slavery
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Emmett Till's Casket Is ‘One of Our Most Sacred Objects’ at African-American History Museum
Curating for a museum is no doubt a difficult job, and one of the more difficult decisions that Lonnie Bunch III—founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture—remembers grappling with was whether to include the casket that once held the brutalized remains of Emmett Till. “I remember struggling with, ‘Should we…
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Yale May Reconsider Keeping Name of Calhoun College
It seems that the name of Calhoun College at Yale is still up for debate. The university has announced that it may revisit the decision to keep the name of the residential college, which was named after 19th-century alumnus John C. Calhoun, a known and ardent supporter of slavery, the Associated Press reports. Originally, despite students’…
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Bill O'Reilly: Slaves Who Built the White House Were 'Well-Fed,' Had Government Lodging
Everybody’s talking about Michelle Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention. More specifically, one comment, referencing the White House as having been built by slaves, has raised questions and controversy (despite that being a fact) and has had several voicing their own opinions on the matter. Enter Bill O’Reilly, host of The O’Reilly Factor on…
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6 Historic Structures in America That Were Built by Slaves
During the Democratic National Convention Monday, first lady and all-around black girl magician Michelle Obama gave a riveting speech. Honestly, there’s not a Michelle Obama speech out there that’s not inspirational, motivational and spirited. Ask Melania Trump. However, there was a part of Obama’s speech that spoke to the heart of every black person, and…
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PolitiFact Schools White People Who Refused to Believe White House Was Built by Slaves
It seems that some people may have failed history. Or maybe it’s more a sign of how broken the education system is that PolitiFact actually had to go out and fact-check whether the White House was built by slaves after first lady Michelle Obama mentioned that fact during her rousing speech at the Democratic National…
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Yale Offers to Rehire Employee Who Smashed Stained Glass Window Depicting Slaves Carrying Cotton
Yale University issued a statement Tuesday, offering to rehire a black dishwasher who had originally resigned from his post after confessing to intentionally breaking a stained glass window that depicted slaves carrying cotton,Talking Points Memo reports. The employee, Corey Menafee, resigned last month after admitting to using a broomstick to break the window inside a…
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212 Slaves Died on the São José Ship; This New Exhibit Will Share Their Story
Paul Gardullo lifted an iron ballast from a Portuguese slave ship that sank in 1794 out of a crate Wednesday morning and hefted its weight in his hands. “Anytime I come into contact with the objects from the São José, it’s an incredibly moving experience,” said the curator of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American…
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Relics From Slave Ship to Be Displayed in National Museum of African American History and Culture
As the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture continues to prepare for its grand opening in September, so does the collection that museum curators are pulling together to display for guests. The latest acquisition, according to WJLA, is iron ballasts recovered from a Portuguese slave ship that sank in the 1790s off…
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Black Yale Employee Arrested, Loses Job After Smashing Stained Glass Panel Depicting Slaves Carrying Cotton
An employee at Yale University is out of a job and now has an arrest record after smashing a stained glass panel in the university’s Calhoun residential college dining hall that depicted slaves carrying cotton, the New Haven Independent reports. Corey Menafee said that he was tired of looking at the “racist, very degrading” panel…
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Descendants of Plantation Owner, Slave Reunite for Dinner 181 Years Later
Last week, two families sat down for dinner. That really isn’t unusual or special, but what made this gathering rare was that it took some 181 years to get there. Nkrumah Steward, the descendant of a slave, and Robert Adams, the descendant of a plantation owner, pulled together the meeting between their two families to…