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Elijah McCoy overcame many obstacles to become a renowned inventor who paved the way for others.

These images were published in a pro-slavery book in 1915. The author published images of formerly enslaved people who continued to live with their enslavers after the Civil War to argue that they were loyal to their enslavers.

This political cartoon from 1866 attacks Black suffrage and the Freedman’s Bureau.

A literacy test from Alabama (c. 1965) asks complex questions about civics to suppress voter registration and demonstrates the range of questions available to officials.

These images show enslaved people singing as part of their work and recreational lives.

This text is a long reflection by a woman who was formerly enslaved. The author, Annie, grew up working in the home of her enslaver. The text gives her perspective on the experience of slavery and liberation.

The petitioners, who fear that the free black population of Currituck County will join with enslaved people in a revolt against the white people of the county, request that the North Carolina General Assembly to remove all free black people from the county. They suggest this can be done either by forcing them from their homes or by condemning them into slavery. The petitioners also advise the assembly to boost the number of enslavers in Currituck.