Professor Hasan Kwame Jeffries

Like in every other arena, American baseball, too, was out of bounds for Black players. The color line was very much fixed and white players ruled the roost. However, in 1954, bit by bit, it began to change. […]

Jackie Robinson, a star baseball player, was critically aware of his roots and the exceptional struggle the color of his skin brought his way. He refused to be a silent spectator and, instead, post-retirement, advocated for Black civil rights. […]

Jesse Owens, part of the Olympics’ Black Eagles group, did not just break the world record in the 200 m sprint but also won gold in the long jump, and the relay. Yet, his accomplishments were snubbed, not only by Hitler but even by his own president. […]

Though 1.2 million African Americans served in the American military during World War II, most were assigned to noncombat units. This racial discrimination led to the launch of the Double V campaign. […]

March on Washington chapters held massive pre-march rallies, which made President Roosevelt anxious. He promised Black labor activist Asa Philip Randolph of better treatment of African Americans. […]

In 1940,Asa Philip Randolph met President Roosevelt to lobby for nondiscrimination in defense hiring and for the desegregation of the military. Disappointed with Roosevelt’s refusal to interfere, he called on African Americans to march on Washington DC. […]

President Roosevelt persuaded Congress to institute a military draft, requiring men between age 21 and 35 to register for service, and shifted the focus of American manufacturing to the production of war materials. […]

Post Depression, things were hard for everyone in general. However, for the African American community, racial bias in doling out the relief offered by the government, compounded it on every step of the way. […]

The Missouri sharecroppers were viewed by their local governor as a nuisance. He sought to run them off, hoping the issue will be forgotten. But, their plight moved the local college who found a solution in cooperative farming. […]