Bilali Muhammad Document
The Bilali Muhammad Document is a handwritten, Arabic manuscript on West African Islamic law. It was written in the 19th century by Bilali Mohammet, an enslaved West African held on…
Norma Merrick Sklarek
Norma Merrick Sklarek (April 15, 1926 – February 6, 2012) was an American architect. Sklarek was the first African American woman to become a licensed architect in the states of…
Massachusetts Body of Liberties
The Massachusetts Body of Liberties was the first legal code established in New England, compiled by Puritan minister Nathaniel Ward. The laws were established by the Massachusetts General Court in…
Royal African Company
The Royal African Company (RAC) was an English trading company established in 1660 by the House of Stuart and City of London merchants to trade along the West African coast.…
William Ansah Sessarakoo
William Ansah Sessarakoo (c. 1736 – 1770), a prominent 18th-century Fante royal and diplomat, best known for his enslavement in the West Indies and diplomatic mission to England. He was…
Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley
Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley, born Princess Anta Madjiguène Ndiaye (18 June 1793 – April or May 1870), also known as Anta Majigeen Njaay or Anna Madgigine Jai, was a West…
Earl Burris Dickerson
Earl Burrus Dickerson (June 22, 1891 – September 1, 1986) was an American attorney, activist, military officer and businessman who successfully argued before the United States Supreme Court in Hansberry…
John Punch
John Punch (born 1605) was an enslaved African who lived in the colony of Virginia. Thought to have been an indentured servant, Punch attempted to escape to Maryland and was…
Juan Valiente
Juan Valiente (1505? – 1553, Tucapel) was a Spanish black conquistador who participated in the expeditions of Pedro de Almagro in present-day Guatemala and Chile. Taken into captivity as a…
Casta
Casta (Spanish: ) is a term which means “lineage” in Spanish and Portuguese and has historically been used as a racial and social identifier. In the context of the Spanish…