Black History Month is a time to reflect upon and commemorate the people and events that make up African-American history. Below are several episodes that highlight black history and culture in the United States.
To learn about more research in this area, visit African and African-American Studies at Washington University.
In Confronting the Middle Passage, Sowande' Mustakeem shares the story of an enslaved woman and discusses why it is important for people to confront this foundational, brutal chapter of American history.
In Who Should Sing 'Ol' Man River?' Todd Decker reveals how the famous African-American singer Paul Robeson transformed a Broadway showtune into a song of protest.
In Stripes and Scars, Iver Bernstein shares the story of James Pennington, a prominent African-American minister who in 1863 saw his neighborhood destroyed in an episode now known as the New York draft riots.
In FB Eyes, William J. Maxwell discusses the little-known history of how, under longtime director J. Edgar Hoover, FBI ghostwriters (and "ghostreaders") obsessively analyzed and imitated African-American literature.
In How Americans Make Race, Clarissa Rile Haward describes how racial identities are formed through stories, institutions, and spaces.
In Notes from No Man's Land, Eula Biss argues that even telephone poles are marked by the country's history of slavery and colonization.