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Explore African American History and the Revolution
Explore the rich and complex stories of African American history and the American Revolution with a variety of resources from the American Revolution Institute. Read about the lives of soldiers Jeffrey Brace and Peter Hunter and the challenges for historians today in documenting the service of free and enslaved black soldiers in the Continental Army. View one of those documents on our Digital Library: a pay receipt signed by Cuff Liberty on behalf of Dick Freedom, two African American soldiers, whose names reflect their aspirations for their country. Watch videos of historians discussing the various circumstances of African American women during the Revolutionary era, the remarkable story of one enslaved woman’s journey through the war and beyond, and the legacy of the Revolution through the civil rights movement. For teachers, explore lesson plans on the legacy of Crispus Attucks and the interpretation of a contemporary painting and essay advocating for the abolition of slavery.
Image: This preliminary figure for a proposed Black Revolutionary War Patriots Memorial in Washington, D.C., was sculpted by Ed Dwight in 1992 and is in the Institute’s museum collections.