Black History

When Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger issued General Orders, Number 3 and thus emancipating the slaves of Texas on June 19, 1865, he had no idea that he was also establishing the basis for a holiday, “Juneteenth” (“June” plus “Nineteenth”), today the most popular annual celebration of emancipation from slavery in the United States.

Recent attention on the Tulsa massacre included a visit this week by President Joe Biden, Congressional hearings on reparations to the victims and their families, nationally covered commemoration ceremonies and a broader reckoning of the incident in the context of a national conversation about narrowing the racial wealth gap.

More than seven decades ago, a tavern once located on this grassy intersection witnessed what many believe was the nascent rumblings of the post-World War II civil rights revolution that brought down the formal structure of American apartheid and moved the nation closer to the redeeming promise of “all men are created equal.”

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.