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Thomas Mundy Peterson (October 6, 1824 – February 4, 1904) of Perth Amboy, New Jersey has been claimed to be the first African-American to vote in an election under the…

Suffrage in New Jersey was available to most women and African Americans immediately upon the formation of the state. The first New Jersey state constitution (of 1776) allowed any person…

Bernard Anthony Harris Jr. (born June 26, 1956) is a former NASA astronaut. On February 9, 1995, Harris became the first African American to perform an extra-vehicular activity (spacewalk), during…

Barzillai Lew (November 5, 1743 — January 18, 1822) was an African-American soldier who served with distinction during the American Revolutionary War.

John Jacob “Rifle Jack” Peterson was a Revolutionary war era patriot of African and Kitchewan descent whose quick thinking helped repel British forces in Croton, New York. His actions threw…

Salem Poor (1747–1802) was an enslaved African-American man who purchased his freedom in 1769, became a soldier in 1775, and rose to fame as a war hero during the American…

In the American Revolution, gaining freedom was the strongest motive for Black enslaved people who joined the Patriot or British armies. It is estimated that 20,000 African Americans joined the…

Lemuel Haynes (July 18, 1753 – September 28, 1833) was an American clergyman. A veteran of the American Revolution, Haynes was the first black man in the United States to…

“What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” is the title now given to a speech by Frederick Douglass delivered on July 5, 1852, at Corinthian Hall in Rochester,…