Early 1900s postcard featuring slaves picking cotton. Bucolic images of slave life perpetuated the myth that blacks were better off under white people's oversight. (Credit: The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

The Anti-Slavery Passage Deleted from the Declaration of Independence

Martin Luther King, Jr. standing  with Hosea Williams, Jesse Jackson and Ralph Abernathy on April 3, 1968, on the Lorraine Motel balcony approximately in the same spot where he would be assassinated the following day. (Credit: Charles Kelly/AP Photo)

American abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass. (Credit: Corbis/Getty Images)

<p>Yohuru Williams is an American academic, author and activist. Williams is a professor of history and the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) and&nbsp;a notable scholar of the civil rights movement.</p>


Yohuru Williams

Yohuru Williams is an American academic, author and activist. Williams is a professor of history and the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) and&nbsp;a notable scholar of the civil rights movement.

Yohuru Williams Archives | HISTORY

Home

HISTORY

<p>America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian—the U.S. president—would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.</p>


U.S. Presidents

<p>Slavery was widely practiced throughout the ancient world, and in the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries, which helped propel the United States into the Civil War.</p>


Slavery

<p>In the early 20th century, America was flexing its economic and political muscle on the international stage. The era was defined by the temperance movement, Progressive-era activism, the sinking of the Titanic and World War I.</p>


Early 20th Century U.S.

<p>From religious and patriotic holidays to celebrations of ethnic pride, explore the history of Easter, Passover, New Year's Day, Veterans' Day, Memorial Day and more annual observances.</p>


Annual Observances

<p>The Revolutionary War waged by the American colonies against Britain influenced political ideas and revolutions around the globe, as a small fledgling nation won its freedom from the greatest military force of its time.</p>


American Revolution

<div id="1680273445.167319" class="c-virtual_list__item c-virtual_list__item--initial-activeitem" role="listitem" data-qa="virtual-list-item" data-item-key="1680273445.167319">
<div class="c-message_kit__background p-message_pane_message__message c-message_kit__message" role="presentation" data-qa="message_container" data-qa-unprocessed="false" data-qa-placeholder="false">
<div class="c-message_kit__hover" role="document" data-qa-hover="true">
<div class="c-message_kit__actions c-message_kit__actions--default">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter__right" role="presentation" data-qa="message_content">
<div class="c-message_kit__blocks c-message_kit__blocks--rich_text">
<div class="c-message__message_blocks c-message__message_blocks--rich_text" data-qa="message-text">
<div class="p-block_kit_renderer" data-qa="block-kit-renderer">
<div class="p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper--first">
<div class="p-rich_text_block" dir="auto">
<div class="p-rich_text_section">African Americans have played a central role in shaping U.S. history. From slavery and its abolition to the Great Migration, the civil rights movement and military, scientific, cultural and political achievements, explore key moments, milestones and figures in Black History.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="1680273480.911289" class="c-virtual_list__item" role="listitem" data-qa="virtual-list-item" data-item-key="1680273480.911289">
<div class="c-message_kit__background p-message_pane_message__message c-message_kit__message" role="presentation" data-qa="message_container" data-qa-unprocessed="false" data-qa-placeholder="false">
<div class="c-message_kit__hover" role="document" data-qa-hover="true">
<div class="c-message_kit__actions c-message_kit__actions--default">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter__left" role="presentation" data-stringify-ignore="true"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>


Yohuru Williams

Stories

Why Thomas Jefferson’s Anti‑Slavery Passage Was Removed from the Declaration of Independence

The Most Damaging Myths About Slavery, Debunked

Jesse Jackson on MLK: One Bullet Couldn’t Kill the Movement

Why Frederick Douglass Matters