A Black history blog highlighting the stories of enslaved peoples, their ancestors, their descendants, and stories from the African diaspora.
Dedicated to my grandparents who grew up in time where their images and stories were not widely celebrated or acknowledged.
For Harold, Etta, Tommie, & Ella
Please excuse the mess; I’m currently reformatting old posts.
Thomas Downing (1791–1866) was an American restaurateur and abolitionist active in New York City during the Victorian era who was nicknamed the "New York Oyster King". He was one of the wealthiest people in New York City at the time of his death, though he spent his life being prohibited from acquiring U.S. citizenship until the Civil Rights Act of 1866 was passed, the day before he died.
Read MoreIn 1878, Henrietta Wood, a formerly “illegally” enslaved Black woman, was awarded $2,500 in reparations by an all-white jury — the most significant sum of its kind that a U.S. court had granted.
Read MoreHaint blue is a collection of pale shades of blue-green that are traditionally used to paint porch ceilings in the southern United States that originated from the Gullah Geechee people.
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