The Journal
Stories from Black history.
Companion articles to The History of Black History, Vol. 1 — the people, places, and turning points behind the book. New stories added regularly.
Nat Turner's Rebellion: The Revolt That Shook the South
In the sweltering summer of 1831, a deeply devout enslaved man named Nat Turner looked at the world around him and decided that God had called him to act. What followed shook the American South to its foundations and forced a nation to confront the violent contradictions at its core.
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Sojourner Truth and the Power of "Ain't I a Woman?"
In the spring of 1851, a tall, commanding woman rose from her seat in a crowded Akron church and, without a single written note, delivered words that would echo through two centuries of American struggle. Her name was Sojourner Truth — and she had already survived enough to fill a dozen lifetimes.
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Frederick Douglass: The Voice of the Enslaved
He taught himself to read, escaped slavery, and became the most powerful abolitionist voice of his century.
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Mansa Musa & the Golden Empires of Africa
Long before the transatlantic trade, Mali and Songhai built centers of wealth and learning that dazzled the medieval world.
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The Haitian Revolution: How the Enslaved Defeated an Empire
In 1791, the people of Saint-Domingue did what the world called impossible — and built the first free Black republic.
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Harriet Tubman & the Underground Railroad
She escaped slavery — then returned, again and again, to lead others to freedom along a secret road north.
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