The soil proved unsuitable for farming. But John Rolfe, the man who married the legendary Indian princess Pocahontas, succeeded in growing tobacco. Exporting tobacco to England ensured survival for the colony. But they had a lack of working force for the growing plantations. Again, Rolfe was lucky. In 1619 he wrote in a note: “Near the 20th of the month of August, a Dutch battleship came to us, from which we bought twenty negroes.”

 April 1607 gründen 143 englische Abenteurer an der Ostküste Nordamerikas Jamestown, die erste dauerhafte Siedlung der Briten in der neuen Welt. Anders als erwartet müssen sie von Beginn an um ihr Überleben kämpfen. Indianer greifen an, Nahrung und Trinkwasser fehlen, Krankheiten brechen aus. Nach einem Jahr sind 100 der Neuankömmlinge tot. 

Der Boden erweist sich für den Ackerbau als ungeeignet. Doch John Rolfe, der 1614 die legendäre Indianerin Pocahontas heiratet, gelingt es Tabak anzubauen. Der Export nach England sichert das Überleben der Kolonie. Nur an Arbeitskräften für die größer werdenden Plantagen mangelt es. Wieder hat RolfeGlück. 1619 notiert er: "Gegen den 20. des Monats August kam zu uns ein niederländisches Kriegsschiff, von dem wir 20 Neger kauften."

Der Busboykott von Montgomery wurde im Dezember 1955 von Rosa Parks ausgelöst. Es war ein Protest gegen Rassentrennung in öffentlichen Verkehrsmitteln. Sie verweigerte sich damals, Platz für einen Weißen im Bus zu machen und wurde daraufhin inhaftiert. Daraufhin boykottierten viele Menschen die Busse von Montgomery und es wurde ein Komitee gegründet. Außerdem wurde aufgefordert die Busse nicht am 05.12.1955 zu nutzen, da Rosa Parks an diesem Tag verhaftet wurde. Dieser Protest war der aller 1. gegen Rassentrennung und es haben außerdem Martin Luther King und Ralph Albernathy dran teilgenommen 

The Watts Rebellion lasted for six days, resulting in 34 deaths, 1,032 injuries and 4,000 arrests, involving 34,000 people and ending in the destruction of 1,000 buildings, totaling $40 million in damages.

General George Washington, himself a major slaveholder, had concerns about having black soldiers in his army. 1775 the black were forbidden to enlist, although they continued to be used as support and laborers. In January 1776, Due to an urgent need for soldiers Washington had to change his mind. More than 5,000 Africans would join the black continental army. Only some were led by black regiments. 

Participation was volitionary for some Africans. They were inspired by Jefferson´s words of liberty in the Declaration of independence, and freely offered their services on the faith of their own deliverance. However, other slaves were forced enlist by their masters to take their place instead. 

Slaves who fought in the army were promised their freedom, after the war. Which increased the number of free blacks in the country. 

Due to the fact, that the British (“Redcoats”) also had promised freedom slaves, many blacks joined them.    

The march was envisioned and intended to help bring social and economic development and power throughout the black communities of the United States, as well as to bring hope, empowerment, unity and sisterhood to women, men and children of African descent globally regardless of nationality, religion, or economic status. The day was filled with prayer, music, and inspirational speeches. These events were meant to promote positive change. The march has been considered a social phenomenon due to its unconventional and unique way of organizing. It has influenced several mass gatherings by demonstrating a grassroots approach that had not been employed before.

The Nation of Islam denied involvement in the shooting, but 3 members of the NoI were suspected and later on convicted of his murder.

The evidence of them being the shooters is lacking, therefore the case is still under debate.

Trayvon and his dad visited the dad‘s fiancée at her townhouse at the retreat at twin lakes. On the evening of february 26th 2012 trayvon was walking from a nearby store back to the townhouse. George Zimmerman, who was a member of the community watch at the time, reported trayvon as suspicious to the police and began following him. Only a few moments later George Zimmerman shot trayvon fatally in the chest. He later on claimed it was self-defense and wasn’t charged at the time.
Due to a lot of media coverage the case was reopened in 2013 and he was charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter he then went to trial but the jury found him not guilty. 

She calculated the flights of Alan Shepard, John Glenn and the Apollo-Missions. In 1962 the astronaut John Glenn wanted her, to redo the calculations, because he trusted her more, than her colleagues and the machines. In 1970, she did the calculations, to save the crew of the faild mission, Apollo 13. She worked herself up to one of the most importent persons in space explorations. In 2015 she was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by president Obama.

What happens next is filmed by a resident from his apartment with a video camera: Several police officers surround King, some of them beat him in the car headlights with their clubs and kick him. Meanwhile, the abused man crawls on all fours, tries to get up, until he slumps down and stop moving.

The video amateur reports to the police - but no response. He therefore makes the recording available to a local radio station. The images are broadcast on the news. As a result, the city of Los Angeles settles with King for millions in damages. Four police officers are charged.

In the courtroom, the recording is also shown. "When you see this video, you don't have to be a lawyer to realize: This is wrong, this is bad, this is criminal," says chief prosecutor Terry White in his closing argument. Like King, he has dark skin.

But the jury, which includes no African Americans, follows the defense - which pleads self-defense. They say the drunken, staggering, unarmed King was a threat to the four officers. They are acquitted on April 29, 1992.

The verdict triggers outrage. The first protests break out: "No justice, no peace," the demonstrators chant against the racism of the police and the judiciary.

On the same day, the anger erupts into violent riots. Just a few hours after the jury's verdict, Los Angeles is in flames. "The fires were enormous," recalls U.S. radio reporter Ina Geffy. "Even from the highway, you could see the smoke billowing up to a hundred feet into the sky."

The riot begins in the city's South Central neighborhood. There, African-Americans and Hispanics live in poverty. "For years, people had been unanimous in their experience of police abuse of power," says Bernhard Parks, a former Los Angeles City Councilman. "What happened to Rodney King validated the complaints of abuse that they had experienced as well, or in a similar way."

Violence escalates furiously: homes are set on fire, stores are looted, white citizens are indiscriminately abused. Rival ghetto gangs massacred each other.

Only when U.S. President George Bush Sr. sends in 2,000 National Guardsmen do security forces bring Los Angeles back under control after four days. The result: 58 dead, about 2,400 injured, damage of about 1.5 billion dollars.

The theory of separate but equal was used to justify segregated public facilities for blacks and whitesuntil in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the Supreme Court recognized that "separate but equal" schools were "inherently unequal."The principle of "separate but equal" was further rejected by the Civil Rights Acts  and in subsequent cases, which ruled that racially segregated public facilities, housing,and accommodations violated the constitutional guarantee of equal protection of laws.

The son of the owner of the plantation instilled in him a deep Christian faith.

Turner became more and more convinced that God had chosen him to lead his people out of slavery (1825). He worked as a preacher among the slaves on the plantation and was called "the Prophet." In 1831, Nat Turner was sold to Joseph Travis after Benjamin Turner's death.

The slave revolt of black plantation preacher Nathaniel Turner in 1831 is considered one of the most significant events in the history of slavery. His mother and grandmother had been taken from Africa to America, which caused him to have a deep hatred of slavery. The son of the plantation owner Benjamin Turner introduces him to the Christian faith. The plantation owner's wife teaches him to read. Nat becomes a cotton picker. But the Christian faith encourages him to become a preacher and lead his people out of slavery.

In February 1831, he interpreted a solar eclipse as a sign from God calling him to begin liberation. On August 21, Nat and seven other slaves killed their owners. The group was then joined by other slaves and free blacks who moved from settlement to settlement killing whites with knives, axes and 🤬. Fifty-five whites fell victim to the uprising until a militia succeeded in putting it down. In retaliation, more than a hundred innocent slaves were killed.

Turner escaped but was captured six weeks later, on October 30, 1831. During his captivity, Thomas R. Gray wrote down Turner's life. It was published in newspapers as The Confessions of Nat Turner. Turner's failed rebellion led to more murders of slaves and even harsher sanctions for disobedience. Nat Turner was hanged in Jerusalem in Southampton County, Virginia, on November 11, 1831; his body was left to doctors who decapitated, skinned, and quartered him.

Pictured is the arrest of Nat Turner.