Jacksonville, Florida
We’ve all heard the story of the “40 acres and a mule” promise to former slaves. It’s a staple of black history lessons, and it’s the name of Spike Lee’s film company. The promise was the first systematic attempt to provide a form of reparations Read More …
A historic marker will be unveiled today on Amelia Island to honor the 2 million Africans who died and the 500,000 who survived being shipped as slaves in what was known as the Middle Passage. Amelia Island is one of 52 documented arrival locations of Read More …
On the 76th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Frederick Douglass was invited to address the citizens of his hometown, Rochester, New York. Rather than acknowledge and celebrate the accomplishments of the young nation, Douglass used the occasion to remind all that Read More …
JUNETEENTH is the oldest celebration in the nation to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, officially freeing slaves. However, word of the Proclamation did not reach many parts of the country right away, Read More …
By 1845 Almost half the state of Florida’s population were enslaved African-Americans working on large cotton and sugar plantations in the north-central part of the state. Slave labor accounted for 85% of the state’s cotton production. Black slaves used to be rounded up to work Read More …