Archival collage of a mid-century American civil rights march

Black History Matters

The Past is Present

History written for readers, not for footnotes.

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Black History Now

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Claudette Colvin, Civil Rights Forerunner

Black History Now

September 8, 2026

Claudette Colvin, Civil Rights Forerunner

On 5 September 1939, Black civil rights activist and nurse Claudette Colvin was born in Montgomery, Alabama.

Black History Now

September 8, 2026

Hale Woodruff, Artist and Muralist

Hale Woodruff joined the ancestors (Aug 26, 1900 - Sept 6, 1980). Artist known for his murals, paintings, prints. He studied with Henry Ossawa Tanner and also fresco painting with Diego Rivera in Mexico. He painted the ‘Amistad Murals at Talladega College

Wendell Whalum, Teacher, Organist and Musicologist

Black History Now

September 8, 2026

Wendell Whalum, Teacher, Organist and Musicologist

Wendell P. Whalum (Sept 4, 1931 - June 9, 1987). Teacher, organist, conductor, musicologist, arranger, composer, author, lecturer.

Black History Now

September 8, 2026

J'Ouvert, Brooklyn, NY September 8, 2026

J'Ouvert is a traditional pre-dawn street celebration that serves as the opening of carnival season in the Caribbean cultures.

Black History Now

September 8, 2026

Emmett Till Funeral, 1955

Sept 6, 1955: Emmett Till was buried in a funeral at Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago, IL, after his open-casket viewing from Sept 3-6 attracted thousands of mourners.

Richard Wright (1908-1960), Author and Novelist

Black History Now

September 6, 2026

Richard Wright (1908-1960), Author and Novelist

Richard Wright (Sept 4, 1908 - Nov 28, 1960). Author of novels, short stories, poems and non-fiction

Our Purpose

Why this platform exists

Historianspeaks is a public history project devoted to making the Black past reachable — free of jargon, free of paywalls, and free of the flattened, one-note version of the story most of us were handed in school.

Through essays, conversation, and archival material, this site treats history as a working tool: something that explains the present and helps chart what comes next.

Collage of archival photographs, letters, and books from Black history

Blog

Black History Now

Weekly blogs on Black history—past and present that shape our contemporary lives.

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Collage of vintage microphones, vinyl records, and Black musicians and broadcasters

Podcast

The Historianspeaks Podcast

Long-form conversations running from Reconstruction politics to popular culture. Latest episode: Juneteenth and a legacy of song.

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Across the Centuries

A collage of the Black past, in color

From the marketplaces of West Africa through the age of sail, plantation colonies, Reconstruction classrooms, the Harlem street, and today’s block parties.

The African past: Kingdoms, scholars, and markets — The African past
Kingdoms, scholars, and markets

15th century: Coastal trade and early contact — 15th century
Coastal trade and early contact

16th century: Arrival and resistance in the Americas — 16th century
Arrival and resistance in the Americas

17th century: Arrival and resistance in a new world — 17th century
Arrival and resistance in a new world

18th century: Artisans and free communities — 18th century
Artisans and free communities

19th century: Freedom schools after emancipation — 19th century
Freedom schools after emancipation

20th century: City life, music, and movement — 20th century
City life, music, and movement

21st century: Culture and community today — 21st century
Culture and community today

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