African American History Story Briefs

Descendants of African-Americans who began their lives in America as kidnapped slaves were then deprived of civil rights by "Jim Crow" laws. Leaders inspired others to overcome racial prejudice and legal obstacles. These stories highlight the ups and downs of black history.

After members of his crew report that Captain Kimber has murdered a slave girl, he is found "not guilty" by an all-male jury.

Arrested and jailed for protesting without a permit, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used his time in jail to write a letter urging a change in how Americ...

Sources differ whether Lucy, a slave at Monticello, was Lucy Cottrell (the daughter of Dolly Cottrell) or Lucy (the daughter of Lilly and Barnaby, two...

Dr. King gives his powerful, transforming ''I Have a Dream'' speech at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963.

Image of a drawing, created by Lt.

Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin at the Mulberry Grove Plantation. The gin makes growing cotton much easier, on southern plantations, directly leadi...

This image depicts From Slavery to Freedom: The African-American Pamphlet Collection, 1824-1909.

In March of 1945, pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group - some of the Tuskegee Airmen who'd received their flight training at Tuskegee Institute - escorte...

Red Tails, a story about African-Americans who flew for their country during WWII, is a story about racial prejudice and how a group of brave men achi...

A journalist for NBC News, in 1965, Richard Valeriani was covering a planned civil-rights march in February of 1965, when he was injured. It was the s...

Bobby Kennedy delivered calming words which maintained the peace despite the tragic loss of MLK. He gave an emotional, extemporaneous speech in Indian...

Rosa Parks brought the civil rights movement fuel to grow with her actions.

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