Rocky Fork Underground Railroad Community (1816- )

In 1816, Rocky Fork near Godfrey, Illinois, was established by four free African American families who purchased five adjacent parcels of land and built homes and a church that soon became a large-scale secret Underground Railroad station for escaped enslaved people fleeing to safety from … Read MoreRocky Fork Underground Railroad Community (1816- )

The 1619 Project (August 14, 2019-)

The 1619 project was a collection of essays, poems, and photos surrounding the origins of slavery and subsequent inequalities in the United States, published on August 14, 2019 in the New York Times Magazine, commemorating the 400th anniversary of first arrival of enslaved Africans to … Read MoreThe 1619 Project (August 14, 2019-)

Galloway United Methodist Church (1867- )

Galloway United Methodist Church (UMC) in Falls Church, Virginia, was founded in 1867 by George and Harriet Brice, who are buried in the historic graveyard on site. The Brices had escaped slavery and according to the U.S. Federal Census of 1850 were free blacks living … Read MoreGalloway United Methodist Church (1867- )

John Brown (AKA ‘Fed’ and ‘Benford’) (1818-1876)

John Brown (also known as “Fed” and “Benford”) of Southampton County, Virginia is best remembered as an escaped enslaved person who wrote an account of his bondage that was published in England in 1854. Brown was born about 1818 on the Betty Moore farm, three … Read MoreJohn Brown (AKA ‘Fed’ and ‘Benford’) (1818-1876)

The Slave Revolt in the Cherokee Nation (1842)

The Slave Revolt in the Cherokee Nation occurred in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) when a group of twenty-five enslaved blacks, mostly from the Joseph Vann plantation, attempted to escape to Mexico where slavery was abolished. The revolt began on November 15, 1842, when the Vann plantation fugitives gathered … Read MoreThe Slave Revolt in the Cherokee Nation (1842)

The Colored Orphans Asylum of New York (1836-1946)

There was much racial unrest in New York City, New York in the early 1800s as immigrants from across Europe and migrants from neighboring states arrived in the city. Slavery was abolished in New York state in 1827. Although black New Yorkers were free, many of their families were broken because … Read MoreThe Colored Orphans Asylum of New York (1836-1946)

Freedmen’s Town, Houston, Texas (1865- )

Freedmen’s Town is a nationally registered historical site. The site was originally a community located in the Fourth Ward of Houston, Texas that began in 1865 as the destination for former enslaved people from surrounding plantations in Texas and Louisiana after the Civil War. Freedmen’s … Read MoreFreedmen’s Town, Houston, Texas (1865- )

The Edmonson Sisters (1832–1895)

Mary Edmonson (1832–1853) and Emily Edmonson (1835–1895) were enslaved African Americans who became prominent in the United States abolitionist movement after gaining their freedom. On April 15, 1848, they were among the 77 slaves who tried to escape from Washington, D.C. to New Jersey on … Read MoreThe Edmonson Sisters (1832–1895)