The Unhidden Minute

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...

Mildred Hemmons Carter (1913–2011) was a pioneering Black American aviator who defied racial and gender barriers to pursue her passion for flying. Born in Alabama, Carter faced discrimination and limited opportunities due to segregation and sexism. Despite these challenges, she became the first known Black American woman in Alabama to earn a pilot's license in 1941. Carter's love for aviation led...

Delilah Leontium Beasley was a pioneering historian and journalist. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1867, Beasley began her writing career in 1883 with the Cleveland Gazette, focusing on church and social events. After moving to Oakland, California, in 1910, she immersed herself in documenting the contributions of Black Americans to the history of the West. Her extensive research culminated in the 19...

Black History Month originated as Negro History Week in 1926. Founded by historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History , the observance is a celebration of the contributions of Black Americans to our culture and way of life. Woodson, often called the “Father of Black History,” First chose the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraha...

On October 16, 1859, John Brown , an ardent abolitionist, led a group of 21 men, including both Black and white supporters, in an attempt to seize the federal armory at Harpers Ferry , Virginia (now West Virginia). His goal was to incite a large-scale slave rebellion by arming enslaved people with weapons from the arsenal. Although the group initially succeeded in taking the armory, local militia...

Thurgood Marshall was a pioneering civil rights lawyer and the first Black American Supreme Court Justice. Born in 1908, he played a crucial role in challenging racial segregation, most notably through the landmark case  Brown v. Board of Education  in 1954, which declared segregated public schools unconstitutional. As chief counsel for the NAACP, Marshall argued numerous cases before the Supreme...

The first recorded instance of a Black person voting in a U.S. presidential election occurred on November 3, 1872.   Thomas Mundy Peterson had already gained recognition for being the first Black American to vote under the 15th Amendment to the Constitution in a local election in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, on March 31, 1870. Peterson's courageous act of voting symbolized the beginning of Black Ameri...

Marsha P. Johnson , a Black transgender woman, played a crucial role in the Stonewall Uprising on June 28, 1969, in New York City's Greenwich Village. Known for her vibrant personality and activism, Johnson was a prominent figure in the LGBTQ+ community. The uprising began as a response to a police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar, and quickly escalated into a series of protests and cl...

Bronzeville , a neighborhood near the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago, has a deep and rich history, significantly shaped by its Black LGBTQ+ community. Among its notable figures is Ma Rainey, often hailed as the "Mother of the Blues." Born Gertrude Pridgett in 1886, Rainey was one of the earliest Black American professional blues singers and an influential figure in the development of the genre...

On June 19th, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that all enslaved people in United States were free. In accordance with the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, this moment formally recognized the liberation of Black Americans. This announcement came more than two years after the proclamation, making Texas the...

Decided on June 12, 1967, Loving v. Virginia , a landmark civil rights decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage. The case centered on Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a Black woman, who married in Washington, D.C., and then returned to Virginia, where interracial marriage was illegal. Arrested and sentenced to a year in prison, the Loving...

Corporal Waverly B. Woodson Jr. was a courageous Black American U.S. Army medic who served with the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion , the only all-black unit to land on Omaha Beach during D-Day on June 6, 1944 . Amid the chaos of the invasion, Woodson displayed extraordinary bravery and resilience. Despite being wounded by shrapnel, he continued to tend to his fellow soldiers for over 30 hours. Wo...

The 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion was a pioneering Black American unit in World War II, notable for its critical role during the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944 . This battalion was tasked with deploying barrage balloons, which were large, hydrogen-filled balloons tethered with steel cables to deter low-flying enemy aircraft. Their deployment over Omaha and Utah Beaches provided essential protect...

Give me a minute and let me thank you for your time. Over the last several weeks you’ve listened along to this daily series of stories that detail the often-hidden legacy of Black American history. Today we celebrate the conclusion of this enterprise with our 100th episode. Spanning more than 400 years on the ancestral homeland of displaced native people, this expansive narrative aimed to highligh...

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968) was a Baptist minister and civil rights leader who played a central role in the American Civil Rights Movement . Born in Atlanta, Georgia, King emerged as a prominent figure in the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 and subsequently became the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). King advocated for nonviolent resistance and civil disobed...

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States aimed at combating racial discrimination in voting practices. Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965, the act aimed to enforce the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution , which prohibits the denial of voting rights based on race or color. The Voting Rights Act targeted discrim...

Malcolm X (1925–1965), born Malcolm Little, was a prominent Black American Muslim minister and human rights activist. His early life was marked by poverty and crime, but while serving a prison sentence, he became a member of the Nation of Islam (NOI) and adopted the name Malcolm X. He quickly rose through the ranks of the organization, becoming one of its most influential leaders. Malcolm X advoca...