Posts Tagged ‘california’
Biddy Mason: The Mormon Slave Who Became a Californian Treasure
For nearly forty years, she lived as a slave under a Mississippi master. Despite never learning to read or write, she saved her earnings as a midwife, ultimately becoming a…
Read MoreMary Ellen Pleasant: San Francisco’s “Golden” Girl
She was Black America’s first self-made millionaire. The most powerful woman in San Francisco’s Gold-Rush period. She was a “one-woman social agency” for emancipated Blacks. Her name was Mary Ellen…
Read MoreWilliam Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr.: California’s Black Millionaire Founding Father
His legacy is as long as his name. Known as the “African Founding Father of California” William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr. (1810-1848) helped start San Francisco. He was America’s first Black…
Read MoreThe Tale of Two Kings: How Two Men Began and Ended the Modern Civil Rights Movement
The modern civil rights movement began and ended with edicts by two different “Kings.” Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963 launched it, while…
Read MoreThe Golden Spike Connects a Nation
It was one of the most significant transportation projects in U.S. history: the transcontinental railroad. Over six years (1863-1869) in the making, this railroad project joined the eastern states with…
Read MoreThe Dust Bowl Cometh
The “Dust Bowl” got its name on this date (a.k.a. “Black Sunday”) when a huge windstorm blanketed the midwest. America was in the heart of a Great Depression at the…
Read MoreWestward Ho! The Pony Express!
Did you know the fabled Pony Express was actually a massive failure? It’s true. It lasted only 18 months as a mail service. The innovations of the telegraph and railroad…
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