My high school had one black student. He seemed always alone. I greeted him with a smile each time I saw him, but felt too shy to do more. I never ...

Dr. Gates, I would love for you to come to NC and to the New Hanover County Public Library and trace all the history I have. There is so much ...

I live in Jacksonville, FL, where we have a high school named after N.B.Forrest. When I realized the history of this man and that the school board was trying to ...

I grew up on Twin Peaks, San Francisco, with professional parents who hired others to care for us three kids. When I was 4, I was left in the care ...

When I was in fourth grade, my parents moved to a multiracial neighborhood in San Francisco. It was 1966. My first best friend at school was a little girl named ...

I was born and raised in Boston M.A. in the 60's and 70's respectively. I went to college and graduate school in the 90's to study Sociology and Political Science. I ...

Tuskegee Airmen Were Not Just Pilots Information on JOHN LOYD ATKINSON Submitted by his son, Charles H. Atkinson SEARCH KEY TO THE CITY or anywhere on the web On Father’s Day (6/18/2000), I took two ...

I learned about racism from firsthand experiences growing up in Mobile, Alabama. Growing up in the Deep South was at once beautiful and fulfilling and cruel and unfair. One set ...

As our family historian I am very involved in discovering and writing about my ancestors. Our stories are not unique but very moving, especially for members of our family. We ...

Dear Prof. Gates, My understanding and appreciation of African American cultures comes directly from my parents, particularly my dad, who grew up in northern Michigan in the 20’s and 30’s before ...

My brother, retired Naval Officer and Chaplain Charles E. Wilson, is the Crawford-Wilson genealogist and covered the family story there. I would like to pay homage to the teachers of ...

I was raised by Catholic nuns in a children's home, and went to a private Catholic school. Apparently everyone was concerned that I would graduate without knowing the world I ...

I only learned the bare minimum in school. My family moved to NC from Maryland when I was very young and my brother and I and one other sister/brother were ...

I owe my interest in African American History to my 11th grade AP US History teacher. In 1969, she dismissively explained that although the public schools had mandated that during ...

David Wilson, son of a slave, was the 7th of 11 children, born in South Carolina. He completed 8th grade and came to New York in 1935. Dovetta, the daughter ...