Starting on December 1st, we will take you on a jolly adventure we're sure you'll remember even months after. Whether you love all things Christmassy, or you just prefer to witness all the festivities from afar, while enjoying peace and quiet, you w...
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Old records show that Africans were present in the Americas as early as the 1400s, however the story of their enslavement is tangled up with their history. Even after the Civil War that took great steps to eradicating racism, Black people would continue to face ethnic discrimination and struggle for the most basic human rights that were denied to them time and time again. Through all of those struggles, Black leaders, artists, writers have emerged as strong voices that would not only talk about their history and their legacy, but as guiding lights for their people.
1619 – Slavery Comes to North America
To satisfy the need for labour in the newly expanding colonies, Europeans shipped massive numbers of Africans from overseas. Historians have settled the number of slaves imported to around 6-7 million during the 18th century alone. While some American leaders tried to limit slavery, these steps were too little and often illegal slave trading continued on.
1793 – Rise of the Cotton Industry
As the soil used to grow tobacco was exhausted, slaveholders turned their attention towards growing cotton especially after the invention of The Cotton Gin which was a simple mechanised device which could be used to remove the seeds from the cotton. 1793 also saw the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act which made it a federal crime for an enslaved person to escape.
1831 – Nat Turner's Revolt
Nat Turner was born on a plantation and grew up hating slavery. He came to see himself anointed by God to free his people from bondage. That year, he took a solar eclipse as a sign and killing his owners, the Travis family, he set off with a band of followers towards the city of Jerusalem. They ended up killing 60 white people whereas 100 enslaved people were also killed in the struggle. As a result of this, stricter measures were enforced against enslaved people.
1831 – Abolitionism and the Underground Railroad
While abolitionist groups existed before as well, the rise of the cotton industry and the resultant restrictions on Black people gave rise to a new brand of radical abolitionism. One of the loudest voices in this was William Lloyd Garrison who founded the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator. During this time, there was also a secret network of northerners, often free Black people, who helped slaves escape through a loose network of safe houses called the Underground Railroad.
1857 – Dred Scott Case
The Scott v. Sanford case was where Dred Scott, an enslaved Black man, was taken to Illinois where slavery was outlawed. Upon return to Missouri, he sued for freedom on the basis that being on 'free soil' meant that he was freed. However, the Supreme Court ruled the case in favour of the slave owners on the grounds that as an enslaved person, Scott could not sue anyone in the first place.
