How the Colosseum Was Built—and Why It Was an Architectural MarvelThe iconic Roman structure stood as the largest and most complex permanent amphitheater in the ancient world.Read more
9 Black Athletes Who Integrated Professional SportsAfter WWII, racial barriers in sports slowly began to drop. Jackie Robinson was not the only athlete on the front lines of these changes.Read more
This Woman Built a Formidable Gambling Empire in 1920s HarlemAgainst the odds, Stephanie St. Clair became Harlem’s ‘Queen of Numbers,’ facing down corrupt cops and violent mobsters.Read more
6 Decades Before Jackie Robinson, This Man Broke Baseball’s Color BarrierMoses Fleetwood Walker played for a Major League Baseball team in the 1880s.Read more
Who Invented Golf?The rules of the game were formally written down in 1744, but people had already been playing for centuries.Read more
6 Influential African American JudgesThese jurists had to break barriers to get to the bench—and didn’t stop once they got there.Read more
America’s First Black War Correspondent Reported from the Civil War’s Front LinesThomas Morris Chester, whose mother had escaped slavery, covered the final year of the war for a white-owned newspaper.Read more
When Abraham Lincoln Tried to Resettle Free Black Americans in the CaribbeanLincoln wanted to end slavery—but wasn’t keen on integrating African Americans into US society. His first attempt to send them offshore proved disastrous.Read more
Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass: Inside Their Complicated RelationshipThe two 19th century leaders had deep respect for each other. But one was openly—and harshly—critical.Read more
The 1860 Compromise That Would Have Preserved Slavery in the US ConstitutionThe author of Crittenden Compromise argued his six amendments presented a good deal. But then-President-elect Lincoln drew a firm line.Read more
9 Baseball Stars From the Negro Leagues Who Dominated the GameDenied entry into Major League Baseball, power hitters Buck Leonard, Josh Gibson and five others were later enshrined in the Hall of Fame.Read more
How Interstate Highways Gutted Communities—and Reinforced SegregationAmerica’s interstate highway system cut through the heart of dozens of urban neighborhoods.Read more