The History of the N-Word

This is an antislavery poem by John Greenleaf Whittier on a broadside with an accompanying woodcut image.

In the face of extreme punishment for enslaved people and breaking the law for whites, roughly 5 percent of the enslaved population learned to read and write. Letters like the ones written below show the lengths they would go to learn.

The poster describes each of the four formerly enslaved persons—two male and two female. It also lays out the grounds for the reward, offering $1000 for the capture of all four as well as smaller rewards for the capture of any of the four formerly enslaved persons individually.

This is an 1853 newspaper account of Solomon Northup’s experiences and the trials of those involved in his kidnapping and enslavement.

This excerpt focuses on the lives of African-American students during the civil rights movement. After reading Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech in class in 1963, students in main character C.J.'s school are asked to share their dreams at a school assembly.