history
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Why This Image of a Black Demon Leading St. Francis Was Sort of a Good Thing
This image is part of a weekly series that The Root is presenting in conjunction with the Image of the Black Archive & Library at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. Within the arched compartments of a late-Gothic Spanish altarpiece, a momentous conversation takes place between a Middle Eastern sultan and…
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Because All Kids Deserve a Quality Education, Congress Should Reauthorize the ESEA
I started my career in public education in 1965—the same year President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act into law. Baltimore had hired more than 600 paraprofessionals using city funds, and I was one of them. I worked in a kindergarten class and a first-grade class at Mount Royal Elementary School in…
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I’m White, but Tests Show I Have East African DNA. How?
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on Aug. 1, 2014. I am very much a “white” person, with no family oral history to suggest otherwise (except the obligatory Native American-ancestor stories, which don’t pan out). However, when I had a test done for myself by Ancestry DNA, my results came back with around 1…
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Yes, There Were Black Confederates. Here’s Why
The myth of black Confederates is arguably the most controversial subject of the Civil War. Over the past four years, the debate over whether or not blacks fought for the Confederacy has been the most discussed topic on Civil War Memory, a popular website attracting teachers and scholars from around the world, and the Atlantic…
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Nubian Figure Made of Ivory Comes Bearing Gifts
This image is part of a weekly series that The Root is presenting in conjunction with the Image of the Black Archive & Library at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. The ancient Near Eastern empire of Assyria is commonly known to history as a power unswervingly committed to savagery, with…
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Martin Luther King Jr. on Revolution and Justice
Editor’s note: We’ll be featuring a quote from the iconic civil rights leader every day until Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday. Read more about Martin Luther King Jr.’s revolutionary spirit here.
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Martin Luther King Jr. on Racial Injustice
Editor’s note: We’ll be featuring a quote from the iconic civil rights leader every day until Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday. Read about an effort to portray Martin Luther King Jr. authentically on-screen here.
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Martin Luther King Jr. on Police Brutality
Editor’s note: We’ll be featuring a quote from the iconic civil rights leader every day until Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday. Read more of The Root’s coverage of police brutality here.
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Martin Luther King Jr. on Black People in America
Editor’s note: We’ll be featuring a quote from the iconic civil rights leader every day until Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday. Read the entire “I Have a Dream” speech here.
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I Found My Ancestor in a Slave Schedule. What Now?
In building my family tree, I have found a direct ancestor from Africa named Judah Reese. I would like to find out which plantation she was on. The 1880 census for Jefferson, Marengo County, Ala., says that she was born in Africa circa 1780 and lists her as living with her daughter (possibly she is…