black history month

Harriet Jacobs was the first woman to write a slave narrative, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, in 1861.  Read more

The Fortens were one of the most prominent black families in Philadelphia. They founded and financed abolitionist organizations, wrote against slavery, operated a school for African-American children, entertained the leading abolitionists of the day and harbored fugitive slaves. Read more

First African-American woman to obtain a patent Sarah Goode was born a slave in 1850. She moved to Chicago after the Civil War and owned a furniture store. Her invention, a cabinet bed (known to us as a hideaway bed), was granted patent #322,177  on July 14, 1885. Opthamologist/Inventor/Laser Scientist Dr. Patricia Era Bath was Read more