Early ResistanceThe first African captives arrived in Dutch New Amsterdam in 1626 from West and Central Africa and later from Caribbean plantations. Due to constant conflicts with Native Americans, the Dutch created a buffer zone for themselves by granting Africans “half-freedoms” and small parcels of farmland outside the city walls about 1643. Since the ABG […]readmore
A Bright Idea Glows in Brooklyn: Shervone Neckles (center), an interdisciplinary artist, educator and community activist of Grenadian descent, is a beacon of light for illuminating Black History in Brooklyn. She’s also engaging the interests of talented teens and impressing the Long Island University campus with her young team’s special tribute to Black inventor Lewis […]readmore
by Brian GoodAs statues of historical figures such as Christopher Columbus and Robert E. Lee — both of whom have potentially racist or otherwise troubling backstories — are regularly being removed from places of honor in urban areas, a new set of heroes we can proudly look up to are emerging in their place. The […]readmore
Firefighter John Coombs remembers 9/11 as a very warm and beautiful day when he started work on some plumbing in his Bed Stuy basement. It was when he came out to buy water that he heard about a plane hitting the twin towers. At first, he assumed it was a small training plane “I couldn’t […]readmore
American-born French dancer Joséphine Baker will be inducted into the Panthéon, an honour reserved for France’s national heroes, on November 30. The move recognises her courage in actively resisting Nazi Germany during World War II. Franco-American dancer and singer Joséphine Baker, a prominent figure in the French Resistance during World War II, will be inducted into […]readmore
Josephine Baker is remembered by most people as the flamboyant African American entertainer who earned fame and fortune in Paris in the 1920s. Yet through much of her later life, Baker became a vocal opponent of segregation and discrimination, often initiating one-woman protests against racial injustice. In 1963, at the age of 57, Baker flew […]readmore
By Arlisha Norwood,NWHM Fellow | 2017When Daisy Bates was three years old her mother was killed by three white men. Although Bates, was just a child, her biological mother’s death made an emotional and mental imprint on her. The unfortunate death forced Bates to confront racism at an early age and pushed her to dedicate […]readmore
This is an excerpt from an article originally published in Dr. Ron Daniels’ Vantage Point.August 17 will mark the 128th birthday of the Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey, the visionary Jamaican-born leader who built the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) into the largest mass movement for liberation in the history of Africans […]readmore
