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Middle Passage
The Middle Passage was a brutal journey that transported enslaved Africans from Africa to the Americas, resulting in countless deaths and untold suffering. These are tools used to constrain and torture the Africans during their time on the boat. The handcuffs were used to keep them held down in a painful position where they were constantly crouching. Another tool was the speculum oris, which forced their mouths open so they could be force fed. -
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses used by enslaved people to escape to freedom in the North before the Civil War. This is an essay written by Eugene Covington. In it she describes how the slaves were transported, what they went through during their journey, and what would happen if they were caught. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was a turning point in the history of slavery in America. Issued in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln, it declared all slaves in Confederate states to be free and paved the way for the 13th Amendment, which formally abolished slavery throughout the United States. -
Civil Rights Movement
After the abolishment of slavery, blacks in America still weren't completely free. Due to the Jim Crow Laws, they were treated unfairly and unequal. In 1954, the Civil Rights Movement began. Prominent leaders in the black community such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Julian Bond, and many others rose up to take action. After years of protests, speeches, and boycotts, Jim Crow Laws were ruled unlawful. This is artifact shows the plans for the famous March on Washington.