There are many unknown black history facts that are not taught in schools and are sometimes purposely overlooked to white wash American History. In this blog post, we will be discussing 25 things that you probably never knew about African Americans and there contributions to the country but also the trials and tribulations they faced. These black history facts range from historical events to cultural aspects that have shaped the black community over time. We hope that after reading this post, you will have a better understanding and appreciation for the rich history of African Americans.
1. Tulsa Oklahoma
Tulsa Oklahoma was home to a thriving African American community in the early 1900s. This area was known as the Greenwood District, and it was commonly referred to as “Black Wall Street.” In June of 1921, a white mob attempted to lynch an African American teenager who was accused of trying to rape a white woman. This started the Tulsa Race Riots, which devastated much of Tulsa’s Greenwood District and left between 30 to 300 people dead, mostly African Americans. Previously this massacre was a one of the many unknown black history facts in US history but in the last 10 years the tragic events of what happened in Tulsa have finally started to come to light.
2. California Beach Seized
Bruce’s Beach was a California beach in Los Angeles that was owned and operated by an African American couple, Willa and Charles Bruce. The beach was a popular spot for black locals and tourists alike. However, in 1924, which comes to our very poignant set of black history facts, the state of California seized the beach through eminent domain and evicted the Bruce’s from their property. The state claimed that they needed the land for a public park.
3. There is a New “Negro Motorist Green Book”
The “Negro Motorist Green Book” was a travel guide published from 1936 to 1966 that provided African American motorists with information on safe places to stay and eat while traveling. The book was created by Victor H. Green, and it helped African American travelers avoid areas (sundown towns) where they would experience discrimination or violence.
Now, there is a new platform, created by Lawrence Phillips to help African American travelers do something similar but on global scale and it is called Green Book Global. The website includes a directory of rated cities and countries around the world from black travelers. Learn about a destination’s nightlife, affordability, history, relaxation, and most importantly what it is like traveling while black to get a good idea of what to expect when you visit. There are already over 5000 crowd-sourced reviews on the platform from black travelers from all over the world. The even offer an ability to earn cash-back for travel as well!
4. Original Black Travel Influencer
Gerri Major was a middle-class African American woman who built a journalism career that lasted decades, from the 20s to the 70s. She was a jack of all trades with vocations including a journalist, editor, newscaster, publicist, public health official, author, and influencer to the African American community.
5. Central Park Used to Be an African American Town
In the 1840s, half of the African Americans who lived in Seneca Village, New York City owned property. By 1857, the city was torn down to construct Central Park, leaving only a commemorative plaque. Many people do not know about this important fact relating to black history when they take their leisurely strolls and ride their bikes through Central Park.
6. Black Cyclist: The Fastest Man in the World
In 1899, Marshall “Major” Taylor was a professional cyclist and the first African American man to hold a world cycling title. He was nicknamed the “Fastest Man on Wheels” and broke several world records. Despite all his success, Taylor battled racism throughout his career, which was one of the main reasons why he retired at 32 in 1910. He was later forced into poverty and passed away in 1932.
7. Unserved Warrant for the Abduction of Emmett Till
In August of 1955, a 14-year-old African American boy named Emmett Till was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered in Mississippi after being accused of flirting with Carolyn Bryant, a 21-year-old white woman. The two men, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, who killed him were acquitted by an all-white jury, but the woman who allegedly kidnapped him, Carolyn Bryant, had an unserved arrest warrant. The Leflore County sheriff said he didn’t want to “bother” with the arrest since she had two small children to care for.
8. Forgotten Presidential Candidate
Another piece of history that can be included as one of those unknown black history facts is that before Obama, George Edwin Taylor ran for president in 1904 under the National Negro Liberty Party. He was a politician, journalist, and newspaper editor who fought for African American rights. He was the first African American man to run for president.
9. The Wreckage of America’s Last Known Slave Ship was Finally Found
In 2018, the wreckage of the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to bring enslaved Africans to the United States, was finally discovered in Alabama. In 1860, 52 years after international slave trade was outlawed, the ship carried 110 African captives. The illegal voyage ended when the ship crashed in the Mobile River, Alabama.
10. Henrietta Lacks is the Mother of Modern Medicine
You’ve probably heard of the HeLa cell, which is the immortal human cell line derived from Henrietta Lacks. In 1951, Lacks was diagnosed with aggressive cervical cancer and died a few months later. Without her knowledge or consent, doctors took samples of her tumor cells to create the HeLa cell line, which has been used in numerous medical breakthroughs, including the development of the polio vaccine, cancer treatments, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and much more. All the facts about Henrietta were largely forgotten piece of black history and unknown to many until the movie The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks came out.
11. HBCUs Stepped Up in 1937
Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) were created to serve the educational needs of African Americans and are known for helping minority communities. When Jews were seeking asylum after escaping the Nazi regime, HBCUs stepped up and provided a safe haven for 50 German Jewish scholars. Many of these scholars went on to have successful careers in various fields, many being hired by Howard University in Washington D.C. and Tougaloo College in Mississippi.
12. Lakes Covered Up African American Towns
Buried underwater is history —towns that were purposely flooded and turned into lakes.
- Lake Lanier was built on top of Oscarville, Georgia, which was burned down in 1912 with more than a thousand residents forced to flee.
- Lake Martin was built on Kowaliga (Benson) and Susannah, Alabama.
- Vanport, Oregon, now Delta Park, was home to around 40,000 African Americans. In 1948, a flood tore the town apart, with 18,500 families displaced. There was no warning from city officials, and many did not have time to evacuate.
13. Esther Jones Was the Real Betty Boop
Born in 1900, Esther Jones was an African American jazz singer and entertainer in Harlem who went by the stage name “Baby Esther.” In 1930, she inspired Paramount to create the cartoon character Betty Boop. She did not receive credit or compensation.
14. One in Four Cowboys was Black
When you think of cowboys, you probably think of white men on horses, but included in these unknown black history facts is that one in four cowboys were African American? Enslaved African Americans were drawn to the Wild West because it was one of the few places they could find freedom and make a living. African Americans had some of the most difficult jobs compared to white cowboys, but many went on to become some of the most successful ranchers and cowboys in the West.
15. Birmingham’s Children Crusade
One of the black history facts that are largely unknown is that hundreds of black boys and black girls were arrested in Alabama. In 1963, thousands of African American children ages 7-18 in Birmingham, Alabama skipped classes to protest segregation. The peaceful protests turned violent, and police arrested hundreds of children with brute force. Seeing how children were treated, this event brought attention to the movement and helped push forward the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
16. Sundown Towns Still Exist
Sundown towns are places where it was once legally or socially required for African Americans to be out of the town by a certain time, usually sundown. While most sundown towns have been “desegregated”, there are still a few that exist today. Vidor, Texas is one such town. While the mayor of the town says that they are a welcoming community to all races, some residents are openly racist, not trying very hard to change their violent past in Texas. We even have a TikTok video of black man explaining his experience in Vidor, Texas in the summer of 2022 and it was not good.
17. The First Female Self-Made Millionaire in America Was African American
Madam C.J. Walker was an African American entrepreneur who invented the world’s first hair-straightening formula. She created and sold a line of hair care products for black women in the early 1900s. Her company grew into a multimillion-dollar enterprise and she was the first self-made female millionaire in America. A black woman! This is one set of black history facts that we do not hear about enough!
18. The 6888th Battalion
The all-Black, all-female unit of the military that delivered mail to World War II troops. The women were known as the “six triple eight” because their Army Service Number started with those digits. They managed to develop an efficient system that cleared the massive six-month backlog of mail in just three months. Their motto was: “no mail, low morale.”
19. Harriet Tubman was the First Woman to Lead a U.S. Military Operation
In June 1863, Tubman led 150 Union troops in the Combahee River Raid, which liberated more than 750 slaves in South Carolina during the Civil War. Many people know that she was the conductor of the Underground Railroad but that raid made her the first woman to lead a U.S. military operation which is a largely unknown black history facts. Harriet Tubman is considered one of the most famous spies in American history.
20. Anti-lynching Pamphlets
Ida B. Wells was an African American investigative journalist who wrote about the horrors of lynching in the late 1800s. Her pamphlets, which detailed the brutalities that black people faced, were circulated widely, and helped bring attention to this issue. This led to a new era of investigative journalism.
21. North Pole Adventurer
Another unknown black history fact is that black man was part of the expectation that first reached the North Pole! In the earl 1900s, Matthew Henson, an African American man, accompanied Robert Peary on seven expeditions to the Arctic. They adventured together for 18 years across a period of 23 years. He is best known for his 1908-1909 expedition where he reached the North Pole with Peary. Facts like this are important to be told because one would think a North Pole expedition would have nothing to do with black history. However, we see that could not be further from the truth!
22. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Founded in 1958, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, led by Alvin Ailey and young African American modern dancers, is one of the most influential dance companies in the world. It has helped to change the perception of American dance and bring African American culture to the mainstream.
23. Claudette Colvin Refused to Give Up Her Bus Seat
In March 1955, 15-year-old high school student Claudette Colvin was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white person in Montgomery, Alabama, nine months before the bus boycott. Colvin’s caught the attention of African American leaders, but due to her age, looks, and pregnancy status, they looked for another person to launch the Montgomery bus boycott: Rosa Parks. So although Rosa Parks rightfully gets most of the attention, it is still important that the context around these black history facts and stories are told.
24. Josephine Baker Was a Heroic Spy for The French During WWII.
A world-famous dancer and entertainer, Josephine Baker was also a spy for the French Resistance during World War II. She provided information about German troop movements, stuffing hidden messages and documents in her sheet music and underwear.
25. Many Sundown Towns Weren’t in the South
The origins of sundown towns can be traced back to the 1800s, with thousands of them spanning across America. At its peak in 1970, 10,000 existed in the United States. It’s a commonly known fact that many sundown towns were in the south, but many northern states had them as well. Illinois had the most with over 500, with some other northern states like New Jersey being as equally inhospitable. While their numbers have dwindled in recent years, there are still an argument to be made that some have never gone away. Many people assume that the south had the highest concentration of sundown but this would also be one of those unknown black history facts that should be really be taught in schools.
