton’s impressive and unlikely rise to infamy captured the attention of Australian Shane White, a professor of US history at the University of Sydney.

Originally published 03/21/2016
The Black Spies in a Confederate White House

Christopher Dickey

How a secret intelligence network successfully spied on Confederate leader Jefferson Davis in his own home.

Originally published 03/17/2016
Historian's new book tells neglected history of black gay men

"I wanted to reclaim a history that had been washed over, that had been overlooked.” — Kevin Mumford

Originally published 03/16/2016
One Reason Why Blacks Rallied to Harry Truman in 1948

Jennifer Scanlon

It was because of the unheralded work of Anna Arnold Hedgeman, a liberal black activist.

Originally published 03/16/2016
The Sadly Uncontroversial First Black Superhero in a Comic Book

Patrick Hamilton and Allan Austin

It was Marvel’s Black Panther. We need a different black superhero today.

Originally published 02/29/2016
Case for reparation gains international force

“This is not about retribution and anger, it’s about atonement; it’s about the building of bridges across lines of moral justice,” said Sir Hilary Beckles, a distinguished historian from Barbados who made the case for reparations during a talk at Harvard Law School this week.

Originally published 02/25/2016
Black History Month poster sparks protest at San Francisco's Lowell High School

Outraged students walked out of school and to San Francisco City Hall over a school poster meant to honor Black History Month.

Originally published 02/24/2016
America’s Black Patriots: the History You Never Learned in School

Kimberly Bloom Jackson

Let’s take a closer look at some of these amazing black American patriots.

Originally published 02/23/2016
As February ends, the debate about Black History Month goes on

Is It Time to Retire Black History Month From the Classroom?

Originally published 02/22/2016
Manisha Sinha explains why it’s important that we acknowledge the role of black abolitionists

She says its simplistic to build the narrative of abolitionism only around whites.

Originally published 02/22/2016
Obama celebrates black history Month at the White House

“What’s so inspiring about these young people and their generation is that they don’t see black history as a relic; it’s not something to study in a book.”

Originally published 02/19/2016
Social media takes Black History Month beyond the classroom

Stacia L. Brown

The Internet now provides a cornucopia of little-known or under-reported black history on a daily basis.

Originally published 02/19/2016
The earliest known prison memoir by an African-American writer is drawing lots of attention

It’s "The Life and the Adventures of a Haunted Convict” by Caleb Smith.

Originally published 02/16/2016
How well do you know Black History?

This Black History Month test your knowledge of African American history from the early 1800s to the 2000s.

Originally published 02/15/2016
Quintard Taylor’s Website Becomes Go-To Resource For African-American History

“At first, I sort of bristled at the comparison to Wikipedia, but we actually want BlackPast to be a kind of Wikipedia for African-American and African history.” — Quintard Taylor

Originally published 02/15/2016
Is Black History Month still relevant?

For some, the notion of Black History Month is a throwback to a bygone era and not consistent with the so-called post-racial era that began with President Barack Obama’s election.

Originally published 02/11/2016
Parents outraged after students shown ‘white guilt’ cartoon for Black History Month

The video contextualizes historic racial disparity in the United States using the metaphor of a race track in which runners face different obstacles depending upon their racial background.

Originally published 02/10/2016
WSJ features an article by a conservative calling for the abolition of Black History Month

Jason L. Riley

"Black History Month’s sunset might seem long overdue, but the celebration is too useful politically for that to happen anytime soon."

Originally published 02/10/2016
MLK Had Harry Belafonte. Black Lives Matter now Has Jay Z and Beyoncé

Emilie Raymond

History’s repeating itself. In a good way.

Originally published 02/05/2016
Why Black History Month should never begin with slavery

Shaun King

Harriet Tubman is an important part of black history, but her struggle shouldn't be the starting point for enlightening our children.

Originally published 02/03/2016
It’s the anniversary of one of the largest Jim Crow protests in NYC, but who’s heard of it?

Matthew Delmont

Thousands of New York City students staged a one-day boycott to protest segregation in February 1964 and it barely made the history books.

Originally published 02/01/2016
Here's A Way To Google Black History Like Never Before

The Google Cultural Institute has made rare historical artifacts -- including writings by Martin Luther King and Frederick Douglass -- digitally accessible.

Originally published 02/01/2016
This Is How February Became Black History Month

Two very important birthdays helped activists choose when to celebrate

Originally published 02/01/2016
Why we need Black History Month more than ever

Denise Oliver Velez

Until we have significantly abolished systemic racism in education, we will continue to need Black History Month and other months which focus on our communities of color.

Originally published 02/01/2016
Revealing moments in black history, with unpublished photos from The New York Times’s archives

The paper will be making new images public throughout February, black history month.

Originally published 01/22/2016
Black history month is suddenly a hot topic on TV

"Just like there shouldn't be a Black History Month. You know? We're Americans. Period. That's it."

Originally published 11/23/2015
Take a cue from Ralph Ellison: Don't demean minority students by overprotecting them

Jonathan Zimmerman

Ellison would be appalled by our current moment on American campuses, where the damage thesis has returned with a vengeance.

Originally published 11/19/2015
The History of Race in America Is Not Black and White

Dianne Guenin-Lelle

This is why that can be a comfort to us all.

Originally published 11/19/2015
Video of the Week: The New Jim Crow Museum

Tour the Jim Crow museum with founder and curator, Dr. David Pilgrim who discusses some of the major themes of the museum. Jim Crow was not just a character or a set of "laws," it was a system that built upon itself to create and sustain a society with a racial hierarchy.

Originally published 11/13/2015
This Is Why We Ought to Remember Alex Haley, Warts and All

Robert J. Norrell

He wrote two of the most influential books on black history and sold more books than any other black author.

Originally published 11/04/2015
Is It Time For a Story About Race That’s Never Been Told?

Thomas Fleming

How we can learn from what the navy did in World War II (and what the army failed to do).

Originally published 10/15/2015
Story of the Week: The white man in that photo

Riccardo Gazzaniga

This is a story about the famous photo from the 1968 Olympics of two star athletes raising their hands in the black salute.

Originally published 09/28/2015
Jeb Bush’s Saying Blacks Want ‘Free Stuff’ for Votes Insults Our Dignity and History of Struggle

Peniel E. Joseph

The GOP presidential candidate’s statement perpetuates a mythology of ignorance that casts black folks as a lazy mass of people dependent on government largesse for their existence.

Originally published 09/03/2015
Historians of Color Are Revolutionizing the Narrative of ‘American Exceptionalism’

David Levering Lewis

For too long, says David Levering Lewis, we have looked in the wrong place and race for the genesis of our national story.

Originally published 08/13/2015
How Bad Was FBI Spying on African American Writers? An Interview with William Maxwell

Robin Lindley

Maxwell reports on his sweeping study of the massive government campaign targeting black American literary figures.

Originally published 07/20/2015
Happy Birthday, Living Legend Rachel Robinson!

Yohuru Williams

While Jack made the headlines, Rachel often bore the brunt of the hidden but nonetheless significant battles such as shepherding the family through the process of facing northern style apartheid.

Originally published 06/02/2015
How does black hair reflect black history?

An exhibition in Liverpool investigates the significance of hair in black culture.

Originally published 02/26/2015
Why Hollywood’s Diversity Problem Can’t Just Be Solved with Fancy Award Ceremonies and Gold Statues

Cara Caddoo

For most of its history, Hollywood has worked hard to identify—and undermine—the work of black actors and filmmakers.

Originally published 02/26/2015
The move accelerates to show that black people have a history

Martha S. Jones

Wikipedia Foundation has partnered with institutions such as Washington's Howard University to ensure that black people have a history, Wikipedia style.

Originally published 02/18/2015
Carter G. Woodson, The Father of Black History Month

Its origins date back to 1926, when a historian named Carter G. Woodson spearheaded “Negro History Week.”

Originally published 02/16/2015
This Is What’s Missing from Black History Month

Mike McQuillan

The trivialization of black history – reducing the movement to MLK and Rosa Parks – denies young people their rightful awareness of Jim Crow racism’s systemic nature.

Originally published 02/16/2015
Hollywood’s first hit film was an embarrassingly racist movie about the Klan

William Loren Katz

'The Birth of a Nation': A Century Later

Originally published 02/16/2015
New lynching report documents an era of racial terrorism

Lynching in America makes the case that lynching of African Americans was terrorism, a widely supported phenomenon used to enforce racial subordination and segregation.

Originally published 02/11/2015
South Carolina’s Brilliant Idea for Black History Month: Close a Historically Black College!

Crystal R. Sanders

On Tuesday, February 11, 2015, the state House of Representatives budget panel voted to close the South Carolina State University for two years, leaving students adrift.

Originally published 02/11/2015
When a City Turns White, What Happens to Its Black History?

David S. Rotenstein

Case Study: Decatur, Georgia

Originally published 02/10/2015
MLK's Mother Was Assassinated, Too: The Forgotten Women Of Black History Month

Aurin Squire

“Well, we don’t study it that much because there’s no such thing.”

Originally published 02/10/2015
An African American in Imperial Russia: the story of Frederick Bruce Thomas

Vladimir Alexandrov

Why isn’t he better known now?

Originally published 02/10/2015
The cost of passing for white when you were black

Allyson Hobbs

At first glance, passing appears to be a deeply individualistic practice, but it was often, intentionally or involuntarily, a collaborative phenomenon.

Originally published 02/09/2015
Black History Month doesn’t name white supremacy and unwittingly facilitates it

Steven W Thrasher

Learning tales of black exceptionalism, and contrasting them to the stereotypes of lazy slaves and indebted sharecroppers, underscores ongoing racial divides

Originally published 06/24/2014
Remarkable video interviews keep black history alive

2,600 African-Americans took part in the project - some famous, and some who would become famous.

Originally published 03/31/2014
How Many ‘White’ People Are Passing?

Henry Louis Gates Jr

4 percent of whites have at least 1 percent or more of African ancestry.

Originally published 01/23/2014
The Racially Fraught History of the American Beard

Sean Trainor

“Washes and razors for foofoos," scoffed Walt Whitman. But the story of nineteenth-century facial hair is more tangled than modern nostalgists may realize.

Originally published 11/19/2013
A Lesson From Cuba on Race

Alejandro de la Fuente

The Cuban answer to racial injustice actually worked.

Originally published 11/13/2013
The Kennedys and Martin Luther King

Yohuru Williams

King and the Kennedys remain important symbols of the power of hope and the promise of a just democracy.

Originally published 11/12/2013
JFK holds complex place in black history

The slain president remains an African American icon, despite dragging his feet on civil rights.

Originally published 11/06/2013
How Diversity Will Alter Black History

Lynette Holloway

Will there still be a need for Black History Month?

Originally published 03/26/2013
The Truth Behind '40 Acres and a Mule'

We've all heard the story of the "40 acres and a mule" promise to former slaves. It's a staple of black history lessons, and it's the name of Spike Lee's film company. The promise was the first systematic attempt to provide a form of reparations to newly freed slaves, and it was astonishingly radical for its time, proto-socialist in its implications. In fact, such a policy would be radical in any country today: the federal government's massive confiscation of private property -- some 400,000 acres -- formerly owned by Confederate land owners, and its methodical redistribution to former black slaves. What most of us haven't heard is that the idea really was generated by black leaders themselves....

Originally published 02/27/2013
Rosa Parks statue set to be unveiled at Capitol

Rosa Parks is famous for her 1955 refusal to give up her seat on a city bus in Alabama to a white man, but there's plenty about the rest of her experiences that she deliberately withheld from her family. While Parks and her husband, Raymond, were childless, her brother, the late Sylvester McCauley, had 13 children. They decided Parks' nieces and nephews didn't need to know the horrible details surrounding her civil rights activism, said Rhea McCauley, Parks' niece....

Originally published 02/27/2013
Rosa Parks statue unveiled at Capitol

President Barack Obama says civil rights icon Rosa Parks has taken her rightful place among those who have shaped the course of U.S. history.Obama and House Speaker John Boehner unveiled a statue of Parks in a ceremony at the Capitol. Parks becomes the first black woman to be honored with a full-length statue in the Capitol's Statuary Hall.A bust of another black woman, abolitionist Sojourner Truth, sits in the Capitol Visitors Center.Obama says the nation learned from Parks that there is always something we can do to improve the future...

Originally published 02/04/2013
Postal Service honors Rosa Parks with new stamp

Hundreds of people, including some of Michigan's political elite, gathered Monday to celebrate the late Rosa Parks on what would have been her 100th birthday by unveiling a postage stamp in her honor steps from the Alabama bus on which she stared down segregation nearly 60 years ago.Parks, who died in 2005, became one of the enduring figures of the Civil Rights movement when she refused to cede her seat in the colored section of the Montgomery, Ala., bus to a white man after the whites-only section filled up. Her defiance and the ensuing black boycott of the city bus system helped the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. rise to national prominence...The Parks stamp is the second in a set of civil rights stamps being issued this year by the U.S. Postal Service.USPS launched the series Jan. 1 with the Emancipation Proclamation Forever Stamp, which was issued at The National Archives in Washington. In August, the series will culminate with the dedication of a stamp recognizing the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington...

Originally published 01/18/2009
Is This the Black Activist Everybody Forgot?

Jeffrey B. Perry

There is a growing interest in Hubert Harrison, the race- and class-conscious “intellectual giant” of the World War I era.