There are many who claim that John Hanson was the first Black president of the United States, not Barack Obama. This tale is continuously shared on social media. Because many people believe that everything posted on Facebook or Twitter is the truth, lies will spread like wildfire and before you know it, it has taken …
Black in America
Sandra Bland – Say her name
Sandra Bland is another black life lost under hinky police circumstances. The 28-year-old’s death in a Texas county jail on 13 July, three days after a routine traffic stop turned into a confrontation has attracted scepticism and disbelief from many who have been following the case. Whilst concerned American’s continue to keep a tally of …
Fact check: The etymology of picnic
We’ve debunked the tale of how Black Friday came about, now we will fact check the crazy tale of the etymology of picnic. Have you heard the story about where the word picnic comes from? If you haven’t, you’ve been lucky so far. If you have, let’s fact check that story. Here’s another tall tale …
Billie Holiday sings Strange Fruit
Originally written as a poem “Bitter Fruit” by Abel Meeropol became a song performed famously by Billie Holiday. Meeropol, a white, Jewish high school teacher from the Bronx and a member of the Communist Party wrote it as a protest against lynchings. His inspiration came from the photograph by Lawrence Beitler of the 1930 lynching …
Origins of Black Friday and other lies told to us
In this post we fact check the origins of Black Friday and the Willie Lynch speech. Toni Braxton posted a call to boycott Black Friday on her Facebook page with an image of a slave auction and text claiming that Black Friday was linked to slave auctions the day after Thanksgiving. This post did the …
The burning of Greenwood aka Black Wall Street
Greenwood, Tulsa was once a prosperous, modern, cultured Black community known as Black Wall Street until it was burned down by envious racists.
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman escaped slavery to become a leading abolitionist. She led hundreds of enslaved people to freedom along the route of the Underground Railroad. Harriet Tubman was born in Dorchester County, Maryland, in 1822 to enslaved parents Harriet “Rit” Green, who was owned by Mary Pattison Brodess and Ben Ross, who was owned by Anthony …
Before Rosa Parks – Ida B Wells
Ida B Wells was born into slavery on July 16, 1862, in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Her father, James, was a carpenter and her mother, Elizabeth, was a famous cook. Both parents were literate and taught Ida how to read at a young age. She was surrounded by political activists and grew up with a sense …
The truth about Fred Hampton’s murder
Fred Hampton was a political activist born August 30, 1948. In Junior college, he became active in the civil rights movement. Hampton eventually met Huey P. Newton and started his own chapter for the Black Panther Party in 1968. Fred Hampton was the chairman of the Chicago Black Panther Party and set up the free …