history
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Martin Luther King Jr. on Black Influence
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. here.
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Martin Luther King Jr. on What America Owes Black People
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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The Complexities of Race Hidden Within a Simple Display of Everyday Life
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. Genre painting—that is, the representation of anecdotal life—occupied a special place in the hearts of painters, collectors and critics of…
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Is My Family Linked to America’s 1st Black Episcopal Church?
I found a death return on FamilySearch for a 60-year-old named George White who was buried the week of Aug. 28, 1848, in the churchyard cemetery of the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in Philadelphia. I wonder if this is my ancestor. And, if so, could there be a relationship to William White, one…
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How a Black Man’s Head Became a Staple of the Mediterranean Dinner Table
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. Perched above the swelling form of a diminutive pottery vessel, the head of a black man looks attentively ahead, the…
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Did Lincoln Want to Ship Black People Back to Africa?
Editor’s note: This article was originally published Sept. 22, 2014. For those who are wondering about the retro title of this black-history series, please take a moment to learn about historian Joel A. Rogers, author of the 1934 book 100 Amazing Facts About the Negro With Complete Proof, to whom these “amazing facts” are an homage. Amazing Fact About…
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Did Trouble With Horse Rustling Do In My Texas Ancestor?
Many write to you seeking to find out where their ancestors were in the 19th century and earlier. In my case, I know where my ancestor was in the 19th century but have lost track of him in the 20th century. My great-grandfather was named Allen Mack (changed from “Arthur McDonald”). He was born in…
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The Story of a Nubian King Etched in Stone
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. An ancient African king and his queen stand before his patron deity, offering gifts in thanks for victory in battle.…
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High Cheekbones and Straight Black Hair?
Editor’s note: This article was originally published April 21, 2014. For those who are wondering about the retro title of this black-history series, please take a moment to learn about historian Joel A. Rogers, author of the 1934 book 100 Amazing Facts About the Negro With Complete Proof, to whom these “amazing facts” are an homage. Amazing Fact…
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How Do I Trace My Cape Verdean Ancestry?
My father is African American and Cape Verdean, and he grew up on Cape Cod. His mother was Almeda Matilda Santos, born Jan. 22, 1922. She died March 7, 2002, and her parents had immigrated to the United States from Cape Verde Islands in the early 1900s. My father’s father, Benjamin Franklin Johnson, was the…