Willie S. Steele (1923-1989)

Olympic athlete Willie Samuel Steele was born in El Centro, California on July 14, 1923.  At age 4 his family moved to San Diego where he graduated from Herbert Hoover High School in 1940.  While attending San Jose State University he was drafted into the … Read MoreWillie S. Steele (1923-1989)

(1850) Rev. Jermain Wesley Loguen, “I Won’t Obey the Fugitive Slave Law”

A month after the infamous Fugitive Slave Act was passed by Congress, Rev. Jermain Wesley Loguen (1813-1872), a fugitive slave from Tennessee, persuaded his adopted hometown, Syracuse, New York, to declare that city a refuge for liberated slaves. On October 4, 1850, the people of … Read More(1850) Rev. Jermain Wesley Loguen, “I Won’t Obey the Fugitive Slave Law”

(1789) An Unknown Free Black Author Describes Slavery In 1789

We don’t know the name of one of the earliest orators against slavery. He was a West Indian who apparently was a former slave fortunate enough to be educated. He was also intimately familiar with slavery and the slave trade in that region. The themes … Read More(1789) An Unknown Free Black Author Describes Slavery In 1789