Christina Proenza-Coles
@proenzacoles.bsky.social
Author of AMERICAN FOUNDERS: How People of African Descent Established Freedom in the New World. I study, research, teach, & post American history.
Pinned
"Slavery, Freedom, Public History & National Identity: Charlottesville, Curaçao, Cartagena" explores these locations as Black spaces whose histories help us better appreciate the communities we are today.
uva-center-for-cultural-landscapes-newsletter-features.mailchimpsites.com/african-dias...
uva-center-for-cultural-landscapes-newsletter-features.mailchimpsites.com/african-dias...
Born in Trinidad, Dr. John Alcindor earned his MD in Scotland in 1899 & was a physician, political activist, & senior district medical officer in London. He was awarded a Red Cross medal for his work treating the wounded in WWI. His great-nephew is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
January 2, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Born in Trinidad, Dr. John Alcindor earned his MD in Scotland in 1899 & was a physician, political activist, & senior district medical officer in London. He was awarded a Red Cross medal for his work treating the wounded in WWI. His great-nephew is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Reposted by Christina Proenza-Coles
Happy Emancipation Day and Happy Happy Haitian Independdence Day!
Emancipation Day parade in Lincolnville, Florida, January 1, 1920 - image by photographer Richard Twine who was born there in 1896, a town formed by formerly enslaved people after the Civil War & a vigorous, dynamic Black community despite legalized segregation in early 20th century Florida.
January 1, 2026 at 4:16 PM
Happy Emancipation Day and Happy Happy Haitian Independdence Day!
Emancipation Day parade in Lincolnville, Florida, January 1, 1920 - image by photographer Richard Twine who was born there in 1896, a town formed by formerly enslaved people after the Civil War & a vigorous, dynamic Black community despite legalized segregation in early 20th century Florida.
January 1, 2026 at 4:09 PM
Emancipation Day parade in Lincolnville, Florida, January 1, 1920 - image by photographer Richard Twine who was born there in 1896, a town formed by formerly enslaved people after the Civil War & a vigorous, dynamic Black community despite legalized segregation in early 20th century Florida.
As Kevin Levin observes, on January 1, 1863, when the Emancipation Proclamation was announced, an interracial crowd had gathered in Port Royal, SC, where Black Union soldiers had trained to serve & save the nation. Upon hearing the announcement, the crowd began singing ‘My Country tis of Thee.’
A few thoughts about this day in 1863 to help push us into the new year. 🗃️ open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
January 1, 1863: A New Birth of Freedom
On January 1, 1863 Boston’s abolitionist community gathered on a cold, cloudy, and gloomy day in anticipation of the news that Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
open.substack.com
January 1, 2026 at 3:40 PM
As Kevin Levin observes, on January 1, 1863, when the Emancipation Proclamation was announced, an interracial crowd had gathered in Port Royal, SC, where Black Union soldiers had trained to serve & save the nation. Upon hearing the announcement, the crowd began singing ‘My Country tis of Thee.’
Wallace and William Goodridge were pioneers of the medium of photography. Here the Goodridge brothers are posing in the photography studio they established in Michigan in 1847 bidding Happy New Year to All.
December 31, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Wallace and William Goodridge were pioneers of the medium of photography. Here the Goodridge brothers are posing in the photography studio they established in Michigan in 1847 bidding Happy New Year to All.
Raymond Schuyler & Four of His Children c. 1904 in Worcester, MA. Portrait made by photographer William Bullard. Mr. Schuyler was an active member of All Saints Episcopal Church, the Masons, the Knights of Pythias, & the NAACP.
December 27, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Raymond Schuyler & Four of His Children c. 1904 in Worcester, MA. Portrait made by photographer William Bullard. Mr. Schuyler was an active member of All Saints Episcopal Church, the Masons, the Knights of Pythias, & the NAACP.
"They pulled her out of Clinton High and moved to Los Angeles at the urging of an uncle of hers who lived there. After finishing school, she began a long career as a pediatric nurse in California."
Jo Ann Allen Boyce Dies at 84; She was one of the Clinton 12, a group of Black students who faced white mobs when desegregating a Tennessee high school in 1956 www.nytimes.com/2025/12/13/u...
Jo Ann Allen Boyce Dies at 84; Braved Mobs in Integrating a School
www.nytimes.com
December 26, 2025 at 3:37 PM
"They pulled her out of Clinton High and moved to Los Angeles at the urging of an uncle of hers who lived there. After finishing school, she began a long career as a pediatric nurse in California."
Reposted by Christina Proenza-Coles
#tdih 1521: enslaved Africans on a Santo Domingo sugar plantation owned by Christopher Columbus's son attempted to free themselves and take over the land.
This was the earliest recorded slave uprising in the Americas. ⬇️🧵
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/en...
This was the earliest recorded slave uprising in the Americas. ⬇️🧵
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/en...
Dec. 25, 1521: Enslaved People Revolt in Santo Domingo
Enslaved people on a Santo Domingo sugar plantation owned by the son of Christopher Columbus attempted to free themselves and take over the land in the earliest recorded slave uprising in the Americas...
www.zinnedproject.org
December 25, 2025 at 1:30 PM
#tdih 1521: enslaved Africans on a Santo Domingo sugar plantation owned by Christopher Columbus's son attempted to free themselves and take over the land.
This was the earliest recorded slave uprising in the Americas. ⬇️🧵
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/en...
This was the earliest recorded slave uprising in the Americas. ⬇️🧵
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/en...
On Christmas Eve 1855 enslaved teenagers from Loudon County, Virginia fended off slave patrollers as they made their escape to freedom in Philadelphia. This image, “A Bold Stroke for Freedom,” is housed in the Library of Congress.
December 24, 2025 at 3:18 PM
On Christmas Eve 1855 enslaved teenagers from Loudon County, Virginia fended off slave patrollers as they made their escape to freedom in Philadelphia. This image, “A Bold Stroke for Freedom,” is housed in the Library of Congress.
Reposted by Christina Proenza-Coles
"There is no royal flower-strewn path to success. And if there is, I have not found it for if I have accomplished anything in life it is because I have been willing to work hard."
Madam C. J. Walker, born on this day in 1867
Madam C. J. Walker, born on this day in 1867
December 23, 2025 at 3:46 PM
"There is no royal flower-strewn path to success. And if there is, I have not found it for if I have accomplished anything in life it is because I have been willing to work hard."
Madam C. J. Walker, born on this day in 1867
Madam C. J. Walker, born on this day in 1867
“She began working as a park ranger at age 85, educating visitors about the women and people of color who served on the home front in World War II, herself among them.”
Betty Reid Soskin, Nation’s Oldest Park Ranger, Dies at 104 www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/u...
Betty Reid Soskin, Nation’s Oldest Park Ranger, Dies at 104 www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/u...
Betty Reid Soskin, Nation’s Oldest Park Ranger, Dies at 104
www.nytimes.com
December 22, 2025 at 1:09 PM
“She began working as a park ranger at age 85, educating visitors about the women and people of color who served on the home front in World War II, herself among them.”
Betty Reid Soskin, Nation’s Oldest Park Ranger, Dies at 104 www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/u...
Betty Reid Soskin, Nation’s Oldest Park Ranger, Dies at 104 www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/u...
Josephine Washington, gifted writer & Frederick Douglass’ clerk, was born 1861 to Augustus Turpin & Maria Crump. “Augustus was the son of an enslaved African woman named Mary & Edwin Durock Turpin, who owned & later married her. He was a grandson of Mary Jefferson Turpin - aunt to Thomas Jefferson.”
December 18, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Josephine Washington, gifted writer & Frederick Douglass’ clerk, was born 1861 to Augustus Turpin & Maria Crump. “Augustus was the son of an enslaved African woman named Mary & Edwin Durock Turpin, who owned & later married her. He was a grandson of Mary Jefferson Turpin - aunt to Thomas Jefferson.”
“Let our fear of losing our children be more powerful than our fear of our next-door neighbor.”
www.newsweek.com/2025/07/18/f...
www.newsweek.com/2025/07/18/f...
Why Flavor Flav says the US must ban firearms now | Opinion
The lack of U.S. gun laws has created a violence epidemic unlike anywhere else on Earth. This is domestic errorism
www.newsweek.com
December 14, 2025 at 2:57 PM
“Let our fear of losing our children be more powerful than our fear of our next-door neighbor.”
www.newsweek.com/2025/07/18/f...
www.newsweek.com/2025/07/18/f...
Horace Pippin turned to painting to address the physical & psychic injuries he sustained as a WWI soldier as well as reflect on American culture & history. His Holy Mountain series endeavored to envision “peace in the land” of a troubled world. This is Pippin’s Holy Mountain III which he made 1945.
December 14, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Horace Pippin turned to painting to address the physical & psychic injuries he sustained as a WWI soldier as well as reflect on American culture & history. His Holy Mountain series endeavored to envision “peace in the land” of a troubled world. This is Pippin’s Holy Mountain III which he made 1945.
Reposted by Christina Proenza-Coles
While researching a Revolutionary War ancestor, Jane Woolsey Gropp learned about the Marbleheaders, a diverse group of fishermen & sailors, inc free African Americans & Native Americans, from Marblehead, MA, who played a crucial role in key military operations. thebedfordcitizen.org/event/a-jour...
“A Journey to Find an Ancestor and Honor His Faith in Diversity” - The Bedford Citizen
While researching her Revolutionary War ancestor, General John Glover, Jane Woolsey Gropp of Lexington learned about the Marbleheaders, a group of fishermen and sailors from the coastal town of Marble...
thebedfordcitizen.org
December 14, 2025 at 12:39 PM
While researching a Revolutionary War ancestor, Jane Woolsey Gropp learned about the Marbleheaders, a diverse group of fishermen & sailors, inc free African Americans & Native Americans, from Marblehead, MA, who played a crucial role in key military operations. thebedfordcitizen.org/event/a-jour...
Coralie Cook, descendent of the Hemings family enslaved by Thomas Jefferson, was born enslaved in 1861. She was an advocate for women’s rights & a professor who served on DC's board of ed, a founder of the National Association of Colored Women, & president of the Washington Artists Association.
December 13, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Coralie Cook, descendent of the Hemings family enslaved by Thomas Jefferson, was born enslaved in 1861. She was an advocate for women’s rights & a professor who served on DC's board of ed, a founder of the National Association of Colored Women, & president of the Washington Artists Association.
Reposted by Christina Proenza-Coles
"If your Constitution does not guarantee freedom for all, it is not a Constitution I can ascribe to. If your flag is stained by the blood of a brother held in bondage, I repudiate it in the name of God."
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison
December 12, 2025 at 2:40 PM
"If your Constitution does not guarantee freedom for all, it is not a Constitution I can ascribe to. If your flag is stained by the blood of a brother held in bondage, I repudiate it in the name of God."
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison
“over the 400 years since the first English ships arrived in Barbados, empire engineered a system of wealth extraction that shapes the tourism economies of today” HT @hofrench.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/de...
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/de...
‘Rebranded plantations’: how empire shaped luxury Caribbean tourism
Research shows that the British colonial wealth extraction system still influences the region’s tourist industry
www.theguardian.com
December 12, 2025 at 2:41 PM
“over the 400 years since the first English ships arrived in Barbados, empire engineered a system of wealth extraction that shapes the tourism economies of today” HT @hofrench.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/de...
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/de...
Per the Library of Virginia: "Jane Minor was emancipated as a result of her healing skills during an epidemic in Petersburg in 1825. Her medical skills allowed her to prosper & over the course of 2 decades she purchased & emancipated at least 15 women & children."
She freed Phebe Jackson here:
She freed Phebe Jackson here:
December 10, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Per the Library of Virginia: "Jane Minor was emancipated as a result of her healing skills during an epidemic in Petersburg in 1825. Her medical skills allowed her to prosper & over the course of 2 decades she purchased & emancipated at least 15 women & children."
She freed Phebe Jackson here:
She freed Phebe Jackson here:
Dr. Harriet Rice, the 1st Black woman alum of Wellesley College, earned her MD in 1891. She worked with Jane Addams at Hull House & was a researcher at Columbia University Medical Center.
During WWI she served in France as a military physician & was awarded a medal by the French government.
During WWI she served in France as a military physician & was awarded a medal by the French government.
December 9, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Dr. Harriet Rice, the 1st Black woman alum of Wellesley College, earned her MD in 1891. She worked with Jane Addams at Hull House & was a researcher at Columbia University Medical Center.
During WWI she served in France as a military physician & was awarded a medal by the French government.
During WWI she served in France as a military physician & was awarded a medal by the French government.
On December 7, 1942, during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dorie Miller manned anti-aircraft artillery & tended to the wounded under heavy fire; he was awarded the Navy Cross, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. Navy at the time. This American hero of Pearl Harbor was killed in action 2 years later.
December 7, 2025 at 2:56 PM
On December 7, 1942, during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dorie Miller manned anti-aircraft artillery & tended to the wounded under heavy fire; he was awarded the Navy Cross, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. Navy at the time. This American hero of Pearl Harbor was killed in action 2 years later.
Navy sailor Neil Daniel Frye was killed in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. He was buried with full military honors. His decorations include the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, American Defense Service Medal & the Bronze Star Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal. www.fayobserver.com/story/news/m...
December 7, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Navy sailor Neil Daniel Frye was killed in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. He was buried with full military honors. His decorations include the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, American Defense Service Medal & the Bronze Star Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal. www.fayobserver.com/story/news/m...
Black US soldiers were the first park rangers in our country's national parks.
www.nps.gov/chyo/learn/h...
www.nps.gov/chyo/learn/h...
BUSO in the NPS - Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)
www.nps.gov
December 7, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Black US soldiers were the first park rangers in our country's national parks.
www.nps.gov/chyo/learn/h...
www.nps.gov/chyo/learn/h...
US Army Colonel Charles Young became a National Park Superintendent in 1903. After leading troops with distinction abroad, he supervised the build & protection of Yosemite & Sequoia national parks.
Young's father had fled enslavement to join the US Army & fight for freedom during the Civil War.
Young's father had fled enslavement to join the US Army & fight for freedom during the Civil War.
December 7, 2025 at 2:04 PM
US Army Colonel Charles Young became a National Park Superintendent in 1903. After leading troops with distinction abroad, he supervised the build & protection of Yosemite & Sequoia national parks.
Young's father had fled enslavement to join the US Army & fight for freedom during the Civil War.
Young's father had fled enslavement to join the US Army & fight for freedom during the Civil War.
“After five years in Paris, Hemings brought his new skills back to the US and served as Jefferson's head chef at Monticello, as well as in New York and Philadelphia, until he was able to negotiate his own freedom in 1796.”
www.bbc.com/travel/artic...
www.bbc.com/travel/artic...
The enslaved man who popularised mac and cheese
The baked dish is one of the US's most popular foods, but its rise can likely be traced back to an enslaved Black chef who worked for Thomas Jefferson.
www.bbc.com
December 5, 2025 at 9:48 PM
“After five years in Paris, Hemings brought his new skills back to the US and served as Jefferson's head chef at Monticello, as well as in New York and Philadelphia, until he was able to negotiate his own freedom in 1796.”
www.bbc.com/travel/artic...
www.bbc.com/travel/artic...