In 1862, congress allowed the enlistment of African Americans into the U.S. military. Those who served and loved the country that did not love them back.

Military History of African Americans. #BlackHistoryMonth

A THREAD Black Americans participated in every American war from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the Civil War, the Spanish–American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War.

Sarah Saartjie Baartman was cruelly exploited in Europe by being exhibited as a freak show attraction because of her protruding butt. After her death, her body was displayed in a Paris museum for over 100yrs.

The exploitation of Sarah Baartman.

A THREAD! SARAH "Saarjte" Baartman of the khoikhoi people of South Africa was born in 1789 and was one of 2 women put on display as a "FREAK SHOW" act in England and then later France.

Most people have heard or used the term UNCLE TOM when we refer to a sell-out, but did you know that the inference is totally wrong.

The real Uncle Tom was a hero, Josiah Henson, was an abolitionist who helped slaves escape among other great things #BlackHistoryMonth

A THREAD! Josiah Henson was born into slavery in 1789 in Charles County, Maryland. Growing up he watched his father receive beatings for standing up to his slave owner and also witnessed his father's ear being severed as part of the punishment and also his father being sold off.

George Stinney Jr., was the youngest person executed in the US in the 20th century. He was so small they had to stack books on the electric chair.

Due to no evidence, his conviction was vacated 70 years after his execution! #BlackHistoryMonth  

A THREAD! George was accused of killing two white missing girls, 11-Year-old Betty and 7-year-old Mary, their bodies were found near the house where he lived with his parents in Alcolu, South Carolina march 1944.

Did you know Martin Luther King Jr's Mother and his Brother were also murdered? #BlackHistoryMonth

Martin Luther King’s mother, Alberta King, was assassinated while in church. 6 years after her son was gunned down in Memphis.

Alfred Daniel King, brother to MLK, mysteriously died in a swimming pool, 15 months after his brother’s assassination. On June 30, 1974, Alberta King had just finished playing "The Lord's Prayer" on the organ at Ebenezer Baptist when a man shouted, "I'm taking over here!" A young black man bolted to the pulpit and pulled out a gun. The man, later identified as Marcus Wayne Chenault Jr. of Ohio, fired his gun, hitting Alberta King, church deacon Edward Boykin and congregation member Jimmie Mitchell. Mrs. King and Boykin were taken to the hospital where they pronounced dead. Mrs. King was 69-years-old. The attack occurred less than 100 yards from where her son was buried. Chenault said he was on a mission to kill all Christians and his original target was MLK Sr., considering black pastors a threat to black people. He claimed insanity in his trial but was convicted and sentenced to death in the electric chair. His sentence was later changed to life in prison, due in part to the wishes of the surviving members of the King family, who opposed capital punishment. Chenault died in prison in 1995 at age 44.

The Battle of Bamber Bridge, 1943.

Racist US military police attacked black US troops on British soil.

US military authorities demanded the town’s pubs impose a colour bar, the local landlords responded with signs that read “Black Troops Only” which pissed them off.

A THREAD In 1943 Black American soldiers faced off with white American Military police during World War 2 on British soil. Black American soldiers had to fight their own white American soldiers, while in England, where they were fighting the world war.

Job Maseko, a WW2 hero, sank a NAZI ship with a bomb made from a tin can with condensed milk. He was denied the highest military decoration, due to his race.

A THREAD! Maseko was working as a delivery driver when he volunteered for service in the South African Native Military Corps during WWII (NMC). Later he was sent to the 2nd South African Infantry Division after finishing basic training in North Africa.

In Louisiana, black women were put in cells with male prisoners and some became pregnant

All children born in the penitentiary became property of the state

At 10 years they would be auctioned off. The proceeds were used to fund schools for white kids #BlackHistoryMonth

THREAD Before the Civil War, most prisoners in the South were white. The punishment of enslaved African Americans was generally left up to their owners. Louisiana, however, did imprison enslaved people for "serious" crimes, generally involving acts of rebellion against the slave system.

In 1790, Jean Baptist Pointe Desable founded the city of Chicago. #BlackHistoryMonth

A THREAD Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable was born in Saint-Domingue, Haiti (French colony at the time) during the Haitian Revolution. At some point he settled in the part of North America that is now known as the city of Chicago and was described in historical documents as "a handsome negro"

In memory of those who chose the sea.. —The "Igbo Landing" story —

In an act of mass resistance against slavery, a group of slaves revolted, took control of the slave ship grounded it on an island & rather than submit to slavery, proceeded to march into water & drown.

THREAD! Igbo Landing is the location of a mass suicide of Igbo slaves that occurred in 1803 on St. Simons Island, GA.

In May of 1946, The Fultz Sisters or Fultz Quads, became the first identical Black-American quadruplets on record. The Doctor named them and also put them on display for curious onlookers.

The Fascinating and Tragic story of the quadruplets,

A THREAD The Fultz Quadruplets were born May 23, 1946 at 3 pounds each. Dr. Klenner took the responsibility of naming the children upon himself since the parents could not read. He decided to name them all Mary followed by the names of the women in the Klenner family.

In 1862, Robert Smalls stole a Confederate Ship and sailed it to Freedom disguised as a captain, freeing his crew and their families.

A THREAD! In 1862, Robert Smalls was serving as the pilot of a steam powered, Confederate ship, The CSS Planter. It was transporting large guns out of Charleston Harbor and deliver them to Union Navy forces on blockade duty

The black history of Miami, Florida.

A THREAD!

Bahamians were among the first settlers in Miami. The first name on the city charter in 1896, when the city was incorporated, was a Black man named Silas Austin. Out of 368 men who voted to incorporate Miami,162 of them were Black. In 1896 Florida had a state law that required a minimum number of registered voters to incorporate. 368 voters signed to incorporate Miami.

Black people mostly occupied Overtown and Coconut Grove, which is also the oldest inhabited neighborhood in Miami.

102 years ago, in 1923, a lie by a white woman that she’d been sexually assaulted by a black man, led to the destruction of the predominantly African American town of Rosewood, Florida, thus the Rosewood Massacre.

A THREAD Rosewood was a quiet, self-sufficient town in Florida. By 1900 the population in Rosewood had become predominantly African-American. Some people farmed or worked in local businesses, including a sawmill in nearby predominantly white town.

History of the New Year’s Watch Night Service.

The Watch Night Services in Black communities can be traced back to gatherings on December 31, 1862, also known as “Freedom’s Eve.”

THREAD On that night, black people came together in churches and private homes all across the nation, anxiously awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation actually had become law.

The Baptist War: The Christmas Rebellion.

On this day in 1831, Over 60,000 enslaved Jamaicans, led by one man, Baptist preacher, Samuel Sharpe, went on to carry out one of the largest Slave Rebellions in West Indian history.

A THREAD

So who was the Baptist preacher, Samuel Sharpe?

He was a baptist deacon and the leader of the native Baptists in Montego Bay. Also he was an avid follower of the growing abolitionist movement in London.

One in every four cowboys was believed to be a Black man released from slavery despite the stories told in popular books and movies although the most famous cowboys of the old west were white.

Some notable cowboys!

A THREAD Many of the enslaved african men were familiar with cattle herding from Africa.

a highlight of some famous black cowboys:

Joseph Phillipe Lemercier Laroche and his children were the only black passengers on RMS Titanic.

A THREAD Joseph Phillipe Lemercier Laroche was the son of a white French army captain and a Haitian woman who was a descendant of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the first ruler of independent Haiti.

German colonizers in Namibia, due to their interest in evolutionary theory & missing links executed inmates and decapitated them.

Herero women were required to remove all flesh from the heads to create clean skulls suitable for shipment for study in German Institutes.

A THREAD

The German missionaries began working in Southern Africa in the late 1820s and experienced significant success in evangelizing and educating their converts. But toward the end of the 19th century, a new ‘gospel’ was increasingly introduced to Africa.

The Banyole of the ancient kingdom Of Uganda practiced and perfected C-Section long before the Europeans.

While Europeans mainly concentrated on saving the baby, the ugandans were performing the operation successfully saving both.

A THREAD Caesarean section was considered a life-threatening procedure in England that was only to be undertaken in the direst of circumstances and facing the decision on whether to save the life of the mother or baby.

In 1939 Billie Holiday recorded the first great protest song of the Civil Rights Movement, 'Strange Fruit’

The Chilling Story of Strange Fruit and Billie Holiday.

A THREAD! "Strange Fruit" was originally a poem written by Jewish-American writer, teacher and songwriter Abel Meeropol, under his pseudonym Lewis Allan, as a protest against lynchings and later set it to music.