Chefs have over the years have become their own form of celebrities. While women were still getting a foothold in a former boy’s club, Leah Chase, a chef in New Orleans, Louisiana, broke the glass ceiling, becoming an author and television personality known today as the “Queen of Creole Cuisine.”

What Is Leah Chase Known For?

Named the “Queen of Creole Cuisine” Leah Chase made her name as a Black female chef who not only had a successful restaurant, but crossed over into cookbooks, media, and even collecting art. Creole is a cuisine that has roots in African, European, and Columbian cooking. Some famous dishes include jambalaya, red beans and rice, gumbo, and etouffees. She’s also kind of a Disney princess, or at least she had one based upon her.

According to National Geographic, Leah Chase was an icon for the culinary landscape and civil rights pioneer and was an inspiration behind Tiana, Disney’s first Black princess. Like Tiana she had an upbringing where she had to rise to challenges to make it where she was today; she grew up in the South when segregation and a lack of resources for Black individuals was considered normal.

Outside of being a restauranteur, Chase became well-known for her Creole cuisine. She worked with traditional recipes and created modern twists, helping to make this style of cooking popular outside of the New Orleans area.

What Is Leah Chase’s Background?

Leah grew up in Madisonville, Louisiana. She was born to Charles and Hortensia on January 6, 1923, although at the time her name was spelled “Leyah.” Her father worked at the Jahncke Shipyard while her mother maintained the more traditional stay-at-home role. She had many siblings, with sources suggesting from 10-13. She was one of the oldest and grew up on a farm using the produce to get them through the Great Depression, which began in 1929.

With no available high school for Black children, she moved to her aunt’s house to continue her education at St. Mary’s Academy and later graduated from there. The location was in the French Quarter of New Orleans, a place of culture and religion, and it is this place that led to her interest in cooking and food. She worked various jobs include waiting tables at the Colonial Restaurant and The Coffee Pot. In 1946 she married Edgar “Dooky” Chase Jr. who was trumpet player and leader of a well-known New Orleans jazz band. They would have four children together.

Dooky’s family was in the restaurant business already. They had a po’boy shop in 1939 and opened Dooky Chase Restaurant in 1941.

What Did Leah Chase Do for the Civil Rights Movement?

The Civil Rights Movement was defining moment in the history of the United States. While slavery had been outlawed at the end of the civil War, Jim Crow laws enforcing segregation and the threat of violence and segregation were a part of life throughout the country. Some of the major events include the rule of Brown v. Board of Education, the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the March of Washington.

So how did Leah Chase make her role in the Civil Rights Movement? The restaurant became a safe place for Black citizens to gather and talk about politics. It also hosted events like voter registration and strategy meetings with organizers including the NAACP, and leaders such as A. P. Tureaud and Martin Luther King Jr.

According to historian Mark Cave, “[Chase] broke the law serving Black and white people together but got the police to turn a blind eye by feeding them too.”

Outside of Food, What Else Did Chase Do?

Chase was as interested in art as she was cooking. In 1977 she joined the Board of Trustees for the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA). She was also an Honorary Life Member when she was no longer on the board. Chase even testified for the National Endowment for the Arts to the Capital in 1995, and argued why the arts are so important to human existence.

She also collected works of art on her own, from various Black artists in the Dooky Chase restaurant. Part of the reason was segregation laws meant she wasn’t welcome within museums. According to Chase, it wasn’t until she was in her fifties that she was able to go inside museums. She was even featured in paintings by Gustave Blache III that were later displayed at NOMA, depicting Chase at her restaurant working.

What Accolades Did Chase Receive?

Chase held honorary degrees from Dillard University, Tulane University, Our Lady of Holy Cross College, Loyola University New Orleans, Johnson & Wale University and Madonna College. She was inducted into the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food & Beveridge in 2010 in her late eighties. Others to hold that distinction include Grant Achatz, Richard L. Arrowood, and Anthony Bourdain among others.

According to the foundation, “the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America is a cadre of the most accomplished food and beverage professionals in the country…each has been identified by his or her peers as having displayed remarkable talent and achievement.”

Chase died on June 1, 2019 at the age of 96 in New Orleans, Louisiana. However, her legacy within the culinary world and the arts lives on throughout the United States and beyond.

In the 19th century, the forced bondage and inhumane treatment of Black Americans fiercely divided the United States, North and South. Across the country, passions were ablaze, prompting the deadliest war in American history. From 1861-1865, a ferocious Civil War was fought. The 54th Massachusetts Infantry, a Black unit, was organized in early 1863 after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. Despite deadly gunfire at the ill-fated Battle of Fort Wagner, their tremendous bravery and courage never wavered. The 54th Massachusetts would become synonymous with American heroism and glory.

Organizing the First Black Regiments

After the Emancipation Proclamation, President Abraham Lincoln authorized the organization of Black troops to help the Union Army secure a victory. Leaders like Abolitionist Frederick Douglas encouraged Black Americans to join the Union Army. Prompted by recruiting posters and newspaper advertisements, 1,000 men enlisted within a few months. The enlistment was so successful that two regiments, the 54th and the 55th, were created.

The Massachusetts governor chose Robert Gould Shaw, a 25-year-old officer who had been wounded at the Battle of Antietam, as Colonel. A wealthy son of abolitionists, Shaw was an advocate for equal pay and treatment of Black troops. Many of the officers in the regiment were anti-slavery and chosen for their support of a Black regiment.

Several Black soldiers in the 54th quickly earned the rank of lieutenant or sergeant. They drilled their troops with such discipline and enthusiasm that Shaw recorded, “They drill their squads with a great deal of snap.” Both officers and soldiers developed great pride in their regiment.

In a grand send-off, they marched through Boston, past the site of the Boston Massacre, to the tune of “John Brown’s Body.”  A large, enthusiastic crowd aligned the streets, spurring them on. They paraded toward the dock and boarded the ship DeMoray, headed south. Many would never see Massachusetts again.

Facing Challenges: Determined to Stand Tall

As a Black regiment, the 54th faced many challenges. Higher-ranking officials were often hesitant to put Black troops in strategic or critical military positions, preferring to use Black soldiers for manual labor. However, Colonel Shaw felt that the men of the 54th should be treated equally to white soldiers and advocated for such treatment. On one occasion, Shaw expressed outrage that his regiment was ordered to take part in the looting and burning of Darien, Georgia. Beyond citing ethical reasons, Shaw felt that, despite their professionalism, those missions would damage their reputations.

One of the most pressing challenges faced was the matter of payment. The soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts were promised $13 monthly pay, equal to a white soldier’s pay. However, the government lowered the pay to $10 monthly after the men were already in service. Colonel Shaw voiced his grievances to the Governor of Massachusetts, writing that it was a great injustice. In the end, the state government chose to pay the difference, but soldiers waited nearly a year for their back pay. When the regiment participated in the Battle of Fort Wagner on July 18, 1863, they had still yet to be paid.

Gaining Glory: The Battle of Fort Wagner

The 54th is most famous for the tragic yet heroic assault on Fort Wagner on Morris Island, South Carolina. Colonel Shaw was eager for the opportunity to attack Fort Wagner, looking to showcase the 54th and erase any doubt that Black troops were equally capable.

The Union Army wanted to take Charleston to gain a stronghold in the South, so it first needed to capture Fort Wagner. It was a sand earthwork battery with structurally supported walls 30 feet high, well fortified with cannon, ocean, moats, and obstructions surrounding it. Despite this, the Union Army moved forward with a planned attack.

After land and naval batteries had pummeled Fort Wagner all day, the 54th Massachusetts was called in for an infantry attack. The Confederates had prepared by strengthening the defenses with sandbags. Still, the 54th led a frontal attack, breaching the parapet. They could not hold the fort, though, and were forced to retreat.

Though the assault failed, the 54th showed exceptional courage and ferocity in the battle. Colonel Shaw was seen to raise his sword and lead the troops forward before being shot and killed at the top of the sandy barricade. The men of the 54th pressed on under merciless gunfire. They suffered 272 killed, wounded, or missing during the battle, nearly half of their 600 men. The soldiers were immediately recognized for their valiant efforts. Fort Wagner had not just proved Black fighting capability, it exemplified it.

Sergeant William H. Carney: Fierce under Fire

William H. Carney, born into slavery in Virginia, would become the first Black man to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery at Fort Wagner. Gaining freedom shortly before the war, Carney’s family moved north. When the 54th Massachusetts was being raised, Carney heeded the call and enlisted. He was 23 years old and would quickly earn the rank of sergeant.

During the climax of the Battle of Fort Wagner, Carney witnessed the color bearer shot down. He immediately seized the flag while under fierce fire. He ran towards the parapet, where he planted it, urging others to follow. He did not let the flag hit the ground despite the carnage of the battle. Carney was wounded twice and never faltered. He reportedly retrieved the flag after the deadly battle and carried it with him into the hospital. There, the wounded soldiers honored the injured man with resounding cheers. His gallantry was later honored on May 23, 1900, when he received the Congressional Medal of Honor.

He spent the last years of his life working at the Massachusetts State House, not far from the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial. He would ride on horseback during the Grand Army of the Republic’s annual parades and became a popular patriotic speaker. He is remembered as an exceptional American patriot. As the first Black man to receive the Medal of Honor, he, and the 54th, made history.

Robert Gould Shaw: “Forward, Fifty-Fourth, Forward!”

Twenty-five-year-old Shaw was born in Boston and raised by prominent abolitionist parents. Before the Civil War, Boston was a hotbed of abolitionist activity. Shaw’s family friend, William Lloyd Garrison, was a staunch abolitionist who published the anti-slavery newspaper, “The Liberator.”

As a young man, Shaw struggled to find his path in life. He dropped out of Harvard University and moved to New York. There, he worked with family before joining the militia. He served as Captain of the 2nd Massachusetts in the first year of the war.

When he took charge of the 54th, he understood that its success would have more significant implications. The reputation of not just the 54th Massachusetts but all Black soldiers was at stake.

The Battle of Fort Wagner made casualties of many soldiers, including Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. He was shot in the chest and fell as he reached the precipice of the fort. After the unsuccessful assault on Fort Wagner, Southerners stripped Shaw’s dead body and tossed him into a mass grave with the Black soldiers, meant as one last insult to Shaw. Instead, the Confederates made a martyr of him. Later, when Union forces finally took Fort Wagner, the bodies were retrieved. Shaw’s family insisted he would have wished to remain buried with his soldiers. He and others of the 54th were reinterred in Beaufort National Cemetery in Beaufort, South Carolina.

The Memorial: Immortalizing the 54th Massachusetts

At Boston Common in the spring of 1897, a crowd gathered to watch Sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens unveil his anticipated and impressive 11’ x 14’ bronze memorial, The Robert Gould Shaw Memorial. Despite the cold and drizzly weather, there was a festive mood in the air. When the band struck up “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” artillery and warships fired a 21-gun salute. The celebration included music, salutes, and key speakers, including Booker T. Washington. Sergeant Carney, carrying the American flag, led a procession of Black Union Army veterans.

The memorial was a bas-relief masterpiece. Saint-Gaudens used Black models to make the most life-like soldiers for his piece to avoid stereotypical period depictions. With Shaw on horseback and the soldiers marching beside him, it solidified the eternal connection between the leader and heroes who served and died together. Overhead, an angel guides the 54th to eternal martyrdom and racial unity. The memorial has continued to serve as a source of national inspiration and pride.

Undying Glory: The Legacy of the First Black Regiment

The 54th Massachusetts leaves behind a rich legacy. In their attack on Fort Wagner, Black soldiers proved to be skilled and spirited soldiers. The soldiers embodied resoluteness and inspired hope. They are a lasting symbol of determination, grit, and the crusade for equality. The 54th Massachusetts ushered in a cultural shift and highlighted the need for equal rights. Their contribution helped secure a Union victory and liberate Black Americans, making them a critical part of American history.

The heroism of the 54th Massachusetts inspired many works over the years. Poems such as “Robert Gould Shaw” by Paul Laurence Dunbar and “Memorial Ode” by John Greenleaf Whittier honor the men and their leaders. Many nonfiction and fiction books and biographies have been written over the years, including The Brave Black Regiment by Captain Luis F. Emilio, a veteran of the 54th. In 1989, the movie Glory, starring Mathew Broderick, Morgan Freeman, and Denzel Washington, immortalized the 54th Massachusetts at Fort Wagner on screen. American and cultural museums continue to highlight its contribution to American history. The legacy of the 54th Massachusetts is a testament to gallantry and continues to inspire people today.

During the most divisive and challenging time in American history, the soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts volunteered to fight, proving that dedication to American freedom and ideals had no color. They showed uncompromising valor at Fort Wagner when a barrage of gunfire claimed the lives of Colonel Shaw and their comrades. Fort Wagner tested their bravery, and they remained steadfast. Their immortalization in literature, bronze, and movies is a testament to their undying glory. The 54th Massachusetts exemplifies American courage, earning it an honorable place in history.

Imagine that you are a merchant in 17th-century Mexico. With bated breath, you stand at the harbor of Acapulco, eagerly awaiting the arrival of enormous treasure ships. Your mouth waters at the thought of the incalculable riches that will soon come ashore. And this event is all the more special because it might only happen once per year.

This is one perspective that contemporaries may have had on the Spanish Manila galleons. For 250 years, these vessels connected four continents in a truly international economy. They carried great riches, but they also embodied the darkest realities of colonialism in the pre-modern world.

What Did the Manila Galleons Carry?

The Manila galleons dominated trade in the Pacific Ocean from 1565 until 1815. During this time, Spain constructed one of the world’s largest colonial empires, both in the Pacific and the Atlantic. To fund their territories and enrich their own country, the kings of Spain financed the first real international economic system. The Manila galleons were directly funded by the Spanish monarchy for this entire period.

According to historians, the actual galleon ships were huge for their time. A typical Spanish Pacific galleon may have weighed one thousand tons, although the largest ships could weigh twice that. As the name “Manila Galleon” suggests, the ships were constructed in and around the city of Manila — the capital of the modern Philippines. From the Philippines, the treasure fleet sailed across the Pacific, destined for the port of Acapulco in Mexico. The journey from Manila to Acapulco took around six months. The voyage back to Asia lasted longer.

The galleons arrived in Acapulco no more than twice per year (usually only once). Each ship carried a dizzying variety of luxury goods in its cargo hold. Some of these goods would be hauled across Mexico before crossing the Atlantic for Europe. Other items would stay in Mexico. Still, other commodities from Europe and Mexico would be loaded onto the Manila galleons for shipment back to East Asia. Let’s explore some of the goods in question now.

Silver

When Europeans first arrived in the Americas, one of their major concerns was locating and exploiting deposits of silver and gold. Silver, in particular, was an essential component of the Spanish colonial economy. This was evident not only in the Americas but in Asia as well.

Imperial China proved to be a major market in the global silver trade. The Chinese had been the first nation to produce paper money centuries earlier, but paper money was not always the most efficient way to pay for goods. The Chinese government didn’t sanction their own, official silver-backed currency, but silver became the de facto monetary standard for China in the 16th century.

The silver trade continued to boom in China for the next two hundred years. The 1600s saw some disruptions due to lower demand and domestic and maritime instability. By the 18th century, however, Chinese silver imports were booming again. The Chinese empire’s demand for Mexican and South American silver seemed unquenchable until the beginning of the 19th century.

Porcelain and Silk

China may have had a huge appetite for American and European silver, but its desire for other foreign goods was much less intense. Other than new foods from the Americas, the Chinese did not need other countries’ goods. After all, the quality of Chinese porcelain and other luxury goods at the time was unrivaled anywhere else on Earth.

Europe was a different story. European elites craved Chinese goods such as silk and ceramics. The Manila galleon trade allowed the Spanish to gain access to Chinese goods like never before. The silk trade, which had once been the domain of overland exchange, could now happen across oceans for elite consumption. For hundreds of years, European elites reveled in owning Chinese objects, and China developed an international market specifically for the export of porcelain.

Colonial elites in Mexico also developed a taste for Chinese ceramics. Take this 18th-century tureen created for the Mexican market (pictured above). Positioned in the center of the upper lid is the elaborate coat of arms of José de Gálvez, a Spanish nobleman. The fern-like motifs above and below the jar’s lid perfectly illustrate its high-quality craftsmanship, as do the tureen’s gilded handles. Although Chinese-made, this artifact depicts imagery that would have been more appealing to a European or American colonial audience. At the time José de Gálvez acquired this dish, all major European powers were actively trading with Imperial China.

Enslaved People

Now comes the darkest part of the Manila galleon trade. Most readers probably don’t know that there was a trans-Pacific slave trade was born out of European imperialism in Asia. From India to the Philippines and even Japan, Asian peoples who rebelled against Spanish control could be enslaved. Some of them were transported across the Pacific to the Americas aboard the great galleons. Most enslaved Asians in Mexico originated from Southeast Asia, especially the Philippines.

Asians in colonial Mexico lived difficult lives. The surviving documentation tended to categorize all Asians as “Chino/as”; specific ethnic origins were obscured for the most part. However, enslaved Asians were not simply passive vassals of the Spanish monarchy. They actively protested enslavement and economic restrictions through petitions to colonial authorities and even the Crown itself. Some enslaved Asians played with colonial racial terminology to argue against the legality of their condition.

Not all Asians in colonial Mexico were enslaved, however. Some developed small businesses working as barbers and bloodletters. A large crew of Japanese merchants also accompanied the famed diplomat Hasekura Tsunenaga during his journey through Mexico to Spain in 1614. Some of these merchants remained in Mexico and may have even integrated with the Mexican population.

By the mid-18th century, the Manila galleons were crewed by Asian sailors. Historian Diego Javier Luis compiled a register of crew members on one galleon voyage, La Santísima Trinidad y Nuestra Señora del Buen Fin. This galleon was the largest ship in the Spanish fleet to make the trans-Pacific passage. Out of 407 recorded crew members on the ship’s first voyage, Luis identified 224 sailors as having come from Asia. The region of Cavite in the northern Philippines sent the largest number of crew members to sail on the ship’s voyage in 1751.

How Did the Manila Galleon Route End?

The end of the Manila galleon trade coincided with the decline of Spain as a global power. In the early 19th century, the only overseas territory that Spain entirely controlled was the Philippines. Its colonies in North and South America had started to revolt, seeking independence from European domination. Faced with the fracturing of its empire, the Spanish monarchy ceased operation of its treasure fleet. The final Manila galleon ship sailed in 1815. While Spain would hold onto the Philippines for the next eighty years, its American colonies would split away one by one.

Bibliography

Luis, Diego Javier. The First Asians in the Americas: A Transpacific History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2024.

Harriet Ann Jacobs was born into slavery but refused to let the institution define her. Ferociously independent, Jacobs stood up for herself in a time when such actions could result in her death. Fighting against sexual abuse, racism, and subjugation, Jacobs wove a life that resulted not only in freedom for herself, but for others too. Her involvement in abolition and her work as an author gave America perhaps its most comprehensive look into life as an enslaved woman, relevant not only in her time but in the centuries that followed.

Harriet Ann Jacobs: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Harriet Ann Jacobs was born into involuntary servitude, the daughter of two African-American slaves in Edenton, North Carolina. Jacobs’ parents were owned by two different masters, but her family was still close. Unfortunately, Jacobs lost her mother at the young age of six in 1819.

The child was taken into the home of the mistress, Margaret Horniblow, where, unlike most children in slavery, she was taught to read and write. Jacobs later recalled being very fond of Horniblow and believed that her mistress would one day give her her freedom. Unfortunately, this was not to be. When Ms. Horniblow died in 1825, she left Jacobs in her will to her three-year-old niece, Mary Matilda Norcom.

Jacobs soon moved to the Norcom household, and Mary Matilda’s father, Dr. James Norcom, became her overseer and controller. Dr. Norcom soon revealed himself to be a sexual predator, and Jacobs found herself constantly fending off his advances. Mrs. Norcom seemed to recognize her husband’s attraction to the teenage Jacobs and treated her vindictively as a result.

As Jacobs grew older, Norcom refused to allow her to marry. However, that didn’t stop Jacobs from becoming involved with a local lawyer, a white man named Samuel Sawyer, when she was 16. By the time she was 20, she had two children with Sawyer, Joseph and Louisa. This infuriated Norcom, and though Jacobs hoped her first pregnancy would encourage the doctor to sell her and her child, her hopes went unfulfilled. Instead, Norcom punished her by sending her to work as a field hand at one of his plantations—without her children.

To Freedom

Jacobs had no intention of remaining subjugated, especially under the hand of Dr. Norcom. She ran away from her field assignment and headed to the home of her maternal grandmother, who had been emancipated in 1828. Molly Horniblow allowed her granddaughter to seek refuge at her home, hiding her in a space under the front porch roof. There she remained in her crawl space, which was about seven feet wide and nine feet long, for seven years. She came out for brief periods at night to get exercise but otherwise remained hidden. During her time in hiding, Jacobs wrote to Norcom, hoping to convince him that she had absconded to the north and freedom. She hoped this would incite him to sell her children to their father, and eventually, he did. However, Sawyer didn’t emancipate his and Harriet’s children, and they remained in bondage. Their daughter was sent to New York to work as a servant, and in 1842, Jacobs decided to head north to reclaim her.

Harriet traveled from North Carolina to Philadelphia by boat, then to New York by train. She was able to retrieve Louisa and, later, her son. They first settled in Boston, where Jacobs secured a job working as a nursemaid to the children of poet Nathaniel Parker Willis and his wife. However, Norcom soon got wind of Jacobs’ location, forcing her to constantly move.

The Willis family assisted her efforts by sending Harriet to safety in New Bedford, Massachusetts, where Mrs. Willis’ family resided. Harriet also spent time in Rochester, New York, where her brother John Jacobs lived and who was also living the life of a fugitive slave. John worked in an abolitionist reading room and bookstore above Frederick Douglass’ newspaper offices, and Harriet worked with him for a time. There she met many local abolitionists and became interested as to how she could become an effective part of the cause. She befriended many women in this circle, including Amy Post, who was not only an abolitionist but a feminist. With the encouragement of Post and Mrs. Willis, Jacobs was encouraged to start writing about her personal experiences as a slave, and more specifically, as a woman in slavery.

Exposing the Horrors 

In 1852, Mrs. Willis proposed to the Norcoms that she be able to purchase Harriet. She was successful in her venture, and ten years after escaping North Carolina, Harriet was finally granted her freedom by the Willis family. Soon after, Jacobs decided to take on the writing project that her friends had encouraged, with northern white women as her target audience. She wrote Incidents in The Life of a Slave Girl, but publishers shied away from producing the shocking narrative. Eventually, Jacobs decided to self-publish in 1861, and her autobiography stunned the American public. While many had started to recognize the horrors of slavery, the sexual abuse and struggles that women faced under the American slavery system were eye-opening to many.

Some of the book was published by Horace Greeley in the New York Tribune, exposing it to an even wider audience. The book was published not only in the United States, but in England under the title The Deeper Wrong; Or, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Jacobs’ descriptions of the sexual injustices imposed on women in slavery and details of how their mothers and other family members attempted to protect them made an impact, gathering acclaim in both countries. Jacobs was the first woman to publish an account of a fugitive slave in America.

Unfortunately, the coming Civil War quickly overshadowed Jacobs’ literary work, and it was never reprinted in her lifetime. However, the book would experience several revivals, including during the American Civil Rights and Women’s movements in the mid-20th century. A new edition by historian Jean Fagan Yellin in 1987 brought the book to light again, establishing it as the definitive American slave narrative in literature.

In her novel, Jacobs renamed some of the key figures in her life, including herself, Norcom, and Sawyer. She discussed sexuality frankly, acknowledging how she utilized sex as a tool against her evil master while, at the same time, she was being exploited. She did not wish to paint herself as a victim but as an agent in her own story. Jacobs wrote of the shame she felt at her “moral failings” but was open and honest in describing the “standards” to which enslaved women were held in comparison to the womanhood of a northern white woman.

War Arrives

During the Civil War era, Jacobs focused on supporting relief efforts for former slaves who found themselves displaced as a result of the war. She worked primarily in the Washington DC area, helping refugees from the south. She and her daughter founded a school in Virginia, the Jacobs Free School, where Louisa was headmistress. The two helped nurse black troops recovering from war wounds and assisted new freedmen in settling into their new lives. Jacobs even spent time in her former hometown of Edenton, promoting the welfare of the newly-freed.

Eventually, the racist violence of the south drove Jacobs back north, where she opened a boarding house in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Little is known about the final decade of Harriet Jacobs’ life, but she passed away at age 84 on March 7, 1897, in Washington, DC. Her body was returned to Cambridge, where she was buried next to her brother, John, in Mount Auburn Cemetery.

Harriet Ann Jacobs led a remarkable life, not only for herself but also for others. She could have quite easily succumbed to her seemingly hopeless situation in American slavery but instead chose to resist and work toward her ultimate goal of freedom. Not satisfied with only attaining this right for herself, Jacobs’ dedication to abolition and support of others resulted in a better life for dozens of people. A pioneer not only for antislavery causes but also for feminism, Harriet Jacobs’ impact on American history cannot be underestimated.

With the first 20 Africans brought to Virginia in 1619, the United States initiated a labor system characterized by extreme oppression and violence. But slavery was not just about labor and the economy—it permeated every aspect of the country’s political, social, religious, intellectual, and moral structures, values, and sentiments. On the eve of the Civil War, there were 4 million enslaved people, and although most of them were not able to carry out widespread rebellions or escape to the North, they demonstrated immense fortitude and resilience in the face of unimaginable cruelty.

Slavery in the Colonial Period

Founded in 1607, Jamestown was the first formal British colony in the New World. It faced difficult early years as settlers adjusted to harsh weather, disease, and the necessity of creating sustainable housing and economic infrastructure, but it soon prospered, especially when tobacco became a major export crop. Much of the initial labor force throughout the 17th century were indentured servants: British men (and some women) who signed contracts with wealthy planters who then paid their passage over in return for working their land for a period of time, after which they were released and ostensibly gained land of their own. Indentured servitude proved an untenable labor system for many reasons, and the shift to slavery began in earnest by the 1680s.

The first enslaved Africans arrived in Jamestown in 1619, and by the end of the 17th century, every colony had slavery. New England and the Middle Colonies had fewer enslaved people, as the climate and terrain did not necessitate the same degree of agricultural labor as the Southern colonies, which were growing tobacco, rice, indigo, and other exportable goods. The Southern colonies, which eventually included Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia, at times had more enslaved people within their borders than whites. Slaves were an integral part of the colonial economy; the colonies would not have prospered as they did without their forced labor.

Early colonial slavery was somewhat less rigid than late colonial slavery, as there were some opportunities to earn freedom, and the slave codes had not yet become explicitly tied to race. But as the 18th century wore on, slave codes became more punitive and directly connected skin color to bondage. For example, a child born to an enslaved woman inherited the status of the mother—meaning that whether sired by a Black man or a white enslaver, every child born to an enslaved mother was also enslaved.

Enslaved people sought to create a life for themselves amidst unfathomable oppression. They brought over religious, cultural, and culinary traditions from Africa, melding them with those from Europe. They persisted in developing familial and communal ties, even when the difficulties in forming and maintaining them were enormous, and resisted their bondage in small ways and large.

The Revolutionary War and Its Aftermath

The American colonies went to war with the British in 1775 after many years of growing bitterness between the two. Enslaved people fought on both sides of the conflict, with many initially desirous of joining the British because of Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation, which stated that any enslaved person who fought for the British would be freed when the British (presumably) won. Ultimately, 3,000-5,000 Black people, both slave and free, fought for the Continental Army, while up to 20,000 fought for the British.

Fighting valiantly for the American side did not mean that slaves would be freed after the war, however. Despite numerous petitions to the new state governments from slaves who’d fought in the war, who both told the government of their contribution and pointedly called out the hypocrisy of keeping an enslaved population while touting the values of freedom, equality, and independence, there was no real effort by the states to end the system. Indeed, the Constitution, ratified in 1789, said little about slavery beyond calling for an end to the transatlantic slave trade by 1808. It also required states to return escaped slaves to the states from which they came and, most infamously, stated that 3/5 of the enslaved population could be counted for the purposes of attaining representation in the population-based House of Representatives.

While Northern and Mid-Atlantic states began to phase out slavery in the 1770s through the early 1800s, the institution not only remained in the Southern states, it grew tremendously.

The Antebellum Era: Enslavement and King Cotton 

After the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, the United States experienced a flowering of nationalism, as well as economic growth. Investments were made in transportation and communication, such as the railroad, steamboats and canals, and the telegram. The population spread inexorably westward, with new states added frequently to the Union while the fervor of “manifest destiny” swept the nation.

Slavery was perhaps even more integral to the country’s growth in this era than before the Revolution. With the explosion of cotton as an export crop (and the use of the cotton gin, which made harvesting the crop and preparing it for sale much easier), the South became extremely wealthy, and the North, in turn, benefited from its economic connections, whether it be in the textile, financial, or shipping industries, to the “Cotton Kingdom.”

By the eve of the Civil War, almost 4 million Black men, women, and children were held in bondage. While conditions varied from plantation to plantation and farm to farm, what all slaves had in common was the complete deprivation of any civil rights. They were not citizens and had no recourse to protest their enslavement. They were often denied the opportunity to learn to read or write and so could not communicate well. They were forbidden dogs, guns, houses, or property of their own, as well as freedom of movement, meaning they usually had to carry their “papers” or some form of permission from their owners if they left the property. Families were separated, women and girls were raped, and violence was an ever-present threat.

In his famous Autobiography published in 1845, Frederick Douglass wrote of the conditions of the slaves at one of the places he lived as a child: “There were no beds given the slaves, unless one coarse blanket be considered such, and none but the men and women had these. This, however, is not considered a very great privation. They find less difficulty from the want of beds, than from the want of time to sleep; for when their day’s work in the field is done, the most of them having their washing, mending, and cooking to do, and having few or none of the ordinary facilities for doing either of these, very many of their sleeping hours are consumed in preparing for the field the coming day; and when this is done, old and young, male and female, married and single, drop down side by side, on one common bed,—the cold, damp floor,—each covering himself or herself with their miserable blankets; and here they sleep till they are summoned to the field by the driver’s horn.”

Growing Calls for Abolition

Douglass’s Autobiography was one of the most important slave narratives, works primarily written by escaped slaves to tell their stories and, in many cases, bolster the abolitionist cause. Abolitionism was the movement to eradicate slavery in the states and territories, and though there were some abolitionist groups as early as the late 18th century, a formal movement did not arise until the antebellum era. Both white and Black abolitionists worked to raise awareness of the truly horrendous conditions of slavery, hoping politicians would act. They distributed pamphlets, gave speeches, published newspapers, wrote books, poems, and essays, and lobbied politicians.

The abolitionists certainly were not popular, especially initially, as they were considered rabble-rousers (such as William Lloyd Garrison burning a copy of the Constitution, which he said was corrupt from its inception), unseemly (for example, women like Sarah and Angelina Grimké giving public speeches), and lawless (as seen with escaped slaves like Douglass who wrote and agitated from their safer positions in the North). However, they persisted in their bravery and boldness, calling for a decisive end to the scourge of slavery.

Angelina Grimké called upon the North to “cast out first the spirit of slavery from your own hearts, and then lend your aid to convert the South. Each one present has a work to do, be his or her situation what it may, however limited their means, or insignificant their supposed influence. The great men of this country will not do this work; the church will never do it,” seeing the real potential for change in ordinary men and women.

In harsher terms, Douglass, in his now-famous speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July,” given in 1852, put in stark terms what slavery had done to the country: “Fellow-citizens!…The existence of slavery in this country brands your republicanism as a sham, your humanity as a base pretence, and your Christianity as a lie. It destroys your moral power abroad; it corrupts your politicians at home. It saps the foundation of religion; it makes your name a hissing, and a by word to a mocking earth. It is the antagonistic force in your government, the only thing that seriously disturbs and endangers your Union. It fetters your progress; it is the enemy of improvement, the deadly foe of education; it fosters pride; it breeds insolence; it promotes vice; it shelters crime; it is a curse to the earth that supports it; and yet, you cling to it, as if it were the sheet anchor of all your hopes. Oh! be warned!”

The Road to Civil War

It is impossible to recount the myriad of events that ultimately led to the Civil War, but essentially, conflicts over slavery became increasingly inflamed and irreconcilable. Territorial expansion, such as the land gained after going to war with Mexico in 1846-1848, led to complicated questions about whether or not slavery would be permitted in the new areas. In some places, such as Kansas and Nebraska, the choice to allow the people to decide if they wanted slavery or not (“popular sovereignty”) proved not to be a panacea but instead an instigator of violence and corruption.

The South became more and more frustrated with fugitives escaping via the Underground Railroad, and even though one of the components of the Compromise of 1850 was a harsher Fugitive Slave Act, the North’s reluctance to adhere to it with any real conviction infuriated them.

Abolitionist agitation increased, sometimes becoming violent, as with John Brown and his followers raiding Harpers Ferry, a federal arsenal in Virginia, in an attempt to foment a slave uprising. Though a failure that ended with Brown’s hanging for treason, he was lionized among Northerners, showing just how far apart the regions were growing.

By the 1850s, the federal government was fractured after years of unresolved conflict. Congress was divided, President James Buchanan was pro-slavery, and the Supreme Court ruled in Dred Scott v. Sanford in 1857 that Black people were not citizens and that Congress had no ability to legislate slavery’s presence or absence in the country.

The election of 1860 was one of the most fractured in American history, with four major candidates. The Democratic party split and ran two candidates as Northern Democrats and Southern Democrats. A pro-slavery party called the Constitutional Union Party had also formed, while the newly formed Republican party ran Abraham Lincoln, a relatively inexperienced politician from Illinois who had recently said that “a house divided against itself cannot stand” in a debate to win an open Illinois Senate seat. Slavery was inarguably on the ballot, with each of the four candidates espousing some proposal to either limit slavery’s spread or promote it even further.

The Civil War and the End of Slavery 

With Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860, many of the Southern states, led by South Carolina, decided to secede from the union. They formed the Confederate States of America, established a capital at Richmond, Virginia, and put Jefferson Davis in charge. In his First Inaugural Address to the divided nation, Lincoln stated he would not make war on the seceded states and called for the “better angels of our natures” to prevail. Not an abolitionist, Lincoln also said he would not go after slavery where it was already present. But Confederate forces fired upon Fort Sumter in 1861, initiating a devastating war that would not end until 1865.

The Union did not fare well in the early years of the war, so even though Lincoln eventually did decide he needed to emancipate the slaves, he waited to do so from a position of relative strength. After a victory at Antietam in 1862, he drafted the Proclamation, which was officially announced on January 1st, 1863. All of the slaves in the states in rebellion—exempting those in the border states, which Lincoln hoped not to tip over into the Confederacy—were “then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.”

The Emancipation Proclamation was tremendously important in its explicit shifting of the war’s aim from solely preserving the Union to also eradicating slavery. While it could not easily be enforced while the war was ongoing, enslaved people who heard about it were overjoyed, many of them fleeing their place of bondage and others even joining the war effort. The National Archives explains how crucial Black participation in the war effort was: “By the end of the Civil War, roughly 179,000 black men (10% of the Union Army) served as soldiers in the U.S. Army and another 19,000 served in the Navy. Nearly 40,000 black soldiers died over the course of the war—30,000 of infection or disease. Black soldiers served in artillery and infantry and performed all noncombat support functions that sustain an army, as well…There were nearly 80 black commissioned officers. Black women, who could not formally join the Army, nonetheless served as nurses, spies, and scouts, the most famous being Harriet Tubman…, who scouted for the 2nd South Carolina Volunteers.”

After the turning points of Gettysburg and Vicksburg in 1863, Lincoln and the Republicans in Congress started to look ahead to what the postwar world would look like. The Emancipation Proclamation lacked the weight of constitutionality, so Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment in January of 1865, and it was ratified by December of that year. The language stated that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

The monstrous institution of slavery was ended. Now came the monumental task of Reconstruction, of integrating former slaves into the economic, political, and social fabric of the nation—a task that is still, generations later, ongoing.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, better known as the NAACP, has a long history, working since 1909 to advance justice and equality for African Americans. It was instrumental throughout the United States’ tumultuous 20th-century history, as the foundation for civil rights in the country was established. Although it celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding in 2009, the organization continues to be a key player in advancing equality and social justice in the United States.

The Springfield Race Riot: A Tipping Point

In August 1908, the city of Springfield, Illinois was rocked by riots. Reports that a Black man had assaulted a white woman spread through the streets, and an angry mob attempted to extricate the suspect and another Black prisoner from jail and lynch them. When it was revealed that the police had covertly sent the prisoners out of town, mayhem ensued. Crowds of up to 5,000 white residents were present as businesses were destroyed and lynchings carried out on innocent civilians.

When the dust had settled, six people were dead. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage was evident, and more than 40 families were displaced. While race riots were unfortunately not unheard of in the early 20th century, the display of bloodlust in Springfield was the last straw for a group of white liberals. Mary White Ovington, Oswald Garrison Villard, William English Walling, and Dr. Henry Moscowitz announced that they were holding a meeting to discuss the future of racial justice. A public statement, entitled “The Call,” was issued, protesting the status quo and inviting interested parties to attend the meeting. Over 60 people attended the multi-racial meeting, including W.E.B. Du Bois and Ida B. Wells. The group initially called itself the Committee on the Negro.

The NAACP is Born

As a result of that meeting, on February 12, 1909, the organization that would soon be called the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was created. The mission of the organization remains unchanged to this day: to ensure the “political, educational, social and economic equality” of minority-group citizens across the United States and eliminate prejudice on the grounds of race. The original group was made up of both Black and white people of varying religious and social backgrounds. There were journalists, clergymen, teachers, activists, and more. Though the group was dedicated to a multiracial membership, only one Black person was part of the original executive committee: W.E.B. Du Bois.

The group aimed to fight the segregation and “color-caste” system that had spread throughout the US in the decades since the conclusion of the Civil War. A national office was established in New York City, and by 1913, the NAACP had established branch offices around the country, including in Boston, Kansas City, Washington DC, and St. Louis. The group placed an emphasis on local grassroots organizing, and by 1919, over 300 local branches had also been created.

The Crisis

Not long after its inception, in 1910, the NAACP began issuing The Crisis, a monthly publication. The Crisis was founded and directed by W.E.B. Du Bois, who continued to edit the newspaper until 1934. According to Du Bois, the goal of the paper was to “set forth those facts and arguments which show the danger of race prejudice.” The paper is renowned as one of the first opportunities for Black writers and artists to share their work in a publication. It featured more than 100 short news reports within its pages each month.

In addition to discussing and promoting issues relevant to the Black community, the paper highlighted other race-based issues facing the country. For example, it was one of the first publications in the US to protest, in writing, the creation of Japanese internment camps during World War II. The Crisis has been printed for over a century, and its archive at the Library of Congress is the largest and most utilized collection. The Crisis continues to be published today, focusing on social justice issues, Black culture and arts, and Black history.

NAACP: Action and Activities

Up until 1950, the NAACP mainly focused on five areas: anti-lynching legislation, voter participation, employment, due process under the law, and education. Membership grew rapidly from the original meeting, rising to about 9,000 by 1917, then to 90,000 in 1919. Quickly, the organization established itself as an advocate for legal rights and went to work fighting a series of court battles in 1910. One notable early victory was achieved against a discriminatory Oklahoma law that restricted voting for people of color.

Many of the group’s legal battles focused on anti-lynching legislation. Vigilante violence was all too common, and eradicating it became one of the NAACP’s top priorities. In addition to court battles, the group staged mass protests, including a silent march of 8,000 participants in New York City in 1917, and used various publicity tactics to share horrifying statistics. One of the most impactful was a report entitled “Thirty Years of Lynching in the United States, 1889-1919.” The public discussion that followed this report is widely credited with helping to decrease lynching incidents in the following decades.

In the 1930s, the Great Depression struck and had a disproportionate effect on African Americans. During this period, the organization shifted focus to economic justice issues, including job discrimination and work with labor unions. Achievements included President Franklin Delano Roosevelt opening thousands of New Deal-era jobs to African Americans and the creation of a Fair Employment Practices Committee, FEPC. The NAACP saw its greatest successes in the northern and western states in the years leading up to World War II. It would become more instrumental in the South as the Civil Rights Movement gained traction in the post-war era.

In the post-war era, the NAACP experienced another surge in growth, followed by some years of struggle as the Southern political climate grew increasingly volatile. Certain governments at local, state, and federal levels proved hostile toward the organization as pressure for increased equality at all levels mounted and the Civil Rights Movement spread across the country.

Anti-discrimination laws became a focus of the organization as issues such as segregation were called to the forefront of the political discourse during this time. NAACP litigation director Charles Hamilton Houston and the organization’s legal counsel, Thurgood Marshall, presented 26 cases before the Supreme Court in 1954 alone, including the landmark Brown v Board of Education case, which ruled segregation in public schools unconstitutional. The organization also had key roles in pushing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Prevailing Through Threats

Racially-motivated violence was a very real element of the Civil Rights era, and those who inadvertently placed themselves in the spotlight while fighting for justice were often targeted by hate. In 1951, Harry Moore, an NAACP field secretary, was killed when his home was bombed. Another field secretary, Medgar Evers, survived an attempted bombing of his residence but was later killed by a sniper as he stood in front of his home.

The most well-known victim of such racist violence, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was perhaps most famously involved with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) but was also a member of the NAACP from a young age. He chaired the youth membership committee as a teen and recognized the importance of the NAACP’s efforts, following his own tenet of non-violence. After King’s assassination, membership rolls grew once again as people sought a way to channel their frustrations. Despite these tragedies, as the century progressed, the NAACP remained active, specifically in taking legal action to protect equal rights and voting, work it continues today.

Despite being founded over a century ago, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is very much a modern, active organization. Dedicated to fighting for the rights and equality of all people, the group has been instrumental in the Civil Rights Movement from the start. With over 100 years of effective efforts for change, the NAACP continues to fight civil injustice throughout the country.

Toussaint L’Ouverture emerged as the leader of the Haitian revolution in the late 1780s, playing a key role in leading the enslaved population in their fight for freedom. Toussaint L’Ouverture established a self-governed French protectorate in Saint-Domingue, populated by emancipated former slaves. Fearing to lose the grip over its colony, L’Ouverture was eventually captured by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 and detained at Fort de Joux, where he died a year later. Toussaint L’Ouverture brought irreversible waves of change in the French colony, resulting in the establishment of independent Haiti in 1804.

Early Life of Toussaint L’Ouverture

François Dominique Toussaint was born in 1743 on the plantation of Bréda at Haut de Cap, located in the French colony called Saint-Domingue, present-day Haiti. Though not well documented, it is believed that L’Ouverture’s father was the eldest of the eight children of the king of Allada (a kingdom in West Africa), Gaou Guinou. His mother was Pauline, Guinou’s second wife. The family were sold into slavery in Saint-Domingue as prisoners of war.

From a very young age, Toussaint L’Ouverture demonstrated excellent capabilities and interest in education and literature. His godfather, Pierre-Baptiste, who was living on the Bréda plantation, gave Toussaint a general education. As the letters from his earlier life demonstrate, he spoke French and Creole – a blend of two or more languages. The most spoken Creole language is Haitian Creole, a mix of French and African tribal languages.

Physically short, skinny, and small-framed, Toussaint demonstrated stamina and loyalty. He dressed simply, reflecting his modest lifestyle, and chose to be vegetarian as a way to express his deep appreciation for medicinal plants and horsemanship.

Due to his exceptional nature, intelligence, and hard work, he was favored by Bayon de Libertad, the manager of the Bréda plantation. Thus, Toussant managed to rise from livestock handler to chief steward of the plantation in a short period. As the plantation manager’s favorite, he was allowed unlimited access to his personal library.

Toussaint L’Ouverture was inspired by the Enlightenment political philosophers and teachings of Catholicism. Toussaint remained a Roman Catholic throughout his life, choosing not to adhere to Vodou (or Voodoo), which was the leading African diasporic religion developed in Haiti between the 16th and 19th centuries.

He was particularly fascinated with the Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus, who was also born in slavery. As his public speeches demonstrate, Toussaint was familiar with Machiavelli and French philosopher Abbé Raynal. Reportedly, Abbé Raynal’s work, Histoire des deux Indes (A History of the Two Indies, published in 1770), which outlined the inevitable revolt in the West Indies, influenced Toussaint to actively support and participate in the slave revolution.

Eventually, L’Ouverture was legally freed in 1776, aged 33. During this time, Toussaint took up the name of Toussaint de Bréda (Toussaint of Bréda), or Toussaint Bréda, in reference to the plantation where he grew up. He soon married Suzanne Simone Baptiste and had three children: two sons, Toussaint Jr. and Gabrielle-Toussaint, and a daughter, Marie-Marthe.

During this period, Toussaint joined the local community known as gens de couleur libres (Free People of Color). The community primarily consisted of mixed-race individuals and freed slaves, most of them of African ancestry. The members felt a profound connection to the island itself, underlining their unique cultural identity and attachment to their community in Saint-Domingue.

Due to his improved social standing as a member of the gens de couleur libres, L’Ouverture aspired to achieve economic independence and, by renting a coffee plantation, became a plantation master himself. Toussant’s plantation had 13 slaves, one of them being Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who would later become one of L’Ouverture’s most loyal lieutenants and a member of his personal guard during the slave revolution.

Saint-Domingue as a French Colony

Saint-Domingue, the French Caribbean colony, now Haiti, was located in the western region of the island of Hispaniola. Due to the easy access to the labor of enslaved people and suitable weather conditions, it became a valuable colony for France. Saint-Domingue was primarily used for sugarcane and coffee cultivation to accommodate Europe’s growing need for these products. By the 1760s, it had become the most profitable colony in the Americas. Profit, however, came at the expense of the exploitation of the African slaves, who represented the majority of Saint-Domingue’s population.

The Night of Fire

Enslaved people were subject to harsh and brutal regimes at the plantations. Years of submission and unpaid work pushed some to organize resistance groups, culminating in the massive revolt of August 22, 1791, also known as the “Night of Fire.” More than 100,000 slaves, under the leadership of a religious leader named Dutty Bookman, set fire to the plantation buildings and fields, executed French overlords and their family members, and forced many to escape. Saint-Domingue’s struggle for civil rights and emancipation began in flames.

The “Night of Fire” lasted for three weeks. Even though the French colonial authorities suppressed it, a faint spark of revolutionary fire still remained.

This remarkable event inspired L’Ouverture to join the revolution. However, he first relocated his family to the Spanish-controlled eastern half of the island (Santo Domingo) to ensure their safety. Even though Toussaint did not join the rebels in burning the plantations, he came to the realization that emancipation could only be achieved if the resistance would be militarily and politically well organized.

Other European colonial powers—Great Britain and Spain—saw the start of the Haitian Revolution and subsequent political instability as a possibility to gain dominance. France, on the other hand, sought to reclaim influence in the region.

The competition resulted in a military confrontation between France and Spain. Insurgency leader Georges Biassou decided to join the Spanish forces in 1793. Toussant also aligned himself with Spain as it supported the rebellion against French rule. It is thought that during this period, Toussant changed his name to “L’Ouverture” (French for “opening”) to refer to his skill in creating openings in enemy lines, outlining his exceptional capabilities as a military commander.

The First Step Towards the Emancipation

In 1794, to oppose the growing influence of British and Spanish forces in Saint-Domingue, France issued the French National Convention, also known as the Emancipation Decree. The convention granted citizenship rights and much-awaited freedom to all people of African-American roots under French colonial rule.

The convention also inspired Toussaint to shift his support from Spain to France. Already in May of the same year, Toussant was fighting on behalf of the French, becoming a leading political and military figure, and acting under the self-assumed title of General-in-Chief of the Army.

Toussaint immensely contributed to the French forces in opposing the British invasion of Saint-Domingue in September. His exceptional military capabilities proved instrumental in resisting the British forces.

The Treaty of Basel was signed in July 1795. The treaty ended the hostilities between the Spanish and French forces. Spain withdrew from Saint-Domingue and granted control to France over the eastern territories of Hispaniola (modern-day Dominican Republic). Even though Biassou, a former partner of Toussaint, continued to resist until November, he was eventually forced to flee for Spain as most of the soldiers had decided to join L’Ouverture.

Following the Treaty of Basel, Saint-Domingue became a predominantly French colony, where L’Ouverture wielded significant political and military influence.

L’Ouverture’s Saint-Domingue

In 1794, L’Ouverture drafted a constitution and named himself the governor of Saint-Domingue for “the rest of his glorious life.” During 1795-1796, he worked to establish peace and economic stability in Saint-Domingue, as he believed that long-term sovereignty, peace, and stability were only possible through a stable and growing economy. Even though coffee and sugar plantations remained a key source of income, workers of the plantations were adequately paid.

By February 1801, L’Ouverture had established an assembly to finalize the constitution of Saint-Domingue based on his vision. L’Ouverture signed the constitution in July 1801 and sent it to the leader of the French Republic, Napoleon Bonaparte, for ratification.

Article III of the document stated that the inhabitants of Saint-Domingue would henceforth be “free and French”—a brave statement that asserted both freedom from slavery and being nominally under French sovereignty.

Napoleon perceived the act as a direct threat to French influence in Saint-Domingue. In his memoirs, Napoleon pointed out: “Toussaint knew very well that in proclaiming his constitution, he had thrown away his mask and had drawn his sword out of its sheath forever.”

In 1802, Napoleon ordered an expedition to Saint-Domingue, headed by his brother-in-law, Charles Leclerc, to suppress L’Ouverture and reassert French control. Military involvement seemed the only viable solution to crush the initial steps towards Saint-Domingue’s independence.

Despite L’Ouverture’s initial resistance to the French forces, on June 7, 1802, he and his whole family were forcibly put onto a ship called Le Héros and deported to France.

Death & Legacy of Toussaint L’Ouverture

L’Ouverture was placed at prison Fort de Joux in France, where he died of pneumonia on April 7, 1803, only eight months after his capture.

L’Ouverture’s death caused many controversies not only in the French public but on the international arena as well. The controversy was caused by the fact that the French government had not held a trial or filed formal charges against him. On May 3, a London newspaper wrote:

“Toussaint L’Ouverture is dead. He died, according to letters from Besançon, in prison a few days ago. The fate of this man has been singularly unfortunate, and his treatment is most cruel. He died, we believe, without a friend to close his eyes. We have never heard that his wife and children, though they were brought over from St. Domingo with him, have ever been permitted to see him during his imprisonment.”

Some believed that “Toussaint L’Ouverture’s lonely death in a French prison cell was not an unfortunate tragedy but a cruel story of betrayal,” as it illustrated the poor medical and living conditions of political prisoners of color. This perception was further reinforced by L’Ouverture’s written memoir, dated September 1802.

In the memoir, he declared: “Without a doubt, I owe this treatment to my color, but my color, my color, has it ever prevented me from serving my country with diligence and devotion?”

The death of the leader of the slave insurrection in French Saint-Domingue further fueled the struggle for independence. In 1804, under the leadership of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, one of L’Ouverture’s generals, Saint-Domingue was declared independent and emerged as the first slavery-free nation in the Americas.

Toussant’s constitution for Saint-Domingue served as a guide for the creation of multi-racial societies in post-colonial states. The history of Haiti’s struggle for independence and Toussaint L’Ouverture’s role in achieving it inspired other independence movements in Latin America and the Caribbean, illustrating that change was possible.

In 1947, Jackie Robinson secured a place in American history. A trailblazer, he crossed the color barrier, playing Major League Baseball for the all-white Brooklyn Dodgers. As a Black man in the Jim Crow era, he faced insults and discrimination. His tremendous talent was only surpassed by his resilience and compassion. In addition to being named Rookie of the Year, MVP, and ultimately inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, Robinson was actively involved in the Civil Rights Movement. He became an American icon, fighting for change and racial equality.

Childhood: Georgia to California

Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia, on January 31, 1919. Despite his later successes, Jackie Robinson came from humble beginnings. He was just two generations removed from slavery; his grandfather had been enslaved in the South. Robinson’s father worked as a sharecropper on a plantation, but, unhappy with his job, he abandoned his wife and five children. He never returned, and Robinson retained resentment throughout his life.

When he was a small child, Robinson’s single mother moved the family to Pasadena, California, but their situation was largely unchanged. They often didn’t have more than one or two meals a day and were forced to rely on welfare. Young Robinson got caught up running with a pack of boys who called themselves the Pepper Street Gang until a church minister redirected his life.

Always competitive, Robinson enjoyed basketball, baseball, football, tennis, golf, and track and field. In high school, he lettered in four sports. Among his peers, he earned a reputation for his athleticism. Playing sports with neighbors and his brothers fostered a competitiveness that grew over time.

Family was everything to Robinson. He grew up in a loving and supportive household. He admired his older brother Mack Robinson, who had won silver in the 200-m dash in the 1936 Olympics. Another brother, Frank, was a constant source of support for Jackie when he was growing up. Frank’s tragic death in a car accident when Jackie was only nineteen years old affected him deeply.

A Mother’s Love: Mallie Robinson’s Impact

Robinson had immense love and respect for his mother, Mallie, an enormous influence on his life. She taught him the importance of hard work and determination. Mallie worked hard at her washing and ironing job and was determined that her children would get a college education. Not only did she set an example for her children, she taught them lessons that would carry over into adulthood.

When Robinson’s white neighbors called the police on the Robinson children or signed petitions to force them to move, Mallie did not back down. She modeled incredible strength and courage in the face of racism. She encouraged Robinson to hold himself with pride and never to yield. Simultaneously, Mallie insisted that Robinson not antagonize anyone and that he always treated others with kindness. She was religious and taught her children to follow the Golden Rule.

Mallie’s determination to teach Robinson the importance of faith, hard work, and kindness molded Jackie into an exceptional man. Robinson admired his mother tremendously. He successfully applied her lessons throughout his life, and the two remained close until she passed away.

Robinson as a College Athlete

High school had provided Robinson with an outlet to showcase his talent. He proved successful in every sport he played. This opened doors for Robinson to become a student-athlete in college. Choosing to attend Pasadena Junior College, Robinson continued to demonstrate remarkable athletic ability as the football quarterback, in baseball, and in track and field. Playing shortstop, he helped Pasadena win the championship and set a new long-jumping record in track and field. Colleges took notice, and he was offered a scholarship to the University of California at Los Angeles, where he enrolled in 1939.

At UCLA, Robinson became the first student-athlete to play four sports: basketball, baseball, football, and track. Ironically, Robinson considered basketball his best sport and baseball his weakest. Despite his successful college sports career, when his eligibility expired, he dropped out of college to work. At the time, he aspired to be an athletic director for youth sports.

The Draft: Robinson at War 

The onset of World War II changed the course of Robinson’s life. Robinson was drafted when he was twenty-one years old. After basic training at Fort Riley, Kansas, Robinson trained to become an officer in the Officer Candidate School. Due to discrimination, his application to be an officer was initially rejected, despite passing his test and being qualified. With help from world heavyweight boxer Joe Louis, who was also in Fort Riley and had clout, Robinson was finally commissioned as a second lieutenant.

However, racism within the military would rear its head again. As a second lieutenant, Robinson was involved in a situation that resulted in his arrest and court-martialing, propelling his activism in Civil Rights. While stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, Robinson encountered blatant racial discrimination on a bus ride. The driver asked Robinson to move to the back of the bus; he refused. During the trial, nine officers found him not guilty of the preposterous charges of insubordination, disturbing the peace, drunkenness, and conduct unbecoming of an officer. Robinson was acquitted of the charges and honorably discharged in November 1944, having never been deployed overseas.

Integrating Major League Baseball

Robinson’s professional baseball career started in the Negro Leagues with the Kansas City Monarchs. Later, he would break the color barrier in Major League Baseball. The Brooklyn Dodger’s interest in Robinson extended beyond his baseball skills. Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey wanted a morally incorruptible and hard-working player who could practice self-discipline and restraint in the face of racism and discrimination. Robinson understood that his performance and professionalism were crucial to the success of Rickey’s “great experiment” and that he was a gatekeeper for other Black players. Unquestionably, he was the man for the job.

Robinson’s baseball career was remarkable. It was immediately evident that he was a rare talent truly deserving to be in the Major Leagues. He would spend nine years with the Brooklyn Dodgers, during which time he faced ongoing discrimination. On road trips, he had to sleep in segregated hotels, and he routinely tolerated racist jeering from crowds. The discrimination only hardened his resolve to succeed.

Robinson won the 1947 Rookie of the Year award with a .297 batting average, 125 runs scored, 12 home runs, 31 doubles, and 29 stolen bases. Robinson helped propel the Dodgers to the World Series that year. In 1949, Robinson won the Most Valuable Player award, topping the statistical charts and leading his team to the World Series again. Overall, the Dodgers made six trips to the championship during his tenure and with Robinson’s help, finally won the World Series Championship ring in 1955. In 1962, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Robinson as Civil Rights Leader

After he retired from baseball, it became Robinson’s mission in life to improve the well-being of Black people in America. He was active in the Civil Rights movement, and like Martin Luther King Jr., he believed in peaceful methods. Robinson used his platform to bring attention to racism and discrimination. He frequently wrote newspaper articles, spoke on radio and TV talk shows, and gave public speeches. He participated in marches, including the famous 1963 March on Washington, where Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. Robinson served on the NAACP National Board and diligently worked with the National Conference of Christians and Jews and the George Washington Carver Memorial Foundation.

Robinson also sought to help the community independently. He believed decent housing was the most essential necessity in the Black community. While he advocated for quality, integrated schools, he felt that having a good home would keep kids from getting involved with street life. He felt the best way to improve the troubled inner cities was to create housing and jobs.

He founded the Jackie Robinson Construction Corporation to build affordable housing while simultaneously creating construction jobs for Black laborers. He co-founded the Freedom National Bank of Harlem to assist Black people in getting home loans. Robinson’s business endeavors coincided with his activism and desire to improve racial equality. His contributions to the Civil Rights Movement were significant.

Jackie and Rachel Robinson: A Model Partnership 

Robinson’s wife was at the heart of his story. Their love and partnership weathered both career and personal highs and lows. Robinson and Rachel Isum, a dynamic team, first met in college. Robinson was immediately attracted to the shy nursing student. However, initially, his confident stance and athletic accolades led her to believe he was arrogant. Nonetheless, as their relationship grew, they found a connection based on respect, friendship, and a profound love for one another.

The two married on February 10, 1946 and went on to have three children: Jackie Jr., Sharon, and David. Robinson later professed that his wife was the most important person in his life. She not only proved to be supportive when they faced challenges, but they also shared a passion for reform. Rachel was active in the Civil Rights Movement as well. When Robinson died, she became president of the construction company and continued his dream of building affordable homes. Rachel also started the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which provides college scholarships in his memory. She never remarried.

An Enduring Legacy

Jackie Robinson is an American icon. He was a pioneer who boldly forged his path in Major League Baseball so others could follow. He demonstrated grace and composure when faced with discrimination. He was a civil rights leader who utilized his enormous platform to help others and a successful businessman determined to create brighter futures for others. In everything he did, he exemplified kindness, charity, and integrity.

Jackie Robinson died on October 24, 1972. After his passing, his wife accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal on his behalf. In 1997, Robinson’s MLB jersey number “42” was retired. Every year, though, on April 15, Robinson is honored throughout Major League Baseball. All MLB players and personnel wear the number “42” to commemorate and celebrate the life of Jackie Robinson.

History has recorded Robinson as breaking baseball’s color barrier and leading the fight for equal rights. Jackie Robinson’s story continues to serve as an inspiration to people around the world. His headstone reads, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives”—a fitting epitaph for a man who made a tremendous impact (Find A Grave, n.d.) .

Further reading:

Robinson, J., & Duckett, A. (2003). I never had it made: An autobiography of Jackie Robinson. HarperCollins.

Few individuals have left an impact as great as Maya Angelou across so many sectors. Best known for her autobiographical works about her experience as a Black woman, Angelou also wrote poetry and often performed her writing live. As a natural extension of the honest writing of her experiences, she was also a Civil Rights activist who worked alongside Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. Angelou rose above the challenges of her life, inspiring and empowering others with her stories and lessons of resilience.

Maya Angelou: A Full Life

Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. She went by Marguerite for many years before adopting the name Maya, a nickname that her brother used to call her when she was younger. Angelou felt that Maya was also a more artistic name to use in her endeavors.

Before becoming a household name, Angelou moved back and forth between Stamps, Arkansas and St. Louis, Missouri, after her parents divorced when she was three years old. Life in rural Arkansas was much more segregated and oppressive than in St. Louis, with Jim Crow laws in full effect. As a result, Angelou and her brother experienced two different worlds while growing up.

Angelou became a single mother to her only son, Guy, just weeks after graduating high school and went on to work a variety of jobs before focusing on the writing that would make her famous. Though Angelou is known today for her autobiographies and poetry, Angelou was also a singer, dancer, actress, and even Hollywood’s first Black director. In many ways, Angelou paved the way for future African American artists.

Angelou’s Autobiographical Works

Maya Angelou is best known for the autobiographies that she published throughout her lifetime, focused on her childhood and years as a young adult. She shared with readers both the positives and negatives throughout her life.

Over her lifetime, Angelou wrote seven works about her experiences. Her first and most famous autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, was published in 1969. Angelou continued publishing autobiographies for more than 45 years, with her final autobiography published in 2013.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Angelou’s first autobiographical work was called I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, following her journey as a young Black girl growing up in a poor town in Arkansas.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings follows Angelou through stories of survival and transformation. She discusses her family’s involvement in her life and how she survived painful times, including the tragic story of her mother’s boyfriend raping her, after which she went mute for five years.

As Angelou grew older, she became more aware of the world around her, reflecting in her autobiography:

“Without willing it, I had gone from being ignorant of being ignorant to being aware of being aware. And the worst part of my awareness was that I didn’t know what I was aware of.”

Place, time, and location also affected Angelou in her autobiography. She and her family dealt with racial tension and poverty where she lived in Stamps. Angelou reflected on daily life in Arkansas and how even the smallest choices in life were restricted:

“People in Stamps used to say that the whites in our town were so prejudiced that a Negro couldn’t buy vanilla ice cream. Except on July Fourth. Other days he had to be satisfied with chocolate.”

Her home and family life, then, became yet another force that allowed her to survive the hardships of her existence. It was the combination of all these experiences, both positive and negative, that shaped Angelou’s life.

Additional Autobiographies 

Angelou went on to write six more autobiographical works that spanned her time living in the United States and in Africa.

These titles include:

• Gather Together in My Name 
• Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas
• The Heart of a Woman 
• All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes 
• A Song Flung Up to Heaven 

Each of Angelou’s autobiographies covered a short span of her life between 1944-1968. She published her final autobiography, Mom & Me & Mom, in 2013 when she was 85 years old.

Angelou’s Poetry

Angelou was also a prolific poet, with 167 poems written across numerous volumes. Much of her poetry has become an anthem for African Americans. Though less studied than her autobiographies, her poetry is an important source of inspiration and empowerment for Black communities in the United States and across the world. Though she spoke of her experiences in an unequal, difficult world, her poetry and writing overall, however, were empowering because they emphasized her ability to overcome those challenges.

Unlike most other poets, Angelou also recorded her poetry. Her followers had the unique experience of not only being able to read her poetry but to listen to it in her voice as well.

“Still I Rise”: A Cultural Anthem for Resilience And Empowerment

Angelou published “Still I Rise” in a collection of poetry called And Still I Rise in 1978. Then and today, the poem’s theme is one common throughout her written work: the speaker’s ability to stand up defiantly in the face of adversity.

Angelou’s mentality shines through with this quote from “Still I Rise”:

“You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I’ll rise.”

While the theme of triumphing over adversity is universal, many assume that Angelou is speaking about anti-Black racism in the United States. “Still I Rise” is not only about resilience but also about empowerment. The speaker not only overcomes difficult times but also thrives while doing so.

Angelou on Stage and Screen

Angelou was not only a writer and activist; she expressed her creativity in a multitude of ways. Writing was not her only outlet, and she may be as well known in other fields as she is for her autobiographies.

Maya Angelou played Nyo Boto in the 1977 series Roots alongside actors like James Earl Jones, LeVar Burton, and John Amos. Roots follows the story of Kunta Kinte who was sold into slavery and taken to the United States where he and his family see events play out throughout American history. In addition, filmmakers produced her screenplay Georgia, Georgia, the first script by a Black woman to be produced, and she directed a feature film, Down in the Delta, in 1998.

Maya Angelou, The Activist 

Though perhaps overshadowed by her writing and other endeavors, Angelou was an early political activist, born into an America where a “separate but equal” reigned. Her experience growing up in the Southern United States meant that racism, inequality, and discrimination shaped her life. The American experience around her was that of unrest with major Civil Rights protests. The pressure and restrictions under Jim Crow laws began boiling over when Emmett Till was lynched in Chicago. Maya Angelou was writing when there were sit-ins, bus boycotts, and marches—the March on Washington and the march from Selma to Montgomery—that protested the current state of African Americans in the United States.

She worked with other activists like Malcolm X in trying to form the Organization of Afro-American Unity and Martin Luther King Jr as director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s New York office. Both men had different views of what the Black experience should look like in the United States, yet, like Angelou, both believed that the current world that African Americans lived in needed to change.

Maya Angelou’s Legacy

Angelou’s writing introduced the Black experience to the world. She wrote, unapologetically, of her experience as a Black woman without allowing her past to hold her down or back. African Americans, even today, use her writing as a source of empowerment and as testimony to their experiences both in the United States and abroad.

Outside of defining her experiences as an African American, she also opened the door for female writers, both white and Black, to be taken seriously by literary audiences.

In addition to this lasting legacy, Angelou also has physical memorials at Wake Forest University and Glide Memorial Church. The United States Postal Service created a stamp in her honor in 2015. In addition, the United States Mint produced a quarter with Maya Angelou’s image.

Angelou was also recognized by multiple Presidents of the United States, universities, and other organizations:

• Bill Clinton awarded Angelou the National Medal of Arts in 2000
• Barack Obama awarded Angelou the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010
• Colleges and universities presented Angelou with more than 50 honorary degrees
• Three Grammy Awards
• One Emmy Award

Angelous passed away in May 2014, but she has not been forgotten in the decade since her passing.

Despite (sometimes valid) stereotypes of Africa as a continent where women are often politically and socially marginalized, the region’s long and diffuse history shows an array of spaces and settings where women have served as political, social, or religious leaders. These range from northern to southern Africa, across traditional African religions as well as those introduced by Europeans, and across many spheres of influence.

The Context of Women in Africa

As in other regions, many of these women become legends in their own right and take on mythical and legendary qualities in popular memory. At the same time, women globally remain underrepresented in professional historical accounts, a fact that is changing in bounds.

As the world’s second-largest continent—and boasting one of the longest records of human existence—Africa’s human history is as diffuse as its topography and linguistic diversity.

While recent programs such as Viola Davis’s The Woman King and Netflix’s new series on Queen Njinga have highlighted the life of one particularly fascinating figure, they can provide the idea that women such as Njinga are outliers—unique in their ability to exert power on the spaces around them. Nothing could be further from the truth. Across the continent’s varied histories, women leaders in various spheres and from all areas of the continent have indelibly affected the societies in which they lived and set up social, political, and religious legacies for those yet to come.

Religious Leaders From Nana to Nontheta

Within structures of Traditional African Religion, women have often served as healers, and at times as organized religious leaders. With the early introductions of Christianity and Islam to the continent, they have also served within Abrahamic spaces.

1. Perpetua

As a woman in Carthage (now Tunisia) under Roman occupation, Perpetua earned an education and became an outspoken advocate for her people under Roman rule. After converting to Christianity, she was martyred and symbolizes for many people both an early critic of colonial rule as well as an early leader in the faith. As did many people awaiting their deaths, Perpetua wrote a Passion, or account of her life and thoughts about her impending fate. Felicity, an enslaved woman martyred with her, has less documentation on her life but often appears in iconography alongside Perpetua.

2. Nana Asmau

In the ancient Sokoto Caliphate, Nana Asmau emphasized the importance of teaching women to read and write and founded several education enterprises. As a poet and author, she wrote about the legacies of living in a large empire and of being an empowered and devout Muslim woman. Many West African women see her as an example of the possibility of feminism within a Muslim sphere.

3. Nontetha Nkwenwke 

During the early 20th century, Nontetha lost several family members to World War I or the influenza epidemic in its immediate aftermath. Following her own bout with the disease, she believed she received a vision from God. Alongside other millenarian movement leaders, she soon became a target of colonial forces, who believed she was interested in overthrowing the government. Nontetha spent her last years in an asylum, and it took researchers and her family decades to repatriate her remains. Her devout followers, however, continued to view her as a prophet and messenger to oppressed peoples.

Cultural Leaders From Makeba to Maathai

It is hard to conceptualize a space without women serving as cultural leaders. Three prominent women in this dynamic worked to Africanize their spheres of influence and to popularize African cultural production in the wider world.

4. Miriam Makeba 

The South African singer boasted a diverse career, with much of it centered around Freedom Songs or those in protest of the government’s apartheid policy. Alongside fellow musician Hugh Masekela, she is often viewed as a leader in utilizing arts for public discourse. She lived in exile for much of the last three decades of her life, and during that time, she popularized African music for Western audiences, performing widely in the United States and Europe.

5. Winnie Madikezela-Mandela 

Known as “Ma Winnie” or as a type of South African Lady McBeth, Mandela’s life and career went through its own ups and downs. A nurse by training, she met and soon married her future husband, Nelson Mandela. Shortly thereafter, his imprisonment left her and their two daughters in their Soweto house. Mandela continued her activism, and the apartheid regime banned, imprisoned, and generally harassed her. She weathered a period of the 1990s and early 2000s where allegations of infidelity, her divorce from Nelson Mandela, investigation before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, expulsion from cabinet, and accusations of being involved in killings led to almost inevitable cancelation. Post-mortem, however, she remains one of South Africa’s most prominent leaders, with many in younger generations proclaiming that she is the inheritor of radicalism in a party that they view as too neoliberal.

6. Wangari Maathai

A Nobel Peace Prize winner, Maathai was the first woman in Eastern and Central Africa to obtain a Ph.D. Though she taught veterinary medicine in her academic life, she soon became most prominent for starting the Green Belt Movement, which encouraged tree planting and reforestation as an antidote to modern demands of urbanization. Maathai Africanized conservation movements, in contrast to many environmentalists who viewed African wildlife as threatened by people and their needs.

7. Alek Wek

Born in Sudan, Wek and her family fled due to war when she was 14. She launched a modeling career in the UK and became a supermodel, working globally in Europe and the US. As one of the first dark-skinned models to grace magazine covers in the 1990s, she became part of the conversation about race and beauty standards. She also remains an outspoken advocate for human rights and for refugee families, helping many people in the Global North to better understand the personhood behind people seeking new homes.

Political Leaders From Shanakdakhete to Sirleaf

Women have often played a pivotal role in influencing how Africans interact with the world. This is true in the realm of politics. Many pre-colonial societies, particularly in West Africa, practiced matriarchy, and the standing of women across the continent often looked historically different from the ways in which Europeans conceptualized gender roles and from the way those roles look on the continent now. There have been notable women who were political leaders from ancient times to periods leading up to and following colonialism.

8. Shanakdakhete

It is unclear whether Shanakdakhete served as the first or second woman to lead Meroe/Kush, but she became one of its most expansive. Shanakdakhete chose to rule without a king. She constructed or expanded temple buildings and writing in the ancient kingdom, meaning that much of what we know about it originates from artifacts during her reign.

9. Cleopatra 

As mythologized as she was real, Cleopatra grew up in a royal household. She formed alliances with several Greco-Roman figures, leading to a cultural exchange between their societies and Ancient Egypt. In doing so, she warded off Egypt’s political decline—at least in part—during its later years.

10. Njinga of Mbandu 

Also raised in a royal household, Njinga quickly became her father’s favorite child and the one most likely to attend military exercises with him. She feuded with her siblings to eventually become King of Mbandu. After doing so, she utilized diplomatic and military tactics to try to ward off Portuguese influence in the kingdom. Njinga often adopted mannerisms of the men around her, preferring to be called King, as a means of gaining social and political capital. Unlike many later leaders in the infamous Scramble for Africa, Njinga managed to forge an uneasy relationship with both Mbandu people and some European administrators.

11. Helen Suzman 

Suzman served in the United Party, later the Progressive Party, of South Africa as the lone opposition representative to the National Party during the apartheid era. She became more radical throughout her tenure, consistently casting the only vote in elections to oppose apartheid. While her efforts did not result in large-scale political or social change, her outspokenness—and inability to be censored due to being a Member of Parliament—provided a glimpse at solidarity to South Africans disenfranchised from political power and to astute observers from the international community.

12. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf 

Following (and in some ways preceding) decades of political instability in Liberia, Johnson Sirleaf became the first woman elected as a head of state in Africa. An economist by training, she focused on attempting to incorporate Liberia into global economic spheres. As a regional leader, she also became the first woman to serve as head of the Economic Community of West African States. The Nobel Peace Prize winner remains a popular speaker on global circuits.

Women as key players in African history represent wide geographic ranges, skill sets, ideologies, and personality differences. Africa’s long and diverse history means that women across time and space have had a variety of experiences as religious, cultural, and political leaders. During many of the continent’s historical eras, they have proven as antidotes to the narrative that men dominate political or cultural spheres, even outside of traditionally matriarchal societies.