🎉 Celebrate Black History Month in NC

[littlemissmartypants]

Today marks the first day of Black History Month. We honor this history on some of the very land where United States Colored Troops fought for their freedom during the Civil War, NC.

https://www.ncpedia.org/exploring-north-carolina-african

Exploring North Carolina: African American History

This page gathers resources in NCpedia that cover the history and heritage of African Americans in North Carolina from the colonial era to the present day. It does not include all resources in NCpedia but rather a selection that covers important topics and events, including: biographies; the art and cultural heritage of African Americans in the state; slavery and the ante-bellum era; the struggle for citizenship and civil rights; business and educational leadership; politics; and historic sites and monuments.

Freedmen’s colonies offered education for children and adults. Photo: National Park Service, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site

A late 19th-century depiction of slaves in the Great Dismal Swamp. Source: Wikipedia

Dismal Swamp Archaeologists are still learning details about how hundreds, or even thousands, of slaves escaped to and lived in this inhospitable mix of mud, insects and vegetation. But they do know that this swamp was part of what’s known as the Maritime Underground Railroad that existed in the 1800s until the Civil War. A slave born in Camden County around 1786 wrote about his experiences working on cargo vessels in and around these waterways — and how he eventually obtained his freedom and saved enough money to buy his wife and children — in his “Narrative of the Life of Moses Grandy; Late a Slave in the United States of America.”
Read more at Coastal Review, coastalreview.org.

Travel Along the African American Music Trail

African American Music Trails mural at the corner of Center and Walnut in downtown Goldsboro

African American Music Trails is an exploration of the long and rich heritage of African American music in Eastern North Carolina. The abundance of this music and its musicians is one of the state’s best kept secrets. Funk, blues, jazz, and gospel in Kinston, Tarboro, Wilson and everywhere in between.

We are proud to announce that the African American Music Trails of Eastern North Carolina is now under the stewardship of the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission. After establishing the Blue Ridge Music Trails of Western North Carolina in the early 2000s, in 2013, the North Carolina Arts Council developed the African American Music Trails of Eastern North Carolina to celebrate some of the most transformative figures in the history of jazz, gospel, and popular music.

For some places to go related to Black History in NC:
https://www.nctripping.com/black-history-in-north-carolina/

There's so much more to share. Not everything sweet and lovely for sure but we have a lot to celebrate! And so much more to learn.

I wonder how far we'll go? Have we really gone that far and have we really looked deep enough?

What do you think about when you think about Black History?

Black History is North Carolina History and American History is Black History!!

Blessings to all who celebrate.

❤️pants