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.
Gertrude Mossell (c. 1890 with their daughters) she was a journalist, educator, & the partner of Dr. Mossell. Her great grandfather, Cyrus Bustill, served with Washington’s troops during the American Revolution & helped found Philadelphia’s Free African Society. Her sister was Paul Robeson’s mother.
November 30, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Gertrude Mossell (c. 1890 with their daughters) she was a journalist, educator, & the partner of Dr. Mossell. Her great grandfather, Cyrus Bustill, served with Washington’s troops during the American Revolution & helped found Philadelphia’s Free African Society. Her sister was Paul Robeson’s mother.
Dr. Nathan Mossell, whose great-great-grandfather survived the Middle Passage, was a highly accomplished surgeon who founded a hospital in Philadelphia in 1895. archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/pen...
November 29, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Dr. Nathan Mossell, whose great-great-grandfather survived the Middle Passage, was a highly accomplished surgeon who founded a hospital in Philadelphia in 1895. archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/pen...
Sarah & Benjamin Tanner met at Avery College. He became a minister & educator who edited the largest Black-owned US newspaper in 1868. Henry Ossawa Tanner, standing behind his father, was an award-winning painter. Halle (seated left of her father) was the 1st woman to pass the AL state medical exam.
November 27, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Sarah & Benjamin Tanner met at Avery College. He became a minister & educator who edited the largest Black-owned US newspaper in 1868. Henry Ossawa Tanner, standing behind his father, was an award-winning painter. Halle (seated left of her father) was the 1st woman to pass the AL state medical exam.
In 1855 Elizabeth Jennings Graham brought a suit that initiated the desegregation of NYC transit. Raised by politically active parents (her was mother formerly enslaved, her entrepreneur father was awarded a patent in 1821) Ms. Graham was a teacher, organist, & kindergarten founder.
November 25, 2025 at 2:00 PM
In 1855 Elizabeth Jennings Graham brought a suit that initiated the desegregation of NYC transit. Raised by politically active parents (her was mother formerly enslaved, her entrepreneur father was awarded a patent in 1821) Ms. Graham was a teacher, organist, & kindergarten founder.
Prince Hall & his collaborators twice endeavored to pass legislation in the Massachusetts state senate to end slavery. In a 1777 petition they argued for “the Natural Right of all Men” & against “the inconsistency of [people] acting themselves the part which they condemn and oppose in others . . .”
November 22, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Prince Hall & his collaborators twice endeavored to pass legislation in the Massachusetts state senate to end slavery. In a 1777 petition they argued for “the Natural Right of all Men” & against “the inconsistency of [people] acting themselves the part which they condemn and oppose in others . . .”
Several African American soldiers & sailors received Medals of Honor for bravery in the Spanish American War. Among them was Captain Edward Baker who rescued a drowning soldier under heavy fire. Baker was the grandfather of the legendary musician Dexter Gordon.
November 21, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Several African American soldiers & sailors received Medals of Honor for bravery in the Spanish American War. Among them was Captain Edward Baker who rescued a drowning soldier under heavy fire. Baker was the grandfather of the legendary musician Dexter Gordon.
Rebecca Protten, born in 1718 in Antigua, made her way out of enslavement to become ordained in St. Thomas in the 1730s. Her career as a teacher & missionary in the Caribbean, Europe, & West Africa helped to shape the development of Christianity & education in the 18th century.
November 20, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Rebecca Protten, born in 1718 in Antigua, made her way out of enslavement to become ordained in St. Thomas in the 1730s. Her career as a teacher & missionary in the Caribbean, Europe, & West Africa helped to shape the development of Christianity & education in the 18th century.
James Armistead of Virginia was a double agent during the American Revolution. The intelligence he gathered from British troops abetted the Patriot victory at Yorktown. Having risked his life - among thousands of Black Patriots - for the founding of the US, he petitioned for his freedom.
November 16, 2025 at 4:25 PM
James Armistead of Virginia was a double agent during the American Revolution. The intelligence he gathered from British troops abetted the Patriot victory at Yorktown. Having risked his life - among thousands of Black Patriots - for the founding of the US, he petitioned for his freedom.
Judge Raymond Alexander was an alum of Wharton & Harvard. In 1921 he sued Madison Square Garden for denying him entrance, he fought school segregation in the courts in the 1930s, & he consulted on the 1954 Brown case. Both of his parents were born enslaved.
November 15, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Judge Raymond Alexander was an alum of Wharton & Harvard. In 1921 he sued Madison Square Garden for denying him entrance, he fought school segregation in the courts in the 1930s, & he consulted on the 1954 Brown case. Both of his parents were born enslaved.
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.