A public history platform · New blogs every week
Historianspeakshistorianspeaks.org
Black History Matters
History written for readers, not for footnotes.
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Black History Now
Sept 4, 1781: Los Angeles, California, then known as Los Pobladores, was founded by 44 Hispanic men, women and children of Native American, African and European descent.
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Black History Now
Martin David Jenkins (Sept 4, 1904 - Jun 9, 1978). Educator, researcher known for his work challenging mainstream theories of African American race and intelligence.
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Black History Now
Richard Wright (Sept 4, 1908 - Nov 28, 1960). Author of novels, short stories, poems and non-fiction
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Black History Now
On Sept 1, 1873: King Cetshwayo kaMpande was officially crowned as the ruler of the Zulu Kingdom at kwaNodwengu
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Black History Now
Gen Daniel “Chappie” James Jr made history as the 1st African American to achieve the rank of 4-star general i
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Black History Now
Anita Bush (Sept 1, 1883 - Feb 16, 1974). Stage actress, playwright. She founded the Anita Bush All-Colored Dramatic Stock Company in 1915,
Continue readingOur Purpose
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.
Blog
Weekly blogs on Black history—past and present that shape our contemporary lives.
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Podcast
Long-form conversations running from Reconstruction politics to popular culture. Latest episode: Juneteenth and a legacy of song.
Listen nowAcross the Centuries
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
15th century
Coastal trade and early contact
16th century
Arrival and resistance in the Americas
17th century
Arrival and resistance in a new world
18th century
Artisans and free communities
19th century
Freedom schools after emancipation
20th century
City life, music, and movement
21st century
Culture and community today
Stay Current
One dispatch a week: a new essay, a podcast episode, and something from the archive worth a second look.