Galleries
Memorial to the Victims of Lynching
Launched online in December 2011, this is, we believe, the first memorial to remember the many victims of lynching in the United States. Here we gather their life stories, say their names, and note where and when these thousands of men, women and children were terrorized and murdered.
Read MoreNOW: Free At Last?
NOW: Free At Last? Introduction By the 1980s, Black America came to another roadblock in the long struggle to full equality. After the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, there were many more black college graduates, professionals, and business people than before. Many of them believed they would soon reach the American Dream. Working-class…
Read MoreI Am Somebody! The Struggle for Justice
I Am Somebody! The Struggle for Justice Introduction The struggle for justice and equal rights stretched across the entire 20th Century. But we call the especially active years of the 1950s and 1960s “the Civil Rights Era.” African Americans developed creative ways to protest racial inequality during this era. They brought lawsuits. They mounted…
Read MoreOne Hundred Years of Jim Crow
One Hundred Years of Jim Crow Introduction Following the Civil War and Reconstruction, white people in the South found ways to maintain their accustomed power over black people through a combination of laws, social customs, and mob violence. This system, known as “Jim Crow,” rested on five pillars of oppression: • Economic • Political • Legal…
Read MoreReconstruction: A Brief Glimpse of Freedom
Reconstruction: A Brief Glimpse of Freedom Introduction The end of the Civil War in 1865 meant the legal end of three centuries of enslavement of the children of Africans in the United States. The period following the conclusion of the Civil War is known as Reconstruction. It lasted just twelve years (1865-1877). Nearly every…
Read MoreNearly Three Centuries Of Enslavement
Nearly Three Centuries of Enslavement Introduction We all know that slavery once existed in the United States. This gallery introduces us to realities of the so-called “peculiar institution” that we may not know. Learning about these realities can help us understand how our nation’s slaveholding past continues to shape our economic, social and political…
Read MoreKidnapped: The Middle Passage
Kidnapped: The Middle Passage Introduction In this gallery we examine the kidnapping of Africans, first by Europeans and later by Americans as well. The Middle Passage was the second part of a very long journey that crisscrossed the Atlantic Ocean three times: from Europe to Africa, from Africa to the Americas, and finally from…
Read MoreAfrican Peoples Before Captivity
African Peoples Before Captivity Introduction Mama Africa is the birthplace of the human race; we are all her children. Americans often speak of the huge continent of Africa as if it were a single country. In fact, like Europeans of the same era, Africans created great civilizations that made early, important, lasting contributions to…
Read MoreA Short Video History of the Long History of Terror Lynchings
This exhibit features a video along with many links to resources that can help you better understand the phenomenon of lynchings. The video give a brief but very complete explanation of how and why racial terror lynchings took place and how they set the stage for current racial injustices.
Read MoreThe Double Struggles of June Jordan, Poet and Social Activist
Do you know June Jordan? If not, you should! In this exhibit you can read and hear the powerful poems of this amazing Jamaican-American activist, feminist, and mother.
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