Read about the history of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day traditions for Black Americans.
Category Archives: A New Birth of Freedom
Civil Rights Movement
The Emancipation Proclamation did not end racial oppression. Read the Introduction and Background on this web site to learn how African Americans continued to fight for equal rights.
In 1865, thousands of Black South Carolinians signed a 54-foot-long freedom petition
Read about some of the objects on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
The past is the past? How slavery still benefits white Americans
A sociologist shares the results and repercussions of an in-depth data analysis.
Confederate Pride and Prejudice
Well over a century after the South lost the Civil War, its battle flag is showing up in a surprising place: the North. This article explores the causes and effects.
What Is Critical Race Theory, and Why Is It Under Attack?
Learn why an academic approach toward examining lingering effects of slavery has turned into a hot-button topic.
Photography and the Civil War, 1861–1865
Read about the work of Civil War photographers, who mostly shot post-battle scenes and camp life, because the laborious process prohibited them from safely documenting the action of battle. Click the image at the top to view a slideshow of photos from the time.
Reconstruction and Its Aftermath
View artifacts from the Reconstruction era, including artworks, pamphlets, maps, and more.
Boston Art Commission Votes To Remove Emancipation Memorial From Park Square
Learn why a sculpture inspired by the Emancipation Proclamation incited controversy that resulted in its removal.
‘Make Farmers Black Again’: African Americans Fight Discrimination To Own Farmland
After decades of land loss and lending discrimination Black American farmers struggle to reclaim the ability to sustain their ancestral farmlands.
Why Texas Still Celebrates Confederate Heroes Day
At the start of the 2021 Legislative session in the state of Texas, a bill was filed to end an outdated state holiday. Find out why it’s on the books at all.
Health Inequality Actually Is a “Black and White Issue”, Research Says
Over a century and a half after emancipation, why are Black Americans statistically more likely to suffer from health problems?
Ida B. Wells
Ida B. Wells was a journalist who spoke out for women’s rights and against lynching, amongst numerous other issues. Watch a mini-biography, and learn more about Wells at this site.
America Has Tried Reparations Before. Here Is How it Went
Descendants of enslaved people may be entitled to reparations, but what can we learn from previous attempts to compensate people for a wrong?
Racial Economic Inequality
A century and a half after emancipation, Black Americans face economic challenges that have only been exacerbated by a global pandemic.
How Urban Design Can Make or Break Protests
Learn how city geography can affect protests and their outcomes.
Land and the roots of African-American poverty
Read this article to learn how inequalities were perpetuated after slavery was abolished. Consider this researcher’s opinions on generational wealth and systemic poverty.
Group Working To Publicize 1867’s ‘Fourth Of July To Remember’
On Independence Day in 1867, an estimated 10,000 African Americans gathered in Lexington, Kentucky, to hear prominent civil rights leaders speak. Read this article for an account of the almost-forgotten event.
Yesteryears: In Civil War illustrator Waud’s hands, pen was as mighty as the sword
At the time of the Civil War, cameras were too slow to capture scenes of the battles. Illustrator Alfred Rudolph Waud was among the artists who provide first-hand visuals at the Battle of Bull Run and other key battles.
Colson Whitehead’s ‘Underground Railroad’ Is a Literal Train to Freedom
In this Fresh Air interview, author Colson Whitehead talks about how he re-imagined the escape from enslavement.