The Unhidden Minute

Lemuel Haynes (1753–1833) was the first Black American ordained as a minister in a mainstream Protestant denomination in the United States. Born in West Hartford, Connecticut, to a white mother and a Black father, Haynes was indentured to a Massachusetts farmer until age 21. He enlisted in the local militia as a Minuteman in 1774 and was called to arms following the outbreak of hostilities with Br...

William Still (1821–1902) was a prominent Black American abolitionist, writer, and key figure in the Underground Railroad . Often referred to as the "Father of the Underground Railroad," Still helped hundreds of enslaved people escape to freedom while working as chairman of the Vigilance Committee of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society in Philadelphia . Born to formerly enslaved parents in New J...

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a prominent leader in the American civil rights movement, was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was in the city to support a strike by African American sanitation workers. While standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, King was fatally shot by James Earl Ray , a fugitive from the Missouri State Penitentiary. His assassination sent shockwaves...

Shirley Chisholm was a groundbreaking American politician, educator, and author. Born on November 30, 1924, in Brooklyn, New York, she became the first Black American woman elected to the United States Congress in 1968, representing New York's 12th congressional district for seven terms until 1983. Chisholm was a fierce advocate for racial and gender equality, education, and social justice. In 197...

The march from Selma to Montgomery on March 21, 1965 , was a pivotal event in the American civil rights movement. Led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr ., thousands of demonstrators set out from Selma, Alabama, to demand voting rights for Black Americans. This was the third attempt after previous marches were met with violent resistance from local law enforcement officers, notably on “Bloody Sunday” (M...

George Frazier Monroe (c.1844-1886) was a renowned Black American stagecoach driver in the late 19th century. Known for his skill and daring he drove through the rugged terrain of Yosemite National Park . Born in California, Monroe became one of the most trusted stage drivers for the Wells Fargo Company , guiding visitors, including prominent figures like President Ulysses S. Grant , through the p...

On June 2, 1863, Harriet Tubman led a daring raid along the Combahee River in South Carolina, becoming the first woman to plan and execute a military operation in U.S. history. Working alongside Union Colonel James Montgomery , Tubman and a group of Black Union soldiers used intelligence gathered from enslaved people to navigate the river and launch a surprise attack on Confederate plantations. Un...

Private Gordon , an enslaved man who escaped to became one of the most iconic figures of the Civil War. Photographs of his severely scarred back were published in 1863. Born into slavery in Louisiana, Gordon endured brutal treatment from his enslavers. In March 1863, he escaped a plantation, traveling ten days through treacherous terrain to reach Union lines in Baton Rouge. Once there, Gordon enli...

Susie King Taylor was the first Black American nurse in the Civil War and a pioneering educator. Born into slavery in Georgia in 1848, she defied the law by secretly learning to read and write. When Union troops occupied St. Simons Island in 1862, she escaped to freedom and joined the 1st South Carolina Volunteer Infantry , an all-Black regiment. Taylor served as a nurse, laundress, and educator,...

Major Martin Delany (1812-1885) was a pioneering Black American abolitionist, physician, and military officer. Born in 1812 in Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia), he became one of the first Black students admitted to Harvard Medical School, though racist opposition forced him to leave. A staunch advocate for Black self-sufficiency, he co-edited The North Star with Frederick Douglass and la...

Lewis Henry Douglass (1840-1908), the eldest son of Frederick Douglass , was a sergeant in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry , the first Black American regiment raised in the North during the Civil War. On July 18, 1863, he fought in the assault on Fort Wagner , a heavily fortified Confederate stronghold in South Carolina. The 54th led the charge under intense enemy fire, suffering heavy casualties....

Dangerfield Newby (1815–1859) was an enslaved man who joined John Brown ’s raid on Harpers Ferry in an attempt to free his wife and children from slavery. Born in Virginia to an enslaved mother and a white father, Newby was later freed, but his wife and children remained in bondage. Despite his efforts to buy their freedom, their enslaver refused. Desperate to rescue his family, Newby joined John...

Clara Brown (1800–1885) was a formerly enslaved woman who became a successful entrepreneur, philanthropist, and community leader in Colorado. Born into slavery in Virginia, she was separated from her family when she was sold at auction. Brown gained her freedom in 1856 upon the death of her owner who release her from bondage in his will. She traveled west during the Gold Rush, working as a cook, l...

Hercules Posey was an enslaved chef for George Washington and one of the earliest influencers of American cuisine. Born around 1754, he became Washington’s head cook at Mount Vernon and later in the presidential household in Philadelphia. Known for his culinary skill, Hercules prepared elaborate meals blending European techniques with African and American ingredients, helping to shape what would b...

Oney Judge was an enslaved woman who served as Martha Washington’s personal maid before escaping to freedom. Born around 1773 at Mount Vernon , she was of mixed African and English ancestry. When George Washington became the first U.S. president, Oney was taken to serve in his presidential households in New York and later in Philadelphia. In 1796, upon learning she was to be given as a wedding gif...

In the early 18th century, a legendary African pirate who operated off the coast of Florida. They called him Black Caesar . According to folklore, he was once an African chieftain who was captured by slavers but escaped after a shipwreck near the Florida Keys. He and his crew turned to piracy, using the remote islands and hidden coves as a base for raiding passing ships around what is now Biscayan...

Joseph Savary was a Haitian military leader who played a significant role in the War of 1812 . He commanded the 2nd Battalion of Free Men of Color under General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans . Born of African descent, in Saint Dominque Savary was a skilled officer who had experience from the Haitian Revolution . He and his troops, composed of free Black and mixed-race soldiers, fough...

Toussaint Louverture was a leader of the Haitian Revolution , which led to the first independent Black republic in 1804. Born enslaved in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) around 1743, Louverture gained his freedom and became a skilled military strategist. When the French Revolution ignited calls for liberty, he led enslaved Africans in a successful rebellion against French, Spanish,...

Sally Hemings was an enslaved woman of mixed race owned by Thomas Jefferson , the third President of the United States. Born in 1773 in Virginia, she was the half-sister of Jefferson’s wife, Martha, sharing the same father, John Wayles. Hemings accompanied Jefferson’s family to Paris in the 1780s, where she could have claimed her freedom but instead negotiated better treatment for herself and her...

Peter Salem was a Black American soldier who played a crucial role in the American Revolution. Born into slavery in Massachusetts in 1750, he was later freed by his owner to enlist in the Continental Army. Salem is best known for his bravery at the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775, where he is credited with shooting and killing British Major John Pitcairn , a key officer leading the attack....

Barzillai Lew was an Black American soldier and musician who played a significant role in the American Revolution. Born free in Massachusetts in 1743, he was a skilled fifer and drummer. He first served in the French and Indian War before enlisting in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Lew fought in key battles, including the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Battle of Saratoga , where...

The Stono Rebellion of 1739 was the largest slave uprising in colonial British America. It occurred on September 9 in South Carolina, near the Stono River. Led by an enslaved man named Jemmy, a group of about 20 enslaved Africans seized weapons from a store, killed several white settlers, and marched south toward Spanish Florida, where freedom was promised to escapees. Their numbers grew to around...

Fort Mosé , established in 1738 in Spanish Florida, was the first legally sanctioned free Black settlement in what is now the United States. Located near St. Augustine, it was founded by formerly enslaved Africans who had escaped British colonies and sought refuge under Spanish rule. In exchange for freedom, they converted to Catholicism and pledged loyalty to Spain. Led by Captain Francisco Menén...

In 1619 a woman was kidnapped from her home in the Kingdom of Ndongo, part of modern-day Angola Africa and brought to the continent of North America. She was given the name Angela . Among a group of approximately 20 captives taken from a Portuguese slave ship commandeered by English pirates, Angela is believed to be the first African woman enslaved in the colony of Jamestown. Transported aboard a...

Nzinga Ana de Sousa Mbande (1583–1663) was a formidable queen of Ndongo and Matamba, in present-day Angola. A skilled diplomat and military strategist, she resisted Portuguese colonial expansion for decades. Nzinga first gained prominence in 1624 when she became ruler after her brother’s death. Facing Portuguese aggression and the impact of the slave trade, she forged alliances with European power...