The Crusader was a black communist magazine established by journalist Cyril Briggs initially with the financial support of West Indian merchant Anthony Crawford in September 1918. Briggs established The Crusader in response to and in support of President Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points that called for the “impartial adjustment of all colonial claims.” Briggs, formerly of the Amsterdam … Read MoreThe Crusader (1918-1922)
Igbo Landing is a historic site at Dunbar Creek on St. Simons Island, Glynn County, Georgia. In 1803 one of the largest mass suicides of enslaved people took place when Igbo captives from what is now Nigeria were taken to the Georgia coast. In May … Read MoreIgbo Landing Mass Suicide (1803)
Black Lives Matter Protesters in Syracuse, NY, June 6, 2020 “Image Ownership: Scott Schild” The Syracuse, New York Chapter of Black Lives Matter was founded by public school educator and community actor Anthony Harper on August 6, 2015. The founding occurred several weeks after Black … Read MoreBlack Lives Matter, Syracuse Chapter (2015- )
The Port Chicago Mutiny involved African American enlisted men in the U.S. Navy who refused to return to loading ammunition after a disastrous explosion at Port Chicago, California on July 17, 1944 that destroyed the Liberty ship SS E.A. Bryan. Sailors and dock workers were … Read MorePort Chicago Mutiny (1944)
A former slave, Dangerfield Newby was one of several participants in John Brown’s raid on the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia in October 1859. Newby was the son of his white slave master, Henry Newby, a Scots immigrant, and his slave, Ailsey/ Elsie Pollard. … Read MoreDangerfield F. Newby (1815-1859)
The Maji Maji Uprising in Tanganyika was the most significant African challenge to German colonial rule during the brief period when Germany had African colonies. The Uprising lasted two years and involved people over 10,000 square miles. During the “scramble for Africa” that began with … Read MoreMaji Maji Uprising (1905-1907)
The Mau Mau Uprising, a revolt against colonial rule in Kenya, lasted from 1952 through 1960 and helped to hasten Kenya’s independence. Issues like the expulsion of Kikuyu tenants from settler farms, loss of land to white settlers, poverty, and lack of true political representation … Read MoreMau Mau (1952-1960)
The Sharpeville Massacre occurred on March 21, 1960, in the township of Sharpeville, South Africa. The incident resulted in the largest number of South African deaths (up to that point) in a protest against apartheid. It also came to symbolize that struggle. Sharpeville, a black … Read MoreSharpeville Massacre
Alfred Schmitz Shadd, a black educator, physician, farmer, politician, editor and civic leader was born in Raleigh, Ontario in 1870. He was the fourth son of Garrison and Harriet Poindexter Shadd, a distinguished abolitionist family. Shadd planned to become a doctor but trained as a … Read MoreDr. Alfred Schmitz Shadd (1870-1915)
After one loyal slave told his master about a plot to seize the city of Charlestown, South Carolina and kill all the whites, local authorities exposed the most comprehensive slave plot in the history of the United States. More than 1,000 free and enslaved blacks … Read MoreDenmark Vesey Conspiracy of 1822
