Born near Thomasville, Georgia on March 21, 1856, Henry O. Flipper rose to prominence as the first African American graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1877. Despite being born into slavery to Festus, a shoemaker, and Isabella Flipper, Henry was … Read MoreHenry Ossian Flipper (1856-1940)
Thyra J. Edwards, born in 1897, the granddaughter of runaway slaves, grew up in Houston, Texas and started her career there as a school teacher. Eventually she moved to Gary, Indiana and later Chicago, Illinois where she was employed as a social worker. Edwards would eventually become … Read MoreThyra J. Edwards (1897-1953)
Although little remembered today, Leidesdorff was a social, economic and political force in pre-gold rush San Francisco, California with a number of “firsts” credited to his name. When he was named the U.S. Vice Consul to Mexico in 1845, he became the nation’s first African … Read MoreWilliam Alexander Leidesdorff (1810-1848)
Image Ownership: Public Domain On June 8, 1849, Frederick Douglass gave a major oration at Faneuil Hall in Boston soon after he returned from Europe. The speech addressed a number of issues including the politics of Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky. After his main address, … Read More(1849) Frederick Douglass, “On Mexico”
February 2, 1848 In the name of Almighty God The United States of America and the United Mexican States animated by a sincere desire to put an end to the calamities of the war which unhappily exists between the two Republics and to establish Upon … Read More(1848) Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Vicente Guerrero, the second President of Mexico, was born in the small village of Tixla in what is now the state of Guerrero. His parents were Pedro Guerrero, an African Mexican and Guadalupe Saldana, an Indian. Vicente was of humble origins. In his youth he … Read MoreVicente Guerrero (1783-1831)
In early 1915, a Spanish document appeared in the south Texas town of San Diego calling for Chicanos in the U.S. Southwest to start a race war at 2 a.m. on February 20. The document called for the recapture of all lands stolen from Mexico … Read MorePlan of San Diego, 1915
The Texas Seminole Scouts were descendants of runaway slaves who fled into Florida before the Civil War. The offer of freedom by the Spanish greatly encouraged South Carolina and Georgia slaves to vote for freedom with their feet. The blacks cooperated and joined the Seminoles … Read MoreTexas Seminole Scouts
Sam Langford was one of the greatest fighters in boxing history. Born in Weymouth Falls, Nova Scotia on March 4, 1886, the 5’ 7” dynamo migrated to Boston, Massachusetts, and engaged in close to 300 officially recorded professional contests from 1902 to 1926. He was … Read MoreSam Langford (1886-1956)
John Horse, also known as Juan Caballo, John Cowaya, or Gopher John was the dominant personality in Seminole Maroon affairs for half a century. He counseled Seminole leaders, served as an agent of the U.S. government, and became a Mexican Army officer. He served the … Read MoreJohn Horse (ca. 1812-1882)
