AFRICAN & BLACK HISTORY Profile picture
Mar 8, 2023 11 tweets 5 min read Read on X
“fuck it, i’ll do it!” —black women

Black women are routinely erased from public memory and historical narratives of resistance.

Black women powered the civil rights movement, but rarely became its stars. #InternationalWomensDay

A THREAD!
Aunt Polly Jackson, was an escaped slave who worked as an agent on the Underground Railroad helping others escape.

She was known for fighting off slave catchers with a butcher knife and a kettle of boiling water
Harriet Tubman, the woman who escaped slavery then fought and freed hundreds of slaves.

She reminded us that bravery and refusal to accept injustice can change history.
Sojourner Truth was an evangelist, abolitionist, women’s rights activist and author who was born into slavery before escaping to freedom in 1826. After gaining her freedom, Truth preached about abolitionism and equal rights for all
A statue of La Mûlatresse Solitude, who in 1802, helpled lead a slave revolt while EIGHT Months pregnant in Guadeloupe.

She became a martyr and symbol for all women and mothers who against all odds defended the ideals of freedom and equality.
Queen Nanny Of The Maroons: Ashanti Woman who Fought And Freed Over 1,000 Enslaved Africans In Jamaica.
By the early 70s, women made up the majority of members in the US Black Panther Party.
Mae Mallory was an activist during the Civil Rights Movement and a leader in the Black Power movement. Mallory was most-known as an advocate of following desegregation and Black armed self-defense.
Claudia Jones; Journalist and activist. Author of the seminal piece 'Ending the Neglect of Black Women' and original founder of Notting Hill Carnival. Founder of Britain's first major newsletter, the West Indian Gazette
Daisy Bates, civil rights activist and newspaper publisher. Through her newspaper, Bates documented the battle to end segregation in Arkansas
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More from @AfricanArchives

Jun 10
The 'Real Life Mulan', Cathay Williams.

Cathay had to pose as a MALE to be enlisted as a union soldier during her time. She was part of the 38 Regiment Infantry Division and was called a Buffalo Soldier!

A THREAD Image
Cathay was born and enslaved in 1850 in Jackson County, Missouri. In September 1861 Union troops impressed Cathay and she joined the Army to work as a cook and washerwoman for Union Army officers.
On November 15th, 1866 Williams disguised herself as a man and enlisted as William Cathey, serving in Company A of the 38th Infantry, a newly-formed all-black U.S. Army Regiment, one of its earliest recruits.
Read 8 tweets
Jun 7
In 1847, Missouri banned education for black people.

John Berry Meachum went ahead and equipped a steamboat with a library, desks, chairs and opened a 'Floating Freedom School'.

A THREAD! Image
John Berry Meachum was born into slavery in Virginia in 1789 but by the age of 21 he had earned enough money doing carpentry work to purchase his own freedom and then his father’s.
Meachum was a married man, but before he could save up enough to buy his wife’s freedom she was moved to St. Louis. He followed her here and eventually managed to purchase her freedom as well.
Read 9 tweets
Jun 5
Successful black communities and towns. A THREAD!

Did you know that an entire Manhattan village owned by black people was destroyed to build Central Park.

The community was called Seneca Village. It spanned from 82nd Street to 89th Street. Image
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Blackdom, New Mexico

It was founded by Frank Boyer and Ella Louise McGruder and it was the first black town in New Mexico. It was a safe haven for our people. It had a population of 300 residents by 1908.

In 1919, the town struck oil! Image
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The residents then created the Blackdom Oil Company, and they became set for generations of wealth but tragedy struck too…

The town suffered a drought and became uninhabitable. Families left and by the end of World War I, it was essentially a ghost town.
Read 18 tweets
Jun 3
The 369th Infantry Regiment, The Harlem Hellfighters.

Though they spent more time in battle than any other regiment and were one of the most decorated, they never got the recognition they deserved.

—THREAD— Image
Even as one of the most successful military regiments in WWI, they were denied their going away parade because they were a black regiment.

They were invited after the war due to their valor. Image
They fought so hard & with such tenacity that they were dubbed "The Harlem Hellfighters" by the German troops they faced.

It became the first American unit to be cited with the French Croix de Guerre. One medal of honor & many Distinguished Service Crosses.
Read 10 tweets
May 29
British exploiters displaying their loots after the punitive expedition of the Benin Kingdom, West Africa. The 1897 Benin Punitive Expedition saw Britain loot 4,000 artworks and massacre people. The invasion, driven by trade control, exiled Oba Ovonramwen(The Ruler)

A THREAD Image
The Kingdom of Benin, often referred to as the Great Benin Empire, was one of the most powerful and influential African states in pre-colonial West Africa. It has no historical relation to the modern republic of Benin, which was known as Dahomey from the 17th century until 1975.
The British were driven by both economic interests and the desire to expand their colonial influence. They aimed to establish control over the region and gain access to its abundant natural resources.
Read 10 tweets
May 24
— The origin of Memorial Day—

The origin of Memorial Day trace back to 1865 when freed slaves started a tradition to honor fallen Union soldiers and to celebrate emancipation and commemorate those who died for that cause.

A THREAD Image
In 1865, black people in Charleston, South Carolina, held a series of memorials & rituals to honor unnamed fallen Union soldiers and celebrate the struggle against slavery. One of the largest memorial took place on May 1st 1865.
As the civil war ended, confederates had converted the city’s Washington Race Course & Jockey Club into an outdoor prison. Union captives were kept in horrid conditions and at least 257 died of disease and were quickly buried in a mass grave behind the grandstand. Image
Read 10 tweets

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