A profile of Robert Sengstacke Abbott, a newspaper publisher and editor who founded The Chicago Defender a prominent national Black newspaper. Through The Chicago Defender, Abbott contributed to the anti-lynching campaign of the post-Reconstruction Jim Crow era as well as the Great Migration.
Category: <span>Black History Profile</span>
A profile of Gloria Richardson, an activist who contributed to the creation of the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee (CNAC) which participated in protests to address the needs of the local Black community. The National Guard was called in and the city was placed under martial law. From these protests came the iconic photos of Gloria Richardson dismissively pushing aside the bayonets of guardsmen.
A profile of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, the second Black regiment to be created during the American Civil War. Despite consisting entirely of Black infantrymen, sergeants, and corporals none were allowed to serve as officers and they received unequal pay during their time of service. The 54th Regiment led what became the famed attack on Fort Wagner during which it suffered heavy casualties.
A profile of Fannie Lou Hamer, a community organizer and activist who contributed to various voter registration, economic, childcare, and education programs throughout Mississippi and the Southeast.
A profile of Bayard Rustin, a political organizer who a protege of A. Philip Randolph and an assistant and advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rustin worked behind the scenes as a key orchestrator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the March on Washington, and several other initiatives of the Civil Rights Movement.