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.
Neil Daniel Frye, US sailor who died in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, was recently identified, returned home to North Carolina, & buried with full military honors. He earned the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, American Defense Service Medal, & the Bronze Star Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal.
November 14, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Neil Daniel Frye, US sailor who died in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, was recently identified, returned home to North Carolina, & buried with full military honors. He earned the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, American Defense Service Medal, & the Bronze Star Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal.
Corporal Waverly Woodson, a medic from Philadelphia (where his father was a postal carrier) tended to hundreds of wounded soldiers under heavy fire at Normandy on D-Day despite being wounded himself.
November 11, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Corporal Waverly Woodson, a medic from Philadelphia (where his father was a postal carrier) tended to hundreds of wounded soldiers under heavy fire at Normandy on D-Day despite being wounded himself.
Born enslaved in North Carolina, Anna Julia Cooper earned a master’s degree in mathematics from Oberlin in 1887 & a PhD from the Sorbonne. She observed, “The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class - it is the cause of human kind, the very birthright of humanity.”
November 7, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Born enslaved in North Carolina, Anna Julia Cooper earned a master’s degree in mathematics from Oberlin in 1887 & a PhD from the Sorbonne. She observed, “The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class - it is the cause of human kind, the very birthright of humanity.”
Little Rock, Arkansas, 1959. Rally at state capitol protesting the integration of Central High School. Protesters carry US flags & signs reading "Race Mixing is Communism" & "Stop the Race Mixing March of the Anti-Christ.”
Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division
Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division
November 6, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Little Rock, Arkansas, 1959. Rally at state capitol protesting the integration of Central High School. Protesters carry US flags & signs reading "Race Mixing is Communism" & "Stop the Race Mixing March of the Anti-Christ.”
Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division
Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division
In 1870 Joseph H. Rainey was elected to Congress. He worked towards the suppression Klan terrorism. “I could appeal to you, members upon this floor, as husbands & fathers, to picture to yourselves the desolation of your own happy firesides should you be suddenly snatched away from your loved ones.”
November 5, 2025 at 1:09 PM
In 1870 Joseph H. Rainey was elected to Congress. He worked towards the suppression Klan terrorism. “I could appeal to you, members upon this floor, as husbands & fathers, to picture to yourselves the desolation of your own happy firesides should you be suddenly snatched away from your loved ones.”
Statesman & lawyer John Mercer Langston, Virginia native & son of a formerly enslaved woman & her former owner, co-founded the National Equal Rights League in 1864, drafted the Civil Rights Act of 1875, was the 1st president of Virginia State University in 1885, & was elected to US Congress in 1890.
November 4, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Statesman & lawyer John Mercer Langston, Virginia native & son of a formerly enslaved woman & her former owner, co-founded the National Equal Rights League in 1864, drafted the Civil Rights Act of 1875, was the 1st president of Virginia State University in 1885, & was elected to US Congress in 1890.
Sarah Remond (b. 1826), granddaughter of a Black Revolutionary War veteran, ended segregation in a Boston theater with a lawsuit in 1853. She was an internationally prominent anti-slavery lecturer, physician, & activist for abolition & women's suffrage.
November 3, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Sarah Remond (b. 1826), granddaughter of a Black Revolutionary War veteran, ended segregation in a Boston theater with a lawsuit in 1853. She was an internationally prominent anti-slavery lecturer, physician, & activist for abolition & women's suffrage.
1815 portrait of Charles Jones, son of Absalom Jones, the Episcopal priest, abolitionist, & civic leader in late 18th century Philadelphia who worked to make the ideals of the American Revolution a reality. Absalom Jones purchased his wife’s freedom before his own to ensure his son's freedom.
November 2, 2025 at 2:21 PM
1815 portrait of Charles Jones, son of Absalom Jones, the Episcopal priest, abolitionist, & civic leader in late 18th century Philadelphia who worked to make the ideals of the American Revolution a reality. Absalom Jones purchased his wife’s freedom before his own to ensure his son's freedom.
George Downing (b. 1818) was an entrepreneur & civic leader who participated in the Underground Railroad & achieved the desegregation of Newport, RI schools. His father, Thomas Downing, born in Virginia to formerly enslaved parents in 1791, was Manhattan’s 1st eminent purveyor of oysters.
November 1, 2025 at 4:17 PM
George Downing (b. 1818) was an entrepreneur & civic leader who participated in the Underground Railroad & achieved the desegregation of Newport, RI schools. His father, Thomas Downing, born in Virginia to formerly enslaved parents in 1791, was Manhattan’s 1st eminent purveyor of oysters.
Meta Fuller, sculptor. Her English grandfather had married her grandmother, a free Black woman, in VA. She challenged racial mores: "I was told the American Girls' Club was here for the American girl students who came to Paris to study. I felt that I, as an American girl, was entitled to come here."
October 29, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Meta Fuller, sculptor. Her English grandfather had married her grandmother, a free Black woman, in VA. She challenged racial mores: "I was told the American Girls' Club was here for the American girl students who came to Paris to study. I felt that I, as an American girl, was entitled to come here."
Dr. Solomon Fuller - grandson of Virginians who bought their freedom & moved to Liberia - earned his MD from Boston University in 1897 & was invited by Alois Alzheimer to do research at University of Munich in 1904. He was among 1st neurologists to work on disease now called Alzheimers.
October 28, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Dr. Solomon Fuller - grandson of Virginians who bought their freedom & moved to Liberia - earned his MD from Boston University in 1897 & was invited by Alois Alzheimer to do research at University of Munich in 1904. He was among 1st neurologists to work on disease now called Alzheimers.
I felt the same way. It’s a powerful story & a profoundly true history of our nation.
October 28, 2025 at 8:15 PM
I felt the same way. It’s a powerful story & a profoundly true history of our nation.
In 1799 Revolutionary War veteran John Chavis attended what is today Washington & Lee University. In 1808 he opened a highly regarded school in Raleigh, NC for Black & white students. See Helen Orthow, John Chavis: African American Patriot, Preacher, Teacher, & Mentor 1763-1838.
October 2, 2025 at 1:07 PM
In 1799 Revolutionary War veteran John Chavis attended what is today Washington & Lee University. In 1808 he opened a highly regarded school in Raleigh, NC for Black & white students. See Helen Orthow, John Chavis: African American Patriot, Preacher, Teacher, & Mentor 1763-1838.
Dr. Matilda Evans performs surgery in the operating room of Taylor Lane Hospital which she founded in South Carolina in 1901.
Dr. Evans was a public heath pioneer & benefactor who treated Black & white patients. She was an advocate & practitioner of health care as a human right.
Dr. Evans was a public heath pioneer & benefactor who treated Black & white patients. She was an advocate & practitioner of health care as a human right.
October 1, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Dr. Matilda Evans performs surgery in the operating room of Taylor Lane Hospital which she founded in South Carolina in 1901.
Dr. Evans was a public heath pioneer & benefactor who treated Black & white patients. She was an advocate & practitioner of health care as a human right.
Dr. Evans was a public heath pioneer & benefactor who treated Black & white patients. She was an advocate & practitioner of health care as a human right.
Congressman George Henry White (b. 1852), son of a formerly enslaved mother, was an educator & lawyer as well as a U.S. Representative from North Carolina In 1900. White was the 1st member of Congress to introduce legislation making lynching a federal crime.
September 29, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Congressman George Henry White (b. 1852), son of a formerly enslaved mother, was an educator & lawyer as well as a U.S. Representative from North Carolina In 1900. White was the 1st member of Congress to introduce legislation making lynching a federal crime.
George Brown holding John Teter Jr., son of one of Brown's employees at the Cleveland Marine Steam Railways. Brown, an entrepreneur & carpenter, purchased substantial property & established key businesses as a founder of Punta Gorda. He paid his employees according to their skill rather than color.
September 28, 2025 at 2:34 PM
George Brown holding John Teter Jr., son of one of Brown's employees at the Cleveland Marine Steam Railways. Brown, an entrepreneur & carpenter, purchased substantial property & established key businesses as a founder of Punta Gorda. He paid his employees according to their skill rather than color.
“Portrait of Frederick” c. 1840 now in the Mississippi Museum of Art.
After the Civil War, Frederick took the surname Baker and was ordained as a minister.
www.mississippifreepress.org/rare-portrai...
After the Civil War, Frederick took the surname Baker and was ordained as a minister.
www.mississippifreepress.org/rare-portrai...
September 26, 2025 at 9:17 PM
“Portrait of Frederick” c. 1840 now in the Mississippi Museum of Art.
After the Civil War, Frederick took the surname Baker and was ordained as a minister.
www.mississippifreepress.org/rare-portrai...
After the Civil War, Frederick took the surname Baker and was ordained as a minister.
www.mississippifreepress.org/rare-portrai...
Barzillai Lew (b. 1743) served with distinction during the American Revolutionary War. He purchased the freedom of his future wife, Dinah Bowman, for $400 in 1767. The 1790 census lists him as head in a household of 14 free people of color. Their house became a stop on the Underground Railroad.
September 26, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Barzillai Lew (b. 1743) served with distinction during the American Revolutionary War. He purchased the freedom of his future wife, Dinah Bowman, for $400 in 1767. The 1790 census lists him as head in a household of 14 free people of color. Their house became a stop on the Underground Railroad.
During Reconstruction, South Carolina congressman Robert Elliot put his own life at risk to enact measures to litigate & suppress Klan terrorism. He delivered a powerful speech in 1875 in support of the Civil Rights Act that banned discrimination in public transit, accommodations, & schools.
September 25, 2025 at 2:07 PM
During Reconstruction, South Carolina congressman Robert Elliot put his own life at risk to enact measures to litigate & suppress Klan terrorism. He delivered a powerful speech in 1875 in support of the Civil Rights Act that banned discrimination in public transit, accommodations, & schools.
In the 1880s, Florida Ruffin Ridley wrote for the Boston Globe, organized a national conference for Black women, & edited the newspaper, The Women’s Era. “We the women of the Women’s Era Club enter the field to work hand in hand with women, generally for humanity and humanity’s interests.”
September 24, 2025 at 1:31 PM
In the 1880s, Florida Ruffin Ridley wrote for the Boston Globe, organized a national conference for Black women, & edited the newspaper, The Women’s Era. “We the women of the Women’s Era Club enter the field to work hand in hand with women, generally for humanity and humanity’s interests.”
“Woman seated wearing a white cotton blouse and skirt with a dark fur stole around her shoulders” c. 1915 from the Missouri State Archives.
September 22, 2025 at 12:44 PM
“Woman seated wearing a white cotton blouse and skirt with a dark fur stole around her shoulders” c. 1915 from the Missouri State Archives.
The Roett family. Young Catherine Juanita Roett on the right became a pediatrician & opened a practice in 1952, shared an office with her father Rupert, a surgeon from Barbados who founded a Houston hospital. By 1956 she was faculty at Baylor College of Medicine & staff at Texas Children’s Hospital.
September 21, 2025 at 2:27 PM
The Roett family. Young Catherine Juanita Roett on the right became a pediatrician & opened a practice in 1952, shared an office with her father Rupert, a surgeon from Barbados who founded a Houston hospital. By 1956 she was faculty at Baylor College of Medicine & staff at Texas Children’s Hospital.
In the 1890s Fannie Barrier Williams founded a hospital, cofounded the National Association for Colored Women, served on the Chicago Public Library board & in the Chicago Women's Club (despite threats). A champion of voting rights, she was asked to eulogize Susan B. Anthony.
September 20, 2025 at 2:37 PM
In the 1890s Fannie Barrier Williams founded a hospital, cofounded the National Association for Colored Women, served on the Chicago Public Library board & in the Chicago Women's Club (despite threats). A champion of voting rights, she was asked to eulogize Susan B. Anthony.
Marian Anderson (b. 1897 in Philadelphia) was a singer & international diplomat of democracy who inspired admirers worldwide. She is depicted here in a 1965 portrait by Harlem Renaissance modernist & abstract expressionist painter, Beauford Delaney (b. 1901 in Knoxville).
September 19, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Marian Anderson (b. 1897 in Philadelphia) was a singer & international diplomat of democracy who inspired admirers worldwide. She is depicted here in a 1965 portrait by Harlem Renaissance modernist & abstract expressionist painter, Beauford Delaney (b. 1901 in Knoxville).
Josephine Silone Yates was a professor of chemistry & among the 1st women in the US to head a university science department. She was also a journalist & editor & served as the president of the National Association of Colored Women in 1901.
September 18, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Josephine Silone Yates was a professor of chemistry & among the 1st women in the US to head a university science department. She was also a journalist & editor & served as the president of the National Association of Colored Women in 1901.