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Langston Hughes

Early Life Hughes was born February 1, 1902 (although some evidence shows it may have been 1901), in Joplin, Missouri, to James and Caroline Hughes. When he was a young boy, his parents divorced, and, after his father moved to Mexico, and his mother, whose maiden name was Langston, sought work elsewhere, he was raised […]

Former Nation of Islam leader and civil rights activist El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (aka Malcolm X and Malcolm Little) on February 16, 1965, in Rochester, New York.

The Assassination of Malcolm X

Civil rights leader Malcolm X took the stage at the Audubon Ballroom in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan on February 21, 1965. Just minutes later, shortly after 3 p.m., the former prominent Nation of Islam figure was gunned down by three men as his wife, Betty Shabazz, pregnant with twins, and four daughters took […]

Dunmore’s Proclamation

Loyalist Governor Sought to Expand His Troops The proclamation was months in the making, as Dunmore was in a vulnerable position as throngs of rebels filled the Virginia capital of Williamsburg, prompting the loyalist governor to depart for Norfolk. Worsening matters for him was that many of his forces had deserted him, leaving him with […]

Black History: Timeline of the Post-Civil Rights Era

From the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., to the 2008 election of Barack Obama, to widespread global protests declaring Black Lives Matter in 2020, African American history in the United States has been filled with both triumph and strife. Here’s a look at some of the notable milestones that took place from the […]

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A Black Students Union leader in front of a crowd of demonstrators at San Francisco State College in December 1968. The union had gone on strike after racial strife between students and administration.

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The Campus Walkout That Led to America’s First Black Studies Department

The 1968 strike was the longest by college students in American history. It helped usher in profound changes in higher education.

Eleanor Roosevelt and Dr. Mary Bethune Visit George Washington Carver HallEleanor Roosevelt and Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune are visiting George Washington Carver Hall, a men's dormitory for blacks. Washington, D.C., May 1943. | Location: George Washington Carver Hall, Washington, D.C., USA. (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

What Was the Role of FDR’s ‘Black Cabinet’?

Led by Mary McLeod Bethune, this informal network of advisors was the first group to press for civil rights from within the federal government.

When James Baldwin and William Buckley Debated Race’s Role in the American Dream

In 1965, the two prominent intellectuals faced off in Cambridge, England over whether the American dream is at the expense of African Americans. Baldwin won.

St. Louis, Missouri: Exodus of African American families from Louisiana and Mississippi to St. Louis. Procession of refugees from the steamboat landing to the colored churches. Engraving, 1879.

How Benjamin ‘Pap’ Singleton Led an Exodus of Freed Black Americans West

Many of the migrants, known as the Exodusters, fled the South after Reconstruction, seeking land and opportunity in Kansas.

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The Harlem Hellfighters

The Harlem Hellfighters were an African-American infantry unit in WWI who spent more time in combat than any other American unit. Despite their courage, sacrifice and dedication to their country, they returned home to face racism and segregation from their fellow countrymen.