From the Slave Quarters to the Courtroom: The Story of the First African American Attorney in the United States

Since J. Clay Smith’s publication of Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, it has been taken as gospel that Boston resident Macon Allen in 1844 became was the first African-American admitted to the bar to practice law in the United States.  Recently, as part … Read MoreFrom the Slave Quarters to the Courtroom: The Story of the First African American Attorney in the United States

(1895) T. Thomas Fortune, “The Nationalization of Africa”

In 1895 T. Thomas Fortune, then editor of the New York Age, and founder of the Afro-American League in 1890, was considered one of the leaders of African America. That year he gave an address at the Congress on Africa which met in Atlanta in connection … Read More(1895) T. Thomas Fortune, “The Nationalization of Africa”

(1895) John H. Smyth, “The African in Africa and the African in America”

Virginia-born John Henry Smyth, late 19th Century lawyer and diplomat, had spent nearly five years as the U.S. Minister to Liberia, representing both President Rutherford B. Hayes and Chester A. Arthur.  He was given an L.L. D. degree by Liberia College and appointed Knight Commander … Read More(1895) John H. Smyth, “The African in Africa and the African in America”

(1890) George Washington Williams’s Open Letter to King Leopold on the Congo

George Washington Williams, “An Open Letter to His Serene Majesty Leopold II, King of the Belgians and Sovereign of the Independent State of Congo By Colonel, The Honorable Geo. W. Williams, of the United States of America,” 1890 Good and Great Friend, I have the … Read More(1890) George Washington Williams’s Open Letter to King Leopold on the Congo

(1900) The Uganda Agreement

The Uganda Agreement of 1900 We, the undersigned, to wit, Sir Henry Hamilton Johnston, K.C.B., Her Majesty’s Special Commissioner, Commander-in-Chief and Consul-General for the Uganda Protectorate and the adjoining Territories, on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India, … Read More(1900) The Uganda Agreement