Reparations for slavery and historic discrimination against African Americans once seemed like a pipe dream. But momentum for it has been building in the past five years in cities across America, including New York City, which has deep ties to slavery and has become an important testing ground of whether America is ready to make […]
History
Posted inHistory
Founded by Freedmen, Forgotten by Textbooks: The Men Reviving Mound Bayou
MOUND BAYOU, Mississippi — On an early summer morning, Hermon Johnson Jr. walked the halls of the former band hall of the John F. Kennedy High School surrounded by archival photographs and rotating exhibits. The historical records tell the story of Mound Bayou, Mississippi. The small but mighty town is one of America’s first all-Black […]
Posted inHistory, Politics & Policy
Ghana’s President Calls Slave Trade ‘Greatest Crime,’ Pushes U.N. for Reparations
In a first coordinated African-led effort at the United Nations, leaders have declared the Transatlantic Slave Trade as “the greatest crime against humanity” and called for reparations. African leaders recently took the global stage at the U.N.’s General Assembly in New York, where Ghana’s president, John Dramani Mahama, announced plans to submit the first formal […]
Posted inCulture, History
Mississippi Festival Puts Black Blues Elders in Spotlight
CLARKSDALE, Mississippi — On a summer Saturday in the Mississippi Delta, Australia “Honey Bee” Jones sat calm and reserved in a chair on the MLK Park Stage in downtown Clarksdale. The weather was mild. A light wind blew, but the sun shone brightly, making it feel hotter than the actual temperature of 90 degrees. It was […]
Posted inClimate Change, History, Rural Issues
The Army Took Their Land. Decades Later, This Black Community Still Wants It Back.
HARRIS NECK NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, Ga. — Over the course of what was a scorching, yet typical May day across Coastal Georgia, Willie Moran made it a point to stop and take a deep breath at every sight of water. Looking out across the estuaries and salt marshes teeming with wildlife, he repeatedly reminded his […]
Posted inHistory
The Long Journey to Preserve Emmett Till’s Story, 70 Years After His Lynching
At about 9 a.m. local time on Thursday, the Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr. arrived by train in Greenwood, Mississippi. He traveled for nearly 13 hours from Chicago aboard the Amtrak City of New Orleans. This first-of-its-kind commemorative ride was done to honor the life of his cousin and best friend, Emmett Till. Parker and Till […]
Posted inHistory, Politics & Policy
What’s Really in the Blacksonian. It’s Not How Trump Framed It.
Photographs by Kuwilileni Hauwanga/Capital B “Woke.” “Out of control.” “Nothing about success.” President Donald Trump on Aug. 19 took to his social media platform to post about what he believes are the failures of the Smithsonian Institution when it comes to depicting the experiences of Black Americans. He claimed that the Smithsonian — which includes […]
Posted inHistory
Black Tourists Defend History as Trump Targets the Smithsonian
WASHINGTON — When Ronnie Underwood heard President Donald Trump’s claim this week that the Smithsonian Institution is “out of control” and focuses on “how horrible our country is,” he grew angry, he said. The way Underwood, 65, sees it, if we don’t know our past, how can we learn from it? He’s from Bessemer, Alabama, and […]
Posted inBlack Migration, Culture, Extreme Weather, History
Hurricane Katrina Displaced a Generation — and Led to a Renaissance in Houston
HOUSTON — On a recent Sunday afternoon, tears welled in Sharon Becnel’s eyes as she heard her now 34-year-old daughter reminisce about the scrapbook she lost to Hurricane Katrina. Inside the pages were Ronisha Johnson’s childhood dreams of becoming an actress and winning a big case as a lawyer. She had only packed for a […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, History
Texas Man’s Fight to Move a Lynching Marker Sparks New Battle for Truth
CENTER, Texas — As Delbert Jackson turned right onto the clean, sandy-paved stretch of Martin Luther King Drive, his chin lifted with quiet pride. The road’s upkeep is due in large part to Jackson, who leads regular community cleanups in the city. On this humid and sunny morning in early June, something felt a bit […]