When Dangerfield Newby, a member of John Brown’s heroic but ill-fated effort to institute a slave rebellion, was killed and mutilated by vengeful townspeople, the events did not immediately change the fortunes of his wife, Harriet Newby, and her children, and the rest of his family. Their sacrifice , like so many millions of others, was only just beginning.
While history often remembers John Brown’s assault on the Federal Arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, it forgets 5 Black Americans who joined him, including a man named Dangerfield Newby. Dangerfield Newby’s motivation for joining Brown was rooted in his love for his family,. His story id a powerful reminder of the enduring struggle for freedom by ordinary people. They are worthy of remembering.
The March on Washington was the product of a long and arduous journey. Each moment built upon the previous one, generating momentum and solidarity among civil rights activists. By the time the march occurred in 1963, it stood on the shoulders of decades of activism, struggle, and resilience.
The March on Washington did not happen, spontaneously. It grew out of decades of interconnected efforts by myriad civil rights stakeholders. Among these were the founding of the NAACP, the flowering of the movement known as the Harlem Renaissance, and the monumental court case, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka,
60 years ago this week, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, delivered “I Had a Dream” at a seminal event in American history. The idea of a march of thousands of people united in the search for justice, equality, and equal opportunity percolated in the minds of organizers for decades. Years before Black Americans had been thinking and strategizing.
In WW2, the movement of millions of American troops to Britain, known as the “friendly invasion,” brought to light stark differences concerning racial segregation. Many Britons struggled to understand or accept the institutionalized discrimination that Black soldiers faced in White America, leading to tensions between the two allied nations on the matter of civil rights.
Louis Daniel Armstrong's relationship with racism influenced not only his music but also the broader discourse on race in America. The barriers he broke as a Black musician are undeniable. The “Uncle Tom” criticism levied at him by some prominent Black Americans of the day was a reflection of the complex & sometimes contentious relationship between art, politics, & race in the United States.
Because of his willingness to play for segregated audiences, throughout much of his life, Louis Armstrong was called a sellout and an Uncle Tom by many Black Americans, But, in 1957, Satchmo blew up-—blasting Eisenhower to bits for not condemning treatment of Black American students in the South. His passionate words made world headlines, alienated many white fans, and divided Black America.
Born 122 years ago this week, Louis Armstrong's charisma & warmth captivated audiences globally. But, by the 1950s and 1960s, many Black Americans perceived him as outdated, out of touch with civil rights, and hesitant to voice his opinions—labeling him an "Uncle Tom." This deeply wounded Armstrong. But he was a far more complex & nuanced man than they knew.
Paul Robeson’s courage in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee made him a symbol of resistance for subsequent generations of civil rights activists & dissenters, who saw in his actions a model of courage in the face of political intimidation. He stood firm for his beliefs, despite the significant cost, and pushed back against the violation of civil liberties.
The perception of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X is one where the two men are diametrically opposed figures in the battle against white supremacy (political insider vs. political renegade). The truth is more nuanced. King and Malcolm X shared "convergent visions" for the betterment of Black America. However, their strategies to attain their shared goal were shaped by their disparate upbringings.
British Caribbean slavery, cornerstone of the British empire, was characterized by extreme & brutal exploitation. It yielded substantial wealth for a privileged few and the British government, but inflicted immense suffering on the majority of enslaved individuals, making them the most overworked & harshly treated people in the eighteenth-century Atlantic world. This history had enduring consequences.