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An Alabama Literacy Test Keeps Black Voters Off the Rolls
Prior to the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, many southern (and some western) states had devised "literacy tests" and other voting requirements whose primary purpose was to deny African Americans the vote. The tests consisted of written [...]
A Black Candidate Runs on Civil Rights in 1940s New York
The Japanese distributed leaflets over the South Pacific that asked, "If Americans are fighting for the freedom and equality of all people, why aren't Negro Americans allowed to play big league baseball?" Ben Davis, an African-American candidate for [...]
A Southern Activist Warns Black Chicagoans about the Daley Machine
The Democratic Party political machine notoriously ruled Chicago, distributing jobs and city services in exchange for political support. James Bevel, the director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's direct action campaigns, was a [...]
A Senator Calls for a More Democratic Immigration System
In the midst of debating the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, which concerned the rights of all Americans, regardless of race, to become citizens and vote, Senator Charles Sumner often urged more liberal and democratic application of the law. In [...]
Liberty for All: Voices from the Revolution
In this activity students read short excerpts of documents that show how the expectations of women, African Americans, and working white men were raised by the rhetoric of liberty during the American Revolution. Students write petitions to the [...]
A Letter from Perry Watkins on his Mistreatment in the Army
Perry Watkins was a gay African American soldier who was drafted to serve in the army during the Vietnam War. He was open about his sexuality throughout his entire career. Despite this, in 1981, the army revoked his security clearance after 13 years [...]
Perry Watkins Describes his Mistreatment by the Army
Perry Watkins was a gay African American soldier who was drafted to serve in the army during the Vietnam War. He was open about his sexuality throughout his entire career. Despite this, in 1981, the army revoked his security clearance after 13 years [...]
Black Residents Plead for Help After Hurricane Katrina (2005)
Hurricane Katrina made landfall on August 28, 2005, causing extensive damage in New Orleans and surrounding areas. City, state, and federal agencies responded slowly and unevenly, leaving around 100,000 New Orleans residents stranded in the flooded [...]
Complaints about African American Beach Resort (1912)
This newspaper article was published in the Los Angeles Times on June 27, 1912 after white landowners began harassing guests at Bruce’s Beach, an African American beach resort. Bruce's Beach originated when Mrs. Willa Bruce's purchased of a lot of [...]