American History

When a Black soldier was rumored to have been killed by the Houston police, the 3rd Battalion went on the offensive, firing shots. Known as the Houston mutiny, the black soldiers did so as it wasn’t the first time they had heard of police brutality against their own. […]

Jack Johnson was the first African American Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World. He defeated Jim Jeffries, a white man, undermining the concept of the white race being superior. […]

The Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill was formulated by congressman Leonidas Dyer. It sought to held the state accountable for hate crimes, mob attacks and lynching of African Americans. The Republicans introduced it in the congress but ultimately became disinterested in seeing it through. […]

The Negro Silent Protest Parade not only sought to protest against white supremacy and mob lynching but also wanted other African Americans to be made aware of the civil rights organization, the NAACP. […]

The terror that African Americans faced at the hands of raging white mobs was off the charts. Even when innocent, they were lynched and burnt alive, almost like a spectacle. […]

The ‘national anthem’ of Black Americans, ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ also speaks of faith and hope. Inspired, free Blacks started their own churches; safe spaces for worship, socialize, and discuss racial matters, free of white interference. […]

Written more than a century ago, the song, ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’, was able to capture the emotions of Black Americans very well. It celebrated emancipation and conveyed the feelings of accomplishment of the African Americans. It affirmed the strength that African Americans had exhibited during the journey from slavery to freedom. […]

The lyrics of James W. Johnson’s song, ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’, called for collective action; urged African Americans not to suffer silently; and reminded that the pain of the past was not to be minimized. […]