Image Ownership: Public Domain The Kansas Emancipation League’s primary goal was “to bring about emancipation throughout the whole land.” It was initiated at the First Baptist Church in Leavenworth, Kansas in 1862. It also pledged to “support the war until its successful termination,” put an … Read MoreKansas Emancipation League (1862)
Francis Johnson Webb, newspaper editor, educator, equal rights activist, and the second published African American novelist, was born free on March 21, 1828, in Philadelphia to Louisa Burr and Francis Webb. His mother, Louisa Charlotte Burr (c1785-1878), was the illegitimate daughter of former vice president … Read MoreFrancis Johnson [Frank J.] Webb (1828-1894)
Image Ownership: Public Domain George W. Lowther, barber, abolitionist, equal school rights activist, and Massachusetts legislator, was born a slave in Edenton, North Carolina, to Polly Lowther. His father’s identity is unknown. His mother, Polly Lowther (c.1780-1864) was an Edenton baker, the slave of wealthy … Read MoreGeorge W. Lowther (1822-1898)
Henry Davis Green was an anti-slavery activist (abolitionist) who was a participant in the Christiana Resistance (also known as the Christiana Riot) of 1851, the largest and most violent antebellum response to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Green, a teamster by occupation, was born … Read MoreHenry Davis Green (1827-1911)
Quindaro was an abolitionist town on the border between the slave state of Missouri and free state settlers in Territorial Kansas. By its existence, Quindaro undermined the attempted blockade of the Missouri River by proslavery advocates against additional free state supporters flowing into Kansas. Quindaro … Read MoreQuindaro, Kansas Territory (1857-1862)
Fighting for Emancipation in the War of Independence Image Courtesy of University of Chicago Press Alan Gilbert, University of Denver political scientist and anti-racist activist, is the author of Black Patriots and Loyalists: Fighting for Emancipation in the War for Independence, one of the … Read MoreFighting for Freedom on Both Sides of the American Revolution
Image Ownership: Public Domain Stephen Myers held a variety of jobs over his lifetime but he is best known as a leader of the local Albany, New York Underground Railroad before the Civil War. Myers was also a prominent publisher who became an effective abolitionist … Read MoreStephen Myers (1800-1870)
The slave ship Zong departed the coast of Africa on 6 September 1781 with 470 slaves. Since this human chattel was such a valuable commodity at that time, many captains took on more slaves than their ships could accommodate in order to maximize profits. The … Read MoreThe Zong Massacre (1781)
18th Century British Slave Image Ownership: Public Domain James Sommersett was the subject of a landmark legal case in Great Britain, which was the first major step in imposing limits on Trans-Atlantic African slavery. Sommersett entered the pages of history when in 1771, he fled … Read MoreJames Sommersett (c1741-c1772)
Shields Green Awaiting Trial in Virginia, 1859 Image Ownership: Public Domain Known as the “Emperor,” Shields Green was a fugitive slave who was executed in 1859 for his role in John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry. Shields Green was born a slave in South Carolina, … Read MoreShields Green (c. 1830- 1859)