Oak Hill Cemetery is a historic treasure in Washington DC. Visible from the grounds of Oak Hill, are the grounds of Mount Zion and Female Union Band Society cemeteries. The contrast of picturesque, meticulously preserved Oak Hill Cemetery, to the peculiar blight just east of it’s boundary, is a visual representation of systemic inequity, the indignities of segregation, and the devastating cultural erasure of gentrification.
Read MoreWhen one thinks of the Civil War in Charleston, South Carolina, the mind immediately goes to Fort Sumter where on April 12, 1861 Confederate forces fired the first shots of what became the bloodiest war in American history. However, just over a year after the war began, Charleston was also the site of an extraordinary act of courage on the part of an enslaved man named Robert Smalls. Despite this, many people have never heard the story of Smalls’ actions.
Read MoreThe 1908 Springfield Race Riot made Illinois the center of national attention and uproar as it was the final straw for many advocates for racial justice in the United States. Those acts of racial terror committed in August 1908 gave way for the creation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People or NAACP — one of the oldest civil rights organizations in the U.S. In its over a hundred years of existence, the NAACP has tirelessly worked to make racial justice and equality a reality for all Americans.
Read MoreViola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman step into powerful, far-reaching roles in the film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. An astounding film that forces us to confront our racist past and present, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom shows us how Black Americans were celebrated for their talent while simultaneously being exploited for their art. Be advised that this review contains spoilers!
Read MoreThe murals in Washington D.C.’s U-Street Corridor, which has long been known as “The Black Broadway,” honor many important black American artists. Among them is Paul Robeson: singer, actor, athlete, and overall true Renaissance man.
Read MoreFollowing the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in April 1968, Washington D.C. erupted in shock and outrage. The D.C. Riots of 1968 had a lasting physical and psychological impact, particularly around D.C.’s historically black U-Street Corridor. Following the violence and chaos only three businesses that witnessed that night remain standing today, over 50 years later.
Read MoreOriginally published in 2002, I picked up Frady’s book about a year ago during a visit to the Howard University bookstore, in the hopes of deepening my knowledge and appreciation of King the man. It did.
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