Reconstructing the Family Unit: Repairing Bonds Broken by Slavery
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In this blog post, Kenyatta D. Berry, J.D., discusses marriages of former slaves in Virginia and recounts her own family story.
Read More'Freedom of Matrimony': Celebrating Love in an Era of Emancipation
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Anya Jabour, Ph.D., explains that for emancipated African Americans, wedding celebrations offered one of the first opportunities to enjoy freedom.
Read MoreUntil Death or Distance: Romance and Marriage Among Contrabands
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Audrey P. Davis, Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum, discusses the customs and challenges of marriage during slavery.
Read MoreAfrican American Men in the Union Medical Service
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In this blog post, Jane Schultz, Ph.D., gives some background to Samuel Diggs' character by examining the real-life African American men who practiced medicine as surgeons during the Civil War.
Read MoreCode-switching and Fluidity as a Strategy for Survival
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Audrey P. Davis, Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum, discusses the coping mechanisms African American characters must employ to survive plot twists and power struggles in Mercy Street.
Read MoreRoots of Resistance
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Genealogist Kenyatta D. Berry discusses slave resistance in the Colonies and Caribbean, and how education and resistance later went hand-in-hand.
Read MoreMaking a Change: Educating Former Slaves
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Anya Jabour, Ph.D., explains that even though they were denied education in slavery, African Americans were determined to have it in freedom.
Read MoreEducation: The Foundation of Freedom
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Genealogist Kenyatta D. Berry discusses how education for newly freed African American families was a gateway to a better life.
Read MoreAfrican American Firsts in Medicine: Setting the Standard for Future Generations
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Audrey P. Davis, Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum, discusses the history of the first African American doctors to practice in the United States.
Read More'The Freedmen’s Cause': African American Abolitionists
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Anya Jabour, Ph.D., explores the courage and perseverance of Harriet Jacobs.
Read MoreCharlotte Jenkins and Speaking Truth to Power
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Audrey P. Davis, Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum, discusses the parallels between Charlotte Jenkins and real life abolitionists who challenged racism, slavery and the roles of women.
Read MoreMoses of Her People: Harriet Tubman and Runaway Slaves
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Genealogist Kenyatta D. Berry discusses the history of Harriet Tubman and how Charlotte Jenkins channels her strength in Mercy Street.
Read MoreReconstructing the Nation’s Memory of the Civil War
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Jim Downs is an associate professor of history at Connecticut College. In this blog post, Downs details the true history of the Reconstruction period.
Read MoreFrederick Douglass, American Citizen
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Jane E. Schultz, Ph.D., explores the rise of Frederick Douglass from slave to author, abolitionist, suffragist, and citizen.
Read MoreIs Anybody Looking? Runaway Slaves and the Refugee Crisis in Civil War America
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Anya Jabour, Ph.D., explains how most contraband camps were dismal if not downright dangerous places, and how Union authorities were unprepared for the influx of refugees—particularly those who could not be recruited into the ranks of the Union Army. From Fulton, Missouri, one Union captain wrote to his senior officer: “What are we to do with the women and children?”
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