African American HistoryPerspectives

Perspectives on African American History features accounts and descriptions of important but little known events in African American history recalled often by those who were witnesses or participants or viewpoints about historical developments shaping the contemporary black world. Many of these accounts will be instant primary sources available to current visitors to BlackPast and to future historians. Each article is accompanied by a brief biography and photo of its author.

Injustice in Alaska Territory: The World War II Court-martial of Ten Black Soldiers Who Helped Build the ALCAN Highway

In their latest book on the Black soldiers who helped build the Alcan Highway during World War II, authors Christine and Dennis McClure encountered a story of injustice in the frigid north. See a description of their new book, A Different Race, to get a … Read MoreInjustice in Alaska Territory: The World War II Court-martial of Ten Black Soldiers Who Helped Build the ALCAN Highway

Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, The Boulé: A Brief Overview (1904- )

In the article below Rodney J. Reed, former Grand Sire Archon of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity and author of A Grand Journey: The History of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, 1904-2010, briefly outlines the history of the oldest continuously existing Black Greek-letter fraternity in the United … Read More

COVID-19: The Myth and the Reality for Black America

In the article below, Dr. Clarence Spigner, an epidemiologist and professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Washington, assesses the early African American responses to COVID-19. COVID-19, the highly infectious respiratory pandemic disease, stands for coronavirus disease, 2019. Symptoms for possible … Read MoreCOVID-19: The Myth and the Reality for Black America

The Nation of Islam’s Economic Program, 1934-1975

In the following article, historian Nafeesa Muhammad describes the often lauded but understudied economic program of the Nation of Islam (NOI). Here she focuses on the economic development plans put in place under the NOI’s longtime leader, Elijah Muhammad and their impact on African American … Read MoreThe Nation of Islam’s Economic Program, 1934-1975

Resurrecting the Legacy of Eddie Gardner

In this article below historian Charles B. Kastner describes his new book, Race Across America, on Eddie Gardner, the now virtually unknown marathon runner who achieved nation fame in his footraces across the United States in the 1920s. Race across America: Eddie Gardner and the … Read MoreResurrecting the Legacy of Eddie Gardner

Mental Illness in Black Community, 1700-2019: A Short History

In the article below, Dr. Uchenna Umeh, a former San Antonio, Texas physician, briefly describes how mental health among African Americans was viewed and treated by the American medical community from the antebellum period until today. In the process she describes how those attitudes have … Read MoreMental Illness in Black Community, 1700-2019: A Short History

Fighting For Freedom, Fighting Against the Bomb: African Americans and the Campaign for a Nuclear-Free World, 1945-

In the description of his 2015 book, African Americans Against the Bomb: Nuclear Weapons, Colonialism, and the Black Freedom Movement, historian Vincent Intondi describes the long but little-known history of black Americans in the Nuclear Disarmament Movement. His essay, which appears below, tells the compelling … Read MoreFighting For Freedom, Fighting Against the Bomb: African Americans and the Campaign for a Nuclear-Free World, 1945-

Fighting Jim Crow in the 19th Century South: The Untold Story

Most historians have considered the period between 1877, the end of Reconstruction, and 1900 to be “The Nadir” or the low point in terms of African American political rights. Some have even described it as the worst period for blacks since emancipation. Historian Melissa Milewski … Read MoreFighting Jim Crow in the 19th Century South: The Untold Story

The Innocence Project: A Short History Since 1983

For more than 25 years the Innocence Project has been shedding light on systemic failures of the United States criminal justice system. The authors of the Bill of Rights in the 1780s and 1790s enumerated more than a dozen specific protections for criminal defendants including the right … Read MoreThe Innocence Project: A Short History Since 1983

The History of Allensworth, California (1908- )

In the article below retired California State University, Fresno historian Robert Mikell explores the history of the only all-black town created in the Golden State. He traces that history including the role of its principal founder, Colonel Allen Allensworth, from 1908. Allensworth, the first town … Read MoreThe History of Allensworth, California (1908- )