JACKIE ROBINSON Airs April 11-12, 9 pm and 11 pm ET on PBS Jack Roosevelt Robinson rose from humble origins to cross baseball’s color line and become one of the most beloved men in America. A fierce integrationist, Robinson used his immense fame to speak out against the discrimination he saw on and off the … More Essential American History: Jackie Robinson
I have my tickets for “Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years” now performing at Hartford Stage, March 31- April 24. Do you have yours? If not, better reserve them quick. Hartford Stage’s website describes the play’s essence: “103-year-old Sadie Delany and 101-year-old Bessie Delany were the daughters of a former slave, grew up … More Essential American History: “Having Our Say”; and “Having Their Say”
Richard Rothstein, a noted researcher and policy advisor at the Economic Policy Institute, has invested years in analyzing the history and effects of residential segregation in the United States. He was the keynote speaker at the Hartford-based Partnership for Strong Communities March 31, 2016, IForum on “Housing Choice and Affordability: Unlocking Opportunity.” Rothstein’s presentation traced the history of how metropolitan segregated … More Residential Segregation in America: By Accident or On Purpose?
“For African-American travelers in the Jim Crow-era South—often journeying from the north to visit relatives who had not joined the Great Migration—an unprepossessing paper-bound travel guide often amounted to a survival kit. The Green Book often functioned as a lifesaver,” writes Kathleen Burke of the Smithsonian. During Black History Month, I prefaced a couple of posts with … More Essential American History: The Green Book, Navigating a Segregated Nation
D. Watkins is an award-winning writer, educator, and speaker. He is the author of The Beast Side: Living and Dying While Black in America with its “searing dispatches from the urban zones where African American men have become an endangered species.” “Watkins hailed from the streets of East Baltimore during the semi-automatic era. After years of being … More “The Beast Side: Living and Dying While Black in America”
Black history in Connecticut is long and rich with facts and stories we should acknowledge and understand. Connecticut Humanities has compiled more than 40 invaluable articles from its Connecticut History program archives that are well worth exploring and reading, especially as we celebrate Black History Month. The archive is arranged in a fashion making it easy to scroll through and … More Black History in Connecticut
History matters. The Great Migration is a critical event in 20th century American history. It is the story of “the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities in search of a better life. From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America.” … More Essential American History: The Great Migration
If you care about race relations, I encourage you to to watch THE BLACK PANTHERS: VANGUARD OF THE REVOLUTION and draw your own conclusions. Powerful and provocative, it premiers nationally on PBS, Tuesday evening, February 16, 2016 (check local listings). Hear and see this history in the voices, pictures and videos of the allies and … More Essential American History: All Power to the People
Red Truck Stonecatcher 