Learn about enslavement, resistance, abolition and the struggle for freedom through biographies and historical records.
8,921 matching cards · 24 cards per page
ca. 1865
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGThis 1/6 plate tintype photograph depicts a young black woman with a white baby. The young woman is seated, wearing a dark colored dress and light colored lace collar. She stands the baby up on her lap. The baby wears a long, light-colored dress and has…
ca. 1860
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGA young black woman wearing a white apron over a polkadot print dress stands next to a white toddler in cape and bonnet. Both the woman's and the child's cheeks have been hand-tinted pink. The photograph is in an oval frame.
1860s
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGA black and grey tintype image of a young male subject seated with his left forearm resting on a table. He wears a hat and jacket. The tintype is in a white paper mat, with an arched viewing window surrounded by embossed detail.
ca. 1882
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGTintype of Emmaline, a formerly enslaved woman. Emmaline is pictured seated in front of a studio backdrop. She wears a skirt, jacket and gloves of the same dark fabric. The jacket has a single row of small buttons up the center. She also wears a white…
ca. 1865
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGTintype of Colonel Charles William Folsom shown in half portrait. Folsom's body faces the camera, but his head is turned one quarter to his right and he looks off frame. He is slightly baling and has a full beard and mustache. He wears spectacles with thin…
1865
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGTintype of Miss Allen shown in bust portrait. She is turned one quarter to her left, but is looking at the camera. Her cheeks are tinted pink. Her hair is parted at the center and gathered in a chignon at the nape of her neck. She wears a light colored…
ca. 1865
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGTintype of Mrs. Annie Cox shown in three quarter portrait. Cox is seated and leaning with her arms crossed on the arm of a chair. She is turned slightly to her left and looks off frame. Her curly hair is parted at the center and loosely gathered into a…
ca. 1865
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGTintype of USCT soldier William Johnson shown in full portrait. Johnson is seated and facing the camera, with his left elbow and hand resting on table covered in an ornate cloth. His right hand is tucked into the buttons of his frock coat and his right leg…
1784
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGA booklet, Observations upon Negro-Slavery, written by Charles Crawford and published by Joseph Crukshank in Philadelphia. The text is an argument against enslavement of Africans and for equality of people grounded in "the principles of revealed religion…
December 1774
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGAn edition of The Royal American Magazine for December, 1774, edited and published by Joseph Greenleaf in Boston. Pages 473 and 474 feature the poem "To a Gentleman in the Navy" by Phillis Wheatley. The poem is given a preface that begins [By particular…
1988
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGThis silkscreen print depicts five individuals shown running from right to left and carrying rifles. One man, wearing blue pants, turns back the way he came, raising his left hand with an object in it. A spray of red emanates from his chest. The five…
late 19th century - early 20th century
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGA tobacco tin for J. Wright Co. "Pride of Virginia"-brand tobacco. This tin has been used to store a .52 Sharp's cartridge planned for use as part of John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry (NMAAHC 2023.84.1). The tin is painted in light blue, dark red or…
Biography
Toby Gilmore (c. 1742/47 – 19 April 1812) was born in coastal West Africa (an area then known as Guinea (region)) as Shibodee Turrey Wurry, the son of a local chieftain. He was kidnapped at the age of sixteen by slave traders.
1838
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGThis circular copper abolitionist token depicts a kneeling female figure in chains with uplifted arms on the front. The figure is surrounded by the words “AM I NOT A WOMAN & A SISTER *1838*." On the reverse the words “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” surround an…
1872–1964
Tom Bullock (1872–1964) was an American bartender in the pre-Prohibition era. He was an African-American person. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on October 18, 1872, one of at least three children of Thomas Bullock, his father, a former slave who…
Loading image…1933–2003
Tom Feelings (May 19, 1933 – August 25, 2003) was an American artist, cartoonist, children's book illustrator, author, teacher, and activist. Many of his books focus on African-American and African culture, such as To Be a Slave (1968), Jambo Means Hello…
Loading image…1784–1818
Thomas Molineaux (March 23, 1784 – August 4, 1818), sometimes spelled Molyneaux or Molyneux, was an American bare-knuckle boxer and possibly a former slave. He spent much of his career in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, where he had…
1860
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGEngraved sheet music, 5 pages. The front cover's title reads "TOM / The Blind Negro Boy Pianist / Only 10 Years Old" and has an illustration of a boy in dark jacket with white collar and cuffs, standing with his arm on a table. He holds his hat in the…
1753-1784
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGA wooden tongue plane. There is evidence of older dents, abrasions, and scratches, but the plane has a dark stain disguising the damage from past use. There is a crack at the base of the stock's toe. In relief on toe is [CE*CHELOR / LIVING*IN / WRENTHAM].
1931–2019
Morrison’s novels centered Black memory, family, language and the long consequences of slavery in American life.
1753-1784
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGA wooden nosing plane. There is evidence of older dents, abrasions, and scratches that are disguised from an apparent refinishing campaign. The proper left side of the stock has notable dark stains, and newer scratches. The front proper right of the stock…
1989
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGThis silkscreen print depicts ranks of soldiers mounted on horseback. Riding from left to right, the soldiers wear brown coats with long tails, tall blue hats, and long curved swords slung from their shoulders. The soldiers are arranged in a row of five…
c. 1743–1803
Louverture rose from slavery to become the foremost general and political leader of the revolution that destroyed French colonial slavery in Saint-Domingue.
1859-1860
FROM THE SOURCE CATALOGA trade card with printed black type for the slave traders Hill, Ware and Chrisp. Text on the obverse reads, "GREAT / NEGRO MART, / No. 87, ADAMS STREET, / MEMPHIS, --- TENN. / The undersigned would announce to the community at large, that they will…
Biographies, museum objects and archive records are distinct card types. Every card links to its historical source.
