Tag Archives: Slavery in the United States

27Jun/23

How many members of America’s political elite are direct descendants of people who were slaveholders?

June 27, 2023Politics19th century in the United States, Labor history of the United States, Slavery in the United States, United States, White supremacy in the United Statesadmin

June 26, 2023 /Politics/ — According to a 2023 report by Reuters, at least 100 members of the 117th United States Congress are direct descendants of people who were slaveholders. This includes 28 members of the Senate and 72 members of the House of Representatives.

The report found that the descendants of slaveholders are disproportionately represented in Congress, making up about 20% of the body despite comprising only about 1% of the overall population. This is likely due to the fact that many of the families who owned slaves were also wealthy and well-connected, which gave their descendants an advantage in terms of education and opportunity. Continue reading →

19Jun/23

What to know about the holiday Juneteenth

June 19, 2023SocialAfrican-American culture, American culture, Calendars, Emancipation day, Eventbrite, Galveston, Galveston, Texas, George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center, JFest, Joe Biden, Juneteenth, Months, Public holidays in the United States, Slavery in the United States, United Statesadmin

June 19, 2023 /Social/ — Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the end of slavery in the country. The holiday falls on June 19, which is the date in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas to announce that the enslaved people in the state were free, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

Juneteenth has been celebrated by African Americans since the late 1800s, and it became a state holiday in Texas in 1980. In the decades since, every state but South Dakota has formally recognized Juneteenth as a state or ceremonial holiday. In 2021, President Joe Biden signed a bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday. Continue reading →

05Feb/23

A Black history primer on African Americans’ fight for equality – 5 essential reads

February 5, 2023Human InterestAbolitionism, African Americans in the Civil War, African-American people, American culture, Anglican saints, Aram Goudsouzian, Auburn, Belgium, Bill Russell, Canada, Carter G. Woodson, Creative Commons, France, Galveston, Germany, Greg Abbott, Harriet Tubman, Howard Manly, Jeff Littlejohn, Jeffrey L. Littlejohn, Jim Crow, Juneteenth, Kate Clifford Larson, Kirvin, Kris Manjapra, Lynching, Malcolm, Mark Felix, Matthew Delmont, Mose Jones, Movements for civil rights, OAKLAND, Physical punishments, Sierra Leone, Slavery in the United States, Snap Curry, United States, W.E.B. Du Boisadmin

Howard Manly, The Conversation

As the father of Black history, Carter G. Woodson had a simple goal – to legitimize the study of African American history and culture.

To that end, in 1912, shortly after becoming the second African American after W.E.B. Du Bois to earn a Ph.D. at Harvard, Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915.

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Tag: Slavery in the United States