Posts by dr_fran
Founding the New Free Black Community
Millions of freed Black Americans built their own communities across the South post-Civil War. They worked to establish a life of freedom and prosperity for themselves and future generations. Schooling, church, and family were important pillars of community-building. They meant to enjoy their freedom to live with family, unite in marriage, raise children, worship in the open, and educate the next generation.
Read MoreHow African Americans Changed the Meaning of the Civil War
Actions by Black folk changed the meaning of the Civil War, turning it from a war to preserve a white government into a war to destroy the institution of slavery.
Read MoreSome Exhibits to Come – Reconstruction: A Brief Glimpse of Freedom
See a list of of some of the exhibits planned for this gallery.
Read MoreSpecial News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Protests Planned in St. Louis re: 2014 Killing of Michael Brown
Protests are scheduled to happen in St. Louis, Missouri this Sunday in response to Prosecuting Attorney for the County, Wesley Bell’s recent announcement that he will not file criminal charges against former Police Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown in 2014.
Read MoreSpecial News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Peaceful Portland protests after federal withdrawal
Oregon’s governor, Kate Brown, agreed with the White House that the state police would take over responsibility for guarding the courthouse after weeks of escalating protests. She said that “Trump’s troops” were behaving like an occupying army in Portland and provoking unrest with heavy-handed tactics.
Read MoreSpecial News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Chicago removes Columbus statue
Chicago removed a Christopher Columbus statue from the city’s lakefront Grant Park before dawn Friday, a week after protesters tried to topple it.
Read MoreSpecial News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – 45 Wisconsin Communities Protest
As video of George Floyd’s death spread across the US, protests followed in major cities — as well as unexpected small cities and tiny virtually all-white towns around Wisconsin.
Read MoreHow I Became a Police Abolitionist
When people dismiss Blacks who call for police abolition as not caring about victims or safety, they tend to forget that those same Black citizens ARE those victims, those survivors of violence. This article’s author, who is Black and a human rights lawyer, gives a detailed and nuanced perspective on this dilemma.
Read MoreSpecial News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – How the Black Lives Matter generation remembers John Lewis
Of all the ways that John Lewis influenced American life and politics, his indelible impact on young people may be among the most enduring. From student activist to elder statesman, Lewis continually encouraged the nation’s youth to start “good trouble” — and modeled just how to do that.
Read MoreSpecial News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Asheville, N.C., Approves Steps Toward Reparations For Black Residents
A passed resolution aims to address recent systemic issues of segregation and exclusion. It says Black people “have been excluded from full participation in the benefits of citizenship that include voting, employment, housing and health care.”
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