America's Black Holocaust Museum

On May 31 and June 1, 1921, white mobs attacked the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, one of the nation’s most prosperous Black communities. The violence followed allegations against a Black teenager, Dick Rowland, and escalating tensions outside the courthouse where he was being held. By the time the attack ended, homes, businesses, churches, schools, and community institutions had been destroyed. Thousands of Black residents were displaced, and historians estimate that as many as 300 people were killed. Today, the Tulsa Race Massacre is recognized as one of the deadliest acts of racial violence in United States history. Another important part of the story is what happened after the fires were extinguished. For decades, many survivors struggled with the loss of loved ones, homes, businesses, and wealth. Insurance companies denied many claims for property losses, and efforts to obtain justice brought little relief. The massacre received limited attention in many schools and public institutions, leaving generations of Americans unaware that it had occurred. Despite these obstacles, survivors and their descendants worked to preserve the history of Greenwood. They shared family stories, safeguarded photographs and documents, recorded eyewitness accounts, and supported efforts to investigate and document the massacre. Historians, journalists, educators, and community members helped recover evidence that might otherwise have been lost. Their efforts preserved the history of a community whose residents had built businesses, professional offices, churches, schools, and cultural institutions despite the restrictions of segregation. Greenwood’s success became known nationwide, earning the district the nickname “Black Wall Street.” As we mark the anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, we remember the lives that were lost, the community that was destroyed, and the generations who carried its history forward. Their work ensured that Greenwood’s story remains part of the American historical record and continues to inform conversations about justice, accountability, and historical memory. #OnThisDay #Remembrance #USHistory #TimeOfTerror #Greenwood More info: https://buff.ly/LavWP4v https://buff.ly/ZDRqTZk https://buff.ly/CXFr15e Image: Greenwood’s Gurley Hotel after the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, a photograph by Reverend Jacob H. Hooker. Public domain

On May 30, 2009, the fishing pier at Buckroe Beach in Hampton, Virginia, reopened after being destroyed by Hurricane Isabel six years earlier. The reopening marked another chapter in the long history of a shoreline that holds an important place in African American recreation, community life, and cultural history. The Buckroe Beach area has been used for recreation for generations, but its significance to Black history grew in the late nineteenth century. In 1890, administrators from Hampton Institute purchased beachfront property along Chesapeake Bay and established what became the Bay Shore Hotel. At a time when segregation restricted where African Americans could travel, stay, and enjoy public accommodations, Bay Shore developed into one of the few major seaside destinations open to Black visitors. Over the following decades, the property expanded into Bay Shore Beach and Resort. Thousands of visitors traveled from Virginia and beyond to enjoy the beach, hotel, boardwalk, amusement attractions, and entertainment. The resort became part of a broader network of Black leisure destinations that provided opportunities for rest, celebration, and community gathering during the Jim Crow era. Bay Shore stood beside the white-only Buckroe Beach Amusement Park. A fence separated the two properties, extending across the sand and into the waters of Chesapeake Bay. Despite these barriers, Bay Shore flourished as a center of Black social life. Prominent performers, including Cab Calloway and James Brown, appeared there before enthusiastic audiences. Following passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the beach area integrated. In later years, changing travel patterns and new entertainment options contributed to the decline of both resorts. The Bay Shore Beach Resort Hotel closed in 1973 and was demolished in 1977. The reopening of the Buckroe Beach fishing pier on May 30, 2009, reflected continued investment in a site shaped by more than a century of history. Today, visitors who walk the shoreline encounter a place connected to stories of segregation, resilience, recreation, and community building. Buckroe Beach remains an important reminder of the spaces African Americans created, sustained, and enjoyed during a period when equal access to public leisure was often denied. #OnThisDay #Resistance #Remembrance #USHistory #BuckroeBeach More info: https://buff.ly/0h78Rgk https://buff.ly/WM4wJDL https://buff.ly/zKY28rK Image Bay Shore Hotel at Buckroe Beach, c. 1915. Buckroe Historical Society

On May 29, 1851, abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth delivered one of the most influential speeches in American history at the Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. Speaking before a gathering largely made up of white reformers, Truth challenged the nation’s narrow definitions of womanhood, freedom, and citizenship while drawing from her own experiences as a Black woman who had survived slavery. Born into slavery in New York as Isabella Baumfree around 1797, Truth escaped bondage in 1826 and later became a traveling preacher, abolitionist, and advocate for women’s rights. By the early 1850s, she had become widely known for her powerful speaking ability and her insistence that the struggles against racism and sexism could not be separated. At the Akron convention, Truth spoke plainly about the physical labor, hardship, and violence Black women endured while enslaved. She questioned why society treated women as fragile and deserving of protection while denying those same considerations to Black women. Her speech confronted both racial prejudice within the women’s rights movement and the broader inequalities of American society. The speech later became famous under the title “Ain’t I a Woman?” Though those exact words are strongly associated with Truth today, historians note that the most widely circulated version of the speech was published years later by activist Frances Dana Gage and likely altered Truth’s original wording and dialect. Earlier accounts from 1851 present the speech differently. Even with those historical questions, the meaning and impact of Truth’s message remain clear. Sojourner Truth spent the rest of her life advocating for abolition, women’s rights, land ownership for formerly enslaved people, and Black advancement. Her words in Akron continue to speak to the long history of Black women demanding recognition, equality, and full humanity in the United States. #OnThisDay #Resistance #Remembrance #USHistory #Sojourner More info: https://buff.ly/F0APAw3 https://buff.ly/cWTvnGG https://buff.ly/gvnnTn6 Image: Sojourner Truth in 1864, cropped from an Albumen silver print. National Portrait Gallery

Dr. Betty Shabazz spent much of her life carrying responsibility through grief, public scrutiny, and continued struggle while remaining deeply committed to education, family, and Black advancement. Though many people first learned her name through her marriage to Malcolm X, her own life reflected decades of work as an educator, administrator, speaker, and advocate. Dr. Betty Shabazz (born Betty Dean Sanders on May 28) was an educator, administrator, and public intellectual whose work in higher education and community development shaped generations of students and leaders. She began her professional life in nursing after studying at Tuskegee Institute and later completing training in New York City. That foundation in care and discipline carried into her later work in education, where she focused on building pathways for academic success and leadership within Black communities. Shabazz earned her doctorate in education administration from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, reflecting her long commitment to academic achievement and professional advancement. She applied that training in both public education systems and historically Black institutions. For many years, she served as a professor and administrator at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, part of the City University of New York system. In that role, she worked with students navigating complex social and economic realities, emphasizing education as a tool for independence, stability, and long-term community growth. Colleagues and students often described her as direct, organized, and deeply committed to academic excellence. Beyond her formal academic work, Shabazz became a respected voice in public discussions on education, race, and civic responsibility. She spoke at schools, conferences, and community gatherings, encouraging young people to see education as both personal advancement and collective empowerment. She also played a major role in preserving Malcolm X’s legacy, helping guide historical interpretation and supporting institutions dedicated to his life and work, including the Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center in New York City. Across these roles, Shabazz built a career defined by education, leadership, and public service. Her work stood on its own terms, grounded in discipline and sustained commitment to learning and community development. Her legacy continues to shape American understandings of leadership and public life. #OnThisDay #Resistance #Remembrance #USHistory #DrBettyShabazz More info: https://buff.ly/wmf4qyq https://buff.ly/N5DzokB https://buff.ly/PTlXbsU Image: Dr. Betty Shabazz, September 14, 1996, featured speaker at the Congressional Black Caucus, Women's Forum. Washington D.C.

On May 26, 1926, Miles Davis was born in Alton, Illinois. Over the next five decades, he would help reshape American music again and again, leaving a lasting mark on jazz and influencing artists across many genres. Davis grew up in nearby East St. Louis in a family that valued education and the arts. His father was a successful dental surgeon, and his mother was a music teacher and violinist. At age thirteen, he received his first trumpet and began lessons that would set him on a path toward becoming one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century. As a young musician, Davis moved to New York and studied at the Juilliard School while also learning in the city’s thriving jazz scene. He soon performed with leading artists of the bebop era, including Charlie Parker, helping shape a sound that transformed modern jazz. Davis never remained in one musical space for long. His work helped develop cool jazz, modal jazz, and later jazz fusion. Albums such as Kind of Blue and Bitches Brew expanded what listeners and musicians believed jazz could become. His approach encouraged experimentation and made room for new voices and new directions. Davis also spoke openly about the racism he experienced within the music industry and in American life. His success stood as both artistic achievement and personal determination during a period when Black musicians often faced unequal treatment despite their contributions. Miles Davis changed the sound of American music. He also helped preserve an important tradition within Black history: the freedom to create, innovate, and redefine what is possible. #OnThisDay #Remembrance #Resistance #MusicLegend #Miles More info: https://buff.ly/up0QvnE https://buff.ly/VTGDJ0A https://buff.ly/UCjCcy8 Image: 1) Miles Davis by Tom Palumbo. 1955. CC 2) Miles Davis by Peter Buitelaar. North Sea Jazz Festival, Netherlands. 1991. CC

On May 24, 1963, writer and activist James Baldwin led a delegation of Black artists, intellectuals, and civil rights advocates into a meeting with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy in New York City. The gathering took place during a period of national crisis, as the Birmingham campaign exposed widespread racial violence, mass arrests, and the limits of federal response to segregation in the South. Earlier that month, Baldwin directly challenged the Kennedy administration in a telegram to the Attorney General, arguing that federal hesitation had failed to meet the urgency of the moment and warning that the nation faced a deep moral crisis. For Baldwin, civil rights was not only a legal question but a test of national conscience. In the days leading up to the meeting, Baldwin had contact with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Justice Department officials as arrangements were made for a broader discussion in New York City. He then assembled a delegation intended to reflect the breadth of Black cultural life and movement leadership. Among those present were Lorraine Hansberry, Harry Belafonte, Lena Horne, psychologist Kenneth Clark, attorney Clarence Benjamin Jones, Edwin Berry of the Chicago Urban League, and CORE activist Jerome Smith. The meeting quickly grew tense. Smith, a Freedom Rider who had endured beatings and imprisonment in the South, spoke about the physical danger and emotional toll faced by those engaged in direct action. His testimony shifted the discussion from policy toward lived experience. Hansberry pressed the administration to confront the urgency of the crisis and the human cost of segregation. Participants challenged federal officials to understand civil rights not only as legislation, but as a moral obligation requiring immediate and visible action. Baldwin also urged stronger federal leadership that would demonstrate a clear commitment to protecting Black citizens facing ongoing racial violence. No agreement emerged from the meeting, and many participants left dissatisfied. Yet the encounter became one of the defining exchanges of the Civil Rights era. It placed Black artists, writers, and frontline organizers directly in conversation with federal power at a moment when the nation was under intense pressure to respond to escalating demands for justice. The meeting helped sharpen a national question that extended beyond policy: whether the United States would recognize civil rights as a moral responsibility as well as a legal obligation. Weeks later, President John F. Kennedy publicly described civil rights as “a moral issue,” language that echoed arguments already being advanced across the movement. #OnThisDay #Resistance #Remembrance #USHistory More info: https://buff.ly/hdIodAs https://buff.ly/DB8QKem https://buff.ly/n6wN4xm Image: Top - James Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry, Harry Belafonte Bottom - Jerome Smith, Robert Kennedy, State violence during Birmingham Children's crusade.

On May 23, 1900, Sergeant William H. Carney received the Medal of Honor for actions he had taken nearly thirty-seven years earlier during the Civil War. By then, the battle was long over, but the story of his courage at Fort Wagner had endured. Carney was born enslaved in Norfolk, Virginia, on February 29, 1840. After his family gained freedom, they settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts. As a young man, Carney considered becoming a minister. The Civil War changed those plans. When Black men were finally permitted to serve in Union forces, Carney joined the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, one of the first officially organized Black regiments raised in the North. On July 18, 1863, the regiment led the assault on Fort Wagner outside Charleston, South Carolina. The attack placed the soldiers of the 54th directly in the line of heavy Confederate fire. Men fell as they advanced and members of the color guard were struck down. In battle, carrying the flag meant more than holding a symbol. The colors marked a regiment’s position and helped guide soldiers through smoke, confusion, and gunfire. The flag bearer was often among the most visible targets on the field. When the flag carrier fell, Carney moved forward and seized the American flag. He was wounded during the advance but continued toward the fort. Hit again, he still protected the colors and carried them back during the retreat. According to tradition, he later told his fellow soldiers, “Boys, I only did my duty; the old flag never touched the ground.” Carney lived to receive the Medal of Honor in 1900. The award came after decades of waiting in a nation still wrestling with how Black military service would be remembered. His recognition honored one soldier’s bravery, but it also affirmed the service of Black troops who fought for freedom while their own place in the nation remained contested. #OnThisDay #Resistance #Remembrance #USHistory #54th More info: https://buff.ly/X2FJqbO https://buff.ly/vsNelUp https://buff.ly/n6wN4xm Images: 1) Army Sgt. William H. Carney. Carte-de-vista album of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 1864, album, National Museum of African American History and Culture. 2) Carney, wearing the Medal of Honor he received in 1900. Public domain

Ell Persons lived and worked near Memphis, Tennessee, where he earned a living as a laborer and woodcutter along the Wolf River. Like many Black men in the early twentieth-century South, he built his life through work and community during an era shaped by segregation, racial hostility, and unequal justice. In May 1917, Persons was accused in the killing of a white teenager. Authorities arrested him and held him in custody, where he was reportedly beaten, whipped, and threatened until he gave a confession. Later investigations found no evidence connecting him to the crime. Before Persons could receive a trial, a white mob took him from authorities who did little to stop them. The lynching was not hidden. Local newspapers announced the time and place in advance. On May 22, 1917, thousands gathered near the Wolf River outside Memphis. Reports described the event as having a “holiday” atmosphere. Vendors sold food and drinks, and some parents excused children from school so they could attend. When the crowd assembled, mob leaders tied Ell Persons to a log, covered him with gasoline, and burned him alive. The violence did not end there. Members of the mob took pieces of his clothing and remains as souvenirs and carried them through Memphis as a warning to Black residents. No one was held accountable. Remembering Ell Persons means remembering more than the violence done to him. It means recognizing a man whose life mattered and confronting the systems that denied him justice. His story endures not because terror defined him, but because history refuses to let his humanity be erased. #OnThisDay #Remembrance #USHistory #TimeOfTerror More info: https://buff.ly/kVrs3Wt https://buff.ly/65N0Het https://buff.ly/iEi77zb https://buff.ly/WDGrgxF Image: 1) NAACP Historical Marker near the site of the Ell Persons lynching.

Each year on May 20, Florida marks Emancipation Day, also known as Freedom Day. The date remembers a defining moment in the state’s history. On May 20, 1865, Union Brigadier General Edward M. McCook publicly announced the Emancipation Proclamation in Tallahassee, bringing formal notice of freedom to enslaved people in Florida. The announcement came more than two years after President Lincoln issued the proclamation and nearly a month before emancipation was announced in Texas on Juneteenth. The Civil War had ended only days earlier. Union forces were still moving through the South, restoring federal authority and carrying news of emancipation into places that had remained under Confederate control. Florida was one of those places. Enslaved people across the state had lived through years in which freedom had been declared in law while remaining beyond reach in daily life. May 20 marked the moment when that promise arrived in Florida. The announcement took place at the Hagner House, known today as the Knott House in Tallahassee. The site remains central to Florida’s remembrance of emancipation and hosts annual commemorations of the event. Freedom celebrations began soon after emancipation. Black communities gathered for jubilees that included music, prayer, speeches, meals, and public processions. These gatherings created space to honor freedom, reunite families, strengthen community ties, and imagine new futures after slavery. The traditions helped preserve memory across generations. Today, Florida Emancipation Day continues through historical readings, cultural programs, festivals, and community events held across the state, especially in Tallahassee. The observance stands as a reminder that emancipation unfolded across different places and different dates. For Florida, May 20 remains the day freedom was formally proclaimed. #OnThisDay #Remembrance #USHistory #FreedomDay More info: https://lnkd.in/ebxbAVDZ https://lnkd.in/ePnC3jtC https://lnkd.in/evUgyn2m https://lnkd.in/gwP77JjY Images: 1) Emancipation Day has been celebrated across Florida since 1865. This image was taken during a parade celebrating in St. Augustine, FL. 1922. Richard Twine. State Library and Archives of FL 2) The Knott House Museum in Tallahassee, FL, is the site where the Emancipation Proclamation was announced in Florida on May 20, 1865. Built in 1843, the house is believed to have been constructed by free Black builder George Proctor. 3) Notice from Brig. Gen. Edward M. McCook announced emancipation in Florida. Published in the Floridian and Journal, May 20, 1865.

Malcolm X and the Power of Historical Memory When people remember Malcolm X, they often remember the speeches. They remember his challenge to injustice, his call for Black self-determination, and his insistence that Black people define themselves rather than accept definitions imposed by others. Less often remembered is Malcolm X’s belief that history itself held power. Born on May 19, 1925, as Malcolm Little, Malcolm spent much of his public life urging Black Americans to reclaim knowledge that slavery, segregation, and white supremacy had damaged, hidden, or erased. He knew history could help restore identity, dignity, and purpose. This understanding shaped both his message and his name. After joining the Nation of Islam, he replaced his surname with “X.” He explained that the letter represented an African family name lost through enslavement and replaced by names inherited through slavery. The change was personal, but it also reflected a larger idea: the loss of history carried consequences that reached across generations. Malcolm returned often to the subjects of Africa, ancestry, culture, and historical knowledge. He encouraged Black Americans to study the past and to understand themselves as part of a history larger than the experience of enslavement in the United States. In 1964, Malcolm helped establish the Organization of Afro-American Unity, an organization influenced in part by independence movements across Africa. Education and political awareness stood among its goals, including efforts to strengthen historical understanding and global connections. For Malcolm X, history was tied to identity, dignity, and power. Recovering that history meant restoring what had been stripped away while resisting the systems and narratives that helped erase it. That work continues today. Museums, archives, historians, educators, and families preserving photographs, oral histories, letters, and community memory help carry forward the effort Malcolm believed mattered. On Malcolm X Day, we remember more than a powerful voice. We remember a man who understood that history could help people recover what had been taken and reclaim a fuller understanding of themselves and their place in the world. #OnThisDay #Resistance #Remembrance #BlackHistory #MalcomXDay More info: https://buff.ly/MbTwnCm https://buff.ly/Ef7EoZT https://buff.ly/BQqC8iw Image: Malcolm X 1963 AP press photo. Public domain.