Black History

Think you know Black history? Let's find out. Answers at the end—no peeking!

The road to civil rights in America was a long journey made possible by prominent leaders and a desire for equal rights.

Considered one of the most courageous operations to free imprisoned slaves, the Underground Railroad was an important network of people and paths that assisted escapees to the north and Canada.

One of the few African Americans who practiced dentistry in late nineteenth-century Boston, Dr. George Franklin Grant earned a reputation for exceptional skill in bridge work.

Before Henry David Thoreau drew attention to the Walden Woods, it had already earned a place in America’s Black history.

Boston has always been at the forefront of American history. Nevertheless, residents know little about the city’s link to the underground railroad, a life-saving network of safe houses established by slaves before the Civil War. As Black History Month kicked off, Boston Public Library partnered with the National Park Service to commemorate freedom-seekers and stowaways that traveled here to escape enslavement.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. the son and grandson of Baptist ministers, was born not just to preach, but to preach to the world.

In early 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. saw in Boston a city rife with segregation and politically dominated by whites. 55 years later, many Bostonians are ready to usher in a new era of Black women in positions of power. Despite these victories, local leaders insist that a lot must change before King’s dreams are realized.