The Unhidden Minute

Nat Turner was an enslaved Black American preacher who led the four-day rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia in 1831. The rebels killed between 55 and 65 people, making it the largest slave revolt in U.S. History. The uprising was put down within a few days, but Turner survived in hiding for more than two months afterwards. He was captured and executed by hanging on November 11, 1831. There was widespread fear in the aftermath, and militias organized in retaliation. The state executed 56 enslaved people accused of being part of the rebellion, and many non-participant enslaved individuals were punished as well. Approximately 120 people were killed by militias and mobs in the area. The Virginia legislature passed new laws prohibiting the education of Black people, both free and enslaved. They also restricted rights of assembly and other civil liberties and required white ministers to be present at all worship services. Many of these practices would continue through the end of the Civil War.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/nat-turner-slave-rebellion-legacy

The Joy Trip Project celebrates Black History Month. The Unhidden Minute is part of the Unhidden Podcast Project supported through a National Geographic Explorer Grant from the National Geographic Society, with the cooperation of the National Park Service. This series elevates the untold stories of Black American history.

#unhiddenblackhistory #NationalParkService #yourparkstory #NationalGeographic #unhiddenminute

Become a paid subscriber to the Unhidden Minute Podcast for one year and receive a copy The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors 10th Anniversary Edition by James Edward Mills.

Born in 1800, Jordan B. Noble was enslaved to a Lieutenant in the 7th Regiment of the U.S. Army during the War of 1812. At the age of 14 he was pressed into service as a drummer boy under the common of Major General Andrew Jackson. Almost 900 enslaved people and volunteer free men of color were among the forces marshalled to defend against the British invasion of New Orleans. As drums were used to direct the flow of battle, it was said that Noble’s talent at keeping a loud and steady beat through the din of musket and cannon fire was vital in maintaining the discipline of the defending soldiers. A natural leader Noble’s military career would continue through the in Seminole War of 1836, the Mexican War of 1846 and the American Civil War in 1861. At age of 90 Noble passed away as an honored war hero known as the Drummer boy of New Orleans.

https://www.nps.gov/jela/index.htm

The Joy Trip Project celebrates Black History Month. The Unhidden Minute is part of the Unhidden Podcast Project supported through a National Geographic Explorer Grant from the National Geographic Society, with the cooperation of the National Park Service. This series elevates the untold stories of Black American history.

#unhiddenblackhistory #NationalParkService #yourparkstory #NationalGeographic #unhiddenminute

A pivotal figure in the Lewis & Clark Expedition of 1804 was an enslaved Black American named York. Listed among the participants as the enslaved person of William Clark, York was reported in the expedition's logs to have been a highly effective scout and hunter as well as having been crucial as a person of color in establishing peaceful relations with the native people they met along the journey. The expedition through the territory commonly known as the Louisiana Purchase made its way westward and crossed the Continental Divide.  It is believed that York is the first person of African descent to travel across the continent of North America to the Pacific Ocean. Upon their return to Virginia after the expedition York was kept in bondage for another five years until he was reluctantly given his freedom. Clark claimed in a letter to his brother that York was spoiled by the liberties he experienced as an explorer and said, "I do not expect he will be of much service to me again."

https://www.nps.gov/articles/york.htm

The Unhidden Minute is part of the Unhidden Podcast Project supported through a National Geographic Explorer Grant from the National Geographic Society, with the cooperation of the National Park Service. This series celebrates the untold stories of Black American history.

Become a paid subscriber to the Unhidden Minute Podcast for one year and receive a copy The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors 10th Anniversary Edition by James Edward Mills.

Benjamin Banneker was a Black American scientist, astronomer and surveyor. Born free in 1731 to a mulatto mother and a formerly enslaved African father, Banneker received a private educated through the 8th grade and continued to be a self-taught scholar for the rest of his life. He created the first wooden clock in North America, successfully predicted the solar eclipse of 1789 and published a poplar almanac with reliable weather and medical information as well as poems and essays against slavery for more than a decade. Banneker was appointed by George Washington to assist in designing the blueprints for Washington D.C. as the Nation’s Capital. He corresponded with Thomas Jefferson to refute the future President’s position on the inferiority of Black people. "The color of the skin is in no way connected with the strength of the mind or intellectual powers." He wrote.  Impressed, Jefferson shared Banneker’s work with the French Academy of Sciences in Paris.

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/bannekerreno.htm

Illustration By Nate Talyor

The Joy Trip Project celebrates Black History Month. The Unhidden Minute is part of the Unhidden Podcast Project supported through a National Geographic Explorer Grant from the National Geographic Society, with the cooperation of the National Park Service. This series elevates the untold stories of Black American history.

#unhiddenblackhistory #NationalParkService #yourparkstory #NationalGeographic #unhiddenminute

Become a paid subscriber to the Unhidden Minute Podcast for one year and receive a copy of The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors 10th Anniversary Edition by James Edward Mills.

Elizabeth Freeman also known as Mumbett was the first enslaved Black American to successfully sue and win her freedom in the United States of America. Born in slavery in 1744, Freeman was a passionate and willful person with a strong sense of her own identity. Though she could not read, it is believed that she heard the words of the newly adopted Massachusetts Constitution in 1780 which read, “All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights”. These words prompted her to take legal action. As it was deemed inconsistent with state law, in the case of Brom and Bett V. Ashley in 1781, the institution of slavery was effectively abolished. From this case the State of Massachusetts would be the center of the abolitionist movement through the outset of the American Civil War.

https://www.nps.gov/boaf/learn/boaf-40.htm

The Unhidden Minute is part of the Unhidden Podcast Project supported through a National Geographic Explorer Grant from the National Geographic Society, with the cooperation of the National Park Service. This series celebrates the untold stories of Black American history.

#unhiddenblackhistory #NationalParkService #yourparkstory #NationalGeographic #unhiddenminute

Become a paid subscriber to the Unhidden Minute Podcast for one year and receive a copy of The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors 10th Anniversary Edition by James Edward Mills.

James Armistead Lafayette (born 1748 or 1760 – died 1830 or 1832)was an enslaved Black American who served the Continental Army as a spy during the American Revolutionary War. As an agent of the Marquis de Lafayette Armistead posed as a runaway slave. He was responsible for reporting the activities of Benedict Arnold – after he had defected to the British – and of Lord Cornwallis during the run-up to the Battle of Yorktown. Armistead’s dispatches and reports were critical to understanding the movements of British troops who were blocked from retreat and heavily bombarded by French ships, which had blockaded the Chesapeake Bay. He fed the British false information while disclosing very accurate and detailed accounts to the Americans. On the recommendation of his commander the Marquis de Lafayette, who praised the accuracy and depth of the information he provided, Armistead was granted his freedom in 1786. In gratitude for his loyalty James Armistead took the name Lafayette.

https://www.nps.gov/york/learn/historyculture/vicmon.htm

The Joy Trip Project celebrates American History. The Unhidden Minute is part of the Unhidden Podcast Project supported through a National Geographic Explorer Grant from the National Geographic Society, with the cooperation of the National Park Service. This series elevates the untold stories of Black American history.

#unhiddenblackhistory #NationalParkService #yourparkstory #NationalGeographic #unhiddenminute

Original illustration by Nate Taylor

Black soldiers fought in the American Revolutionary War from the moment of the first shots at Lexington and Concord in 1775 to the decisive Battle of Yorktown in 1781. As it was difficult to recruit able-bodied men to join the Continental Army, enslaved men were sent to fight in place of their enslavers with the promise of their freedom after three years of service. The 1st Rhode Island Regiment was established on February 14, 1778. The unit was comprised of 140 men of color and was known as the Black Regiment.  The primary resistance that repelled three unsuccessful charges by British and Hessian forces at the Battle of Rhode Island, the Black Regiment was credited by the General Lafayette as having engaged in quote “the best fought action of the war.”

https://www.nps.gov/york/index.htm

The Unhidden Minute is part of the Unhidden Podcast Project supported through a National Geographic Explorer Grant from the National Geographic Society, with the cooperation of the National Park Service. This series celebrates the untold stories of Black American history.

#unhiddenblackhistory #NationalParkService #yourparkstory #NationalGeographic #unhiddenminute

Salem Poor was born into slavery in 1747 in Andover Massachusetts. However, Poor was eventually able to purchase his freedom on July 10, 1769. In 1775 Poor enlisted in the militia, serving under Captain Benjamin Ames in the regiment of Colonel James Frye. On June 16, 1775, Frye’s soldiers and two other companies were ordered to march from Cambridge to Charlestown. The next day, the Battle of Bunker Hill was fought, which included more than 100 African American and Native American soldiers fighting for the nation’s liberty.

Salem Poor is best remembered for his contributions during the Battle of Bunker Hill, where he is recognized for killing British Lieutenant Colonel James Abercrombie and several British soldiers. Poor’s bravery inspired 14 officers, including Colonel William Prescott, to acknowledge him for his heroism through an official petition to Congress. No other soldier of the American Revolution received such a recognition.

https://www.nps.gov/bost/learn/historyculture/bhm.htm

The Unhidden Minute is part of the Unhidden Podcast Project supported through a National Geographic Explorer Grant from the National Geographic Society, with the cooperation of the National Park Service. This series celebrates the untold stories of Black American history.

#unhiddenblackhistory #NationalParkService #yourparkstory #NationalGeographic #unhiddenminute

Become a paid subscriber to the Unhidden Minute Podcast for one year and receive a copy The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors 10th Anniversary Edition by James Edward Mills.

Crispus Attucks, born 1723, was a whaler and stevedore of African and Native American descent. He was among the first casualties at The Boston Massacre on March 5th 1770. As a seminal moment in the lead up to the Declaration of Independence and rebellion against British rule, this was considered by many to be the spark that ignited the American Revolutionary War. Attucks and those who died on this day were the first to give their lives in the cause that would result in the creation of the United States of America. More than 5,000 Black Americans would serve and fight as soldiers in the Continental Army. The site of the Boston Massacre where Attucks was killed is dedicated with a plaque on display at the Boston National Historical Park. In the mid-19th century during the abolitionist movement, Attucks became a cultural icon as an historic figure who gave his life in the founding of a free nation.

https://www.nps.gov/places/boston-massacre-site.htm

The Unhidden Minute is part of the Unhidden Podcast Project supported through a National Geographic Explorer Grant from the National Geographic Society, with the cooperation of the National Park Service. This series celebrates the untold stories of Black American history.

#unhiddenblackhistory #NationalParkService #yourparkstory #NationalGeographic #unhiddenminute

Illustration by Nate Taylor

Become a paid subscriber to the Unhidden Minute Podcast for one year and receive a copy The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors 10th Anniversary Edition by James Edward Mills.

Phillis Wheatley was the first Black American author of a published book of poetry. Born 1753 in West Africa, likely Gambia or Senegal, she was kidnaped, sold into slavery at the age of seven, and transported with over 95 other captives to North America. The ship was called the Phillis. Arriving in Massachusetts on July 11, 1761 the young girl was enslaved by the Wheatley family of Boston. She was named after the ship.

When she learned to read and write, her owners encouraged Phillis to develop her talents in poetry. On a trip to London with her owners’ son, seeking publication of her work, Phillis met many prominent people who became her patrons. The publication in London of her book Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral on September 1, 1773, brought her fame both in England and the American colonies. Figures such as George Washington praised her work. Wheatley's story is shared at the Boston African-American National Historic Site, managed by the National Park Service.

https://www.nps.gov/boaf/index.htm

The Joy Trip Project celebrates Black History Month The Unhidden Minute is part of the Unhidden Podcast Project supported through a National Geographic Explorer Grant from the National Geographic Society, with the cooperation of the National Park Service. This series celebrates the untold stories of Black American history.

#unhiddenblackhistory #NationalParkService #yourparkstory #NationalGeographic #unhiddenminute