Nate Christensen, Author at

Independent Historian

Nathan Christensen is a University of Washington graduate whose abiding enthusiasm for history drove him to earn a bachelor of arts in that field and to contribute to BlackPast.org. His entries are the product of research conducted under UW Professor Quintard Taylor’s tutelage. He is currently working towards teacher certification and a Masters in Teaching.

Mahlon Van Horne (1840-1910)

Reverend Mahlon Van Horne was a community leader in Newport, Rhode Island and a pioneer in African American politics. As U.S. consul to St. Thomas, Danish West Indies, he advocated for the U.S. to purchase the territory in the early 1900s. Born on March 5th, … Read MoreMahlon Van Horne (1840-1910)

John Brown’s Christmas Raid into Missouri 1858

As Harper’s Ferry would prove, John Brown’s preferred method of battling slavery was to free hundreds of enslaved people at a time in a single attack. However, the week of Christmas 1858, he made an exception and successfully rescued eleven Missouri slaves, throwing the region … Read MoreJohn Brown’s Christmas Raid into Missouri 1858

Maynard Jackson, Sr. (1894-1953)

Rev. Dr. Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Sr. carried on two family traditions: preaching and politics. The son of Alexander Stephens Jackson, a Baptist minister from New Orleans, and Odalie Alice Morse Jackson. Jackson was born into New Orleans’s Negro-Creole Society on May 3, 1894. Like his father, … Read MoreMaynard Jackson, Sr. (1894-1953)

Dunbar Hotel (1928- )

The Great Migration brought many African Americans to Los Angeles in the 1920s. Housing covenants and other forms of discrimination followed them and forced the creation of a black community along South Central Avenue. For decades, the most popular spot in this district (and all … Read MoreDunbar Hotel (1928- )

Oberlin-Wellington Rescue (1858)

Tensions leading up to the Civil War often manifested themselves through conflicts over the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. The Oberlin-Wellington Rescue was one such instance of this. It was a struggle between supporters of slavery and supporters of freedom, the outcome of which would … Read MoreOberlin-Wellington Rescue (1858)

Allen B. Light (1805-?)

The African American experience in California in the years just prior to the Gold Rush included more than just overland immigrants. Allen B. Light, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, arrived in Santa Barbara, California in 1835 as a crew-member of the American ship Pilgrim. After his … Read MoreAllen B. Light (1805-?)

John Lewis Waller (1850-1907)

John L. Waller was a career Republican and activist who played a significant role in Kansas politics. He was born to slave parents, Anthony and Maria Waller, on a plantation in New Madrid County, Missouri. Some records suggest he was born in 1851, contrary to … Read MoreJohn Lewis Waller (1850-1907)