O'Man's Coin Album
On August 1st, 1834, slavery expired as an institution sanctioned by law and seemed to deliver from an intolerable structural predicament the 10,000-odd men, women, and children in The Bahamas. The first article “Emancipation but not Freedom” addressed the conditions of slavery and the years 1834 to 1838, the Apprenticeship period (Thompson & Saunders, 2019a). Enslaved men and women found themselves intentionally hobbled by the laws that structured their enslavement. They could not move about freely; gather among themselves on their own terms; carry certain objects; generally, give evidence against a white person; be involved in certain economic activities, and could not speak freely. Indeed, they dare not involve themselves in seeking to change the social order. And, limits such as these on their freedom of voice, action, and initiative only grew as their numbers in the community
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Olaudah Equiano ( 1745 – 1797), was a writer and abolitionist from, according to his memoir, the Eboe (Igbo) region of the Kingdom of Benin (today southern Nigeria). Enslaved as a child in Africa, he was taken to the Caribbean and sold as a slave to a Royal Navy officer. He was sold twice more but purchased his freedom in 1766. As a freedman in London, Equiano supported the British abolitionist movement. He was part of the Sons of Africa, an abolitionist group composed of Africans living in Britain, and he was active among leaders of the anti-slave trade movement in the 1780s. He published his autobiography, "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano" (1789), which depicted the horrors of slavery. It went through nine editions in his lifetime and helped gain passage of the British Slave Trade Act 1807, which abolished the slave trade.
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Olaudah Equiano ( 1745 – 1797), was a writer and abolitionist from, according to his memoir, the Eboe (Igbo) region of the Kingdom of Benin (today southern Nigeria). Enslaved as a child in Africa, he was taken to the Caribbean and sold as a slave to a Royal Navy officer. He was sold twice more but purchased his freedom in 1766. As a freedman in London, Equiano supported the British abolitionist movement. He was part of the Sons of Africa, an abolitionist group composed of Africans living in Britain, and he was active among leaders of the anti-slave trade movement in the 1780s. He published his autobiography, "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano" (1789), which depicted the horrors of slavery. It went through nine editions in his lifetime and helped gain passage of the British Slave Trade Act 1807, which abolished the slave trade.
By 1888, abolition of slavery had the support of most Brazilians—including several conservative sectors—the culmination of a long process of societal and economic changes. By the time slavery was abolished, the practice had already begun to decrease due to the modernization of agriculture and increasing migration towards Brazil’s cities from rural areas.
By 1888, abolition of slavery had the support of most Brazilians—including several conservative sectors—the culmination of a long process of societal and economic changes. By the time slavery was abolished, the practice had already begun to decrease due to the modernization of agriculture and increasing migration towards Brazil’s cities from rural areas.
By 1888, abolition of slavery had the support of most Brazilians—including several conservative sectors—the culmination of a long process of societal and economic changes. By the time slavery was abolished, the practice had already begun to decrease due to the modernization of agriculture and increasing migration towards Brazil’s cities from rural areas.
Great Britain outlawed slavery in 1807, and subsequently began to pressure other nations to follow suit—including Brazil upon its independence from Portugal. However, in 1822, 1.5 million of 3.5 million people in Brazil were enslaved and the practice was not simply tolerated, but strongly supported by all segments of society, including the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church ended its support of slavery by 1887, and not long after the Portuguese Crown began to position itself against it. On May 13, 1888, the remaining 700,000 enslaved persons in Brazil were freed.
Great Britain outlawed slavery in 1807, and subsequently began to pressure other nations to follow suit—including Brazil upon its independence from Portugal. However, in 1822, 1.5 million of 3.5 million people in Brazil were enslaved and the practice was not simply tolerated, but strongly supported by all segments of society, including the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church ended its support of slavery by 1887, and not long after the Portuguese Crown began to position itself against it. On May 13, 1888, the remaining 700,000 enslaved persons in Brazil were freed.
On May 13, 1888, Brazilian Princess Isabel of Bragança signed Imperial Law number 3,353. Although it contained just 18 words, it is one of the most important pieces of legislation in Brazilian history. Called the “Golden Law,” it abolished slavery in all its forms. For 350 years, slavery was the heart of the Brazilian economy. According to historian Emilia Viotti da Costa, 40 percent of the 10 million enslaved African brought to the New World ended up in Brazil. Enslaved persons were so pivotal to the economy that Ina von Binzer, a German educator who lived in Brazil in the late 1800s, wrote: “In this country, the Blacks occupy the main role. They are responsible for all the labor and produce all the wealth in this land. The white Brazilian just doesn’t work.”
On May 13, 1888, Brazilian Princess Isabel of Bragança signed Imperial Law number 3,353. Although it contained just 18 words, it is one of the most important pieces of legislation in Brazilian history. Called the “Golden Law,” it abolished slavery in all its forms. For 350 years, slavery was the heart of the Brazilian economy. According to historian Emilia Viotti da Costa, 40 percent of the 10 million enslaved African brought to the New World ended up in Brazil. Enslaved persons were so pivotal to the economy that Ina von Binzer, a German educator who lived in Brazil in the late 1800s, wrote: “In this country, the Blacks occupy the main role. They are responsible for all the labor and produce all the wealth in this land. The white Brazilian just doesn’t work.”
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This is a fantasy pattern silver coin issued on behalf of the West African Economic and Monetary Union countries to commemorate the abolition of slavery. Great Britain abolished the use of slavery for all the members of the West African States in 1807. .William Wilburforce is on the Burkina Faso coin. Because the members of the West African States utilize a common currency, they have issued few coins under their own name. These nations were approached by numismatist, Joseph Lang, and were asked consider issuing non-circulating legal tender coins to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Britain’s abolishment of slavery in 1807. They declined. Joseph Lang moved independently to produce the coins. His initials, "JL" are in the obverse field. These were then struck to recoup the losses of the endeavor. While there is no definitive data on the mintage of these coins, it is believed the matte BU's were limited to 850 examples for each country and proofs were limited to 50 strikes.
This is a fantasy pattern silver coin issued on behalf of the West African Economic and Monetary Union countries to commemorate the abolition of slavery. Great Britain abolished the use of slavery for all the members of the West African States in 1807. .William Wilburforce is on the Burkina Faso coin. Because the members of the West African States utilize a common currency, they have issued few coins under their own name. These nations were approached by numismatist, Joseph Lang, and were asked consider issuing non-circulating legal tender coins to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Britain’s abolishment of slavery in 1807. They declined. Joseph Lang moved independently to produce the coins. His initials, "JL" are in the obverse field. These were then struck to recoup the losses of the endeavor. While there is no definitive data on the mintage of these coins, it is believed the matte BU's were limited to 850 examples for each country and proofs were limited to 50 strikes.
Black Loyalists were people of African descent who sided with the Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War. In particular, the term refers to men who escaped enslavement by colonial masters and served on the Loyalist side because of the Crown's guarantee of freedom. Nova Scotia’s Black Loyalists were at the heart of the greatest historical events of our continent. Theirs is a story of slavery, the American Revolution, and of the settlement of North America. Unlike the stories of the United Empire Loyalists and the American revolutionaries, this is a story that has rarely been told. Birchtown’s Black Loyalist Heritage Centre is a place to tell this story. “People of African descent have been in what is now Canada since the opening years of the 17th century, but the first massive wave of Black immigration into Canada took place in 1783, when about 3,000 Black Loyalists fled New York City after aiding the British on the losing side of the American Revolutionary War and sailed to Nova Scotia. They settled in Annapolis Royal, Digby and Saint John (then Nova Scotia) among other communities, but the largest Black settlement became Birchtown, just outside the booming town of Shelburne. The story of the Black Loyalists—how they served the British in the war in exchange for the promise of freedom in peace time, and how they travelled to Nova Scotia only to endure hardships of slavery, indentured servitude, landlessness and hunger—is one of the great stories of Canadian history. Their perseverance, as well as the decision made by about 1,200 of them to leave Canada and to sail across the Atlantic Ocean to found the colony of Freetown in Sierra Leone in 1792—suggests the breadth and complexity of the world-wide migrations they had experienced as a result of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and its aftermath. Although many Nova Scotians joined the exodus to Sierra Leone in 1792, even more stayed behind to continue to build the province of Nova Scotia as we know it today.
From the early 1800s through 1865, at least 30,000 enslaved people of African descent fled to British North America by way of a covert network of routes and safe houses. They risked it all for the promise of freedom at the end of their long journey, and that freedom had a name: "the promised land" that is present-day Canada. Many of these freedom seekers—men, women and children—travelled by foot, and often at night to avoid re-capture. Once in Canada, they found refuge in Black communities and settled in parts of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where they were secure in their freedom, but not free from discrimination. The 2022 Canadian coin commemorating Black History honors the flight to freedom of those who "rode" the Underground Railroad to Canada, a safe haven after slavery was abolished there on August 1, 1834.
From the early 1800s through 1865, at least 30,000 enslaved people of African descent fled to British North America by way of a covert network of routes and safe houses. They risked it all for the promise of freedom at the end of their long journey, and that freedom had a name: "the promised land" that is present-day Canada. Many of these freedom seekers—men, women and children—travelled by foot, and often at night to avoid re-capture. Once in Canada, they found refuge in Black communities and settled in parts of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where they were secure in their freedom, but not free from discrimination. The 2022 Canadian coin commemorating Black History honors the flight to freedom of those who "rode" the Underground Railroad to Canada, a safe haven after slavery was abolished there on August 1, 1834.
After facing widespread rejections while trying to enlist for service in the First World War, people in Black communities across Canada pressured the government and military officials to intervene. The No. 2 Construction Battalion was formed in 1916 as a segregated unit – the first and only all-Black battalion-sized formation in Canadian military history. More than 600 men – mostly from Nova Scotia but also from New Brunswick, Ontario, Western Canada, the United States and the West Indies – were initially accepted following a nationwide recruitment effort.
Willie O’Ree made sports and human rights history the moment he donned a Boston Bruins jersey and stepped onto the ice of the Montreal Forum on January 18, 1958. That night, O’Ree became the first black player to play in the National Hockey League (NHL),
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By the 1550s, the Spanish had wiped out most of the indigenous population of Cuba, which up to that point had been their primary source of enslaved labor. Chattel slavery of people of African origin was thus introduced around this time in order to make up for the labor shortage. In March 1812, a series of revolts led by freedman José Antonio Aponte erupted in the plantations of Cuba. After the revolts were suppressed by the local militias armed by the government, hundreds of enslaved people were arrested, with many of the leaders being tried and executed. By 1817, Britain and Spain were making a concerted effort to reform their diplomatic ties and negotiate the legal status of the Atlantic slave trade. An Anglo-Spanish treaty in 1817 formally gained Spanish agreement to immediately end the slave trade north of the Equator and expand enforcement against illegal slave ships. But, as recorded by legal trade documents of the era, 372,449 enslaved people were imported to Cuba before the slave trade legally ended, and at least 123,775 were imported between 1821 and 1853. Even as the slave trade ceased in other parts of the Atlantic, the Cuban slave trade continued on until 1867. The ownership of human beings as chattel slaves remained legal in Cuba until 1880. The slave trade in Cuba would not systematically end until chattel Cuban slavery was abolished by Spanish royal decree in 1886, making it one of the last countries in the Western Hemisphere (preceding only Brazil) to formally abolish slavery.
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By the 1550s, the Spanish had wiped out most of the indigenous population of Cuba, which up to that point had been their primary source of enslaved labor. Chattel slavery of people of African origin was thus introduced around this time in order to make up for the labor shortage. In March 1812, a series of revolts led by freedman José Antonio Aponte erupted in the plantations of Cuba. After the revolts were suppressed by the local militias armed by the government, hundreds of enslaved people were arrested, with many of the leaders being tried and executed. By 1817, Britain and Spain were making a concerted effort to reform their diplomatic ties and negotiate the legal status of the Atlantic slave trade. An Anglo-Spanish treaty in 1817 formally gained Spanish agreement to immediately end the slave trade north of the Equator and expand enforcement against illegal slave ships. But, as recorded by legal trade documents of the era, 372,449 enslaved people were imported to Cuba before the slave trade legally ended, and at least 123,775 were imported between 1821 and 1853. Even as the slave trade ceased in other parts of the Atlantic, the Cuban slave trade continued on until 1867. The ownership of human beings as chattel slaves remained legal in Cuba until 1880. The slave trade in Cuba would not systematically end until chattel Cuban slavery was abolished by Spanish royal decree in 1886, making it one of the last countries in the Western Hemisphere (preceding only Brazil) to formally abolish slavery.
Decree No. 2262 of the National Convention, of 16 Pluviôse Year II of the French Republic (1794), one and indivisible, which abolishes the slavery of Negroes in the colonies The National Convention declares that the slavery of the Negroes, in all the Colonies, is abolished; consequently it decrees that all men, without distinction of color, domiciled in the colonies, are French citizens, and will enjoy all the rights assured by the constitution. - It refers to the committee of public safety, to report to it without delay on the measures to be taken to ensure the execution of this decree.
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The Slave Trade Act 1807, officially An Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom prohibiting the slave trade in the British Empire. Although it did not abolish the practice of slavery, it did encourage British action to press other nation states to abolish their own slave trades. Many of the supporters thought the Act would lead to the end of slavery. Slavery on English soil was unsupported in English law, but it remained legal in most of the British Empire until the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.
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The Slave Trade Act 1807, officially An Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom prohibiting the slave trade in the British Empire. Although it did not abolish the practice of slavery, it did encourage British action to press other nation states to abolish their own slave trades. Many of the supporters thought the Act would lead to the end of slavery. Slavery on English soil was unsupported in English law, but it remained legal in most of the British Empire until the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.
An enslaved man who bought his freedom and wrote compellingly about his experiences, Olaudah Equiano (c. 1745–1797) was an extraordinary man who became a prominent figure associated with the campaign to abolish the slave trade. Equiano was born in what is now Nigeria and sold into slavery aged 11.
In 1787, the Wedgwood ceramics firm issued a cameo medallion featuring a kneeling and shackled Black man with the inscription, "Am I not a man and a brother?" The medallions became something of a fashion accessory, framed or mounted into brooches and buckles. Given Wedgwood's commercial focus, it is revealing that the medallions were not for sale, but were handed out at abolitionist meetings. After its adoption as the seal of the London-based Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade, the image became an emblem of the antislavery movements in Britain, France, and the United States. In 1788, Josiah Wedgwood sent a packet of his medallions to Benjamin Franklin, then president of the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery, with the words “It gives me great pleasure to be embarked on this occasion in the same great and good cause with you, and I ardently hope for the final completion of our wishes.” Also in 1788, the Abolition of Slavery in the English Colonies began when a bill limiting the number of slaves carried on each ship passed, by the British House of Commons. From 1792-1799 bills were introduced & it wasn’t until 1807 that a bill was passed to abolish slavery. Slaves throughout the British Colonies were all freed by 1834. That same year, leaders of the Abolitionist Movement, principally Quakers, issued this Copper Token which was widely circulated to promote the cause. English copper anti-slavery halfpenny tokens, also known as Conder or 18th Century Provincial tokens, were commissioned by the Quaker’s Society For Effecting the Abolition Of The Slave Trade. References Guyatt, M. “The Wedgwood Slave Medallion,” Journal of Design History, 13, no. 2 (2000): 93-105 Myers, S. ‘Wedgwood’s Slave Medallion and its Anti-Slavery Legacy’
Great Britain, Middlesex. Princess of Wales anti-slavery Æ Token, late 18th century. Three-quarter bust of the future Queen Caroline then Princess of Wales facing left with four pearls in her hair at the side. Two hands joined. Legend inscription with devise of four squares forming a square formation box separating the beginning from the end. Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (Caroline Amelia Elizabeth; 17 May 1768 – 7 August 1821) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Queen of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until her death. The estranged wife of George IV, she was Princess of Wales from 1795 to 1820. PRINCESS OF WALES / MAY SLAVERY & OPPRESSION CEASE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
In 1787 that Granville Sharp and his friend Thomas Clarkson formed the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade in Aylesbury, England. All over Britain there began agitation to abolish slavery. Slave trading was abolished in 1807, and finally in 1833 slavery itself was abolished. The Aylesbury group was among the first to broadcast an Anti-Slavery sentiment in the form of a local coin. Thus, this is one of the earliest pieces of anti-slavery memorabilia and, arguably, is much rarer than the tokens based on Josiah Wedgwood’s ceramic cameo of a kneeling male slave in chains with the slogan, “AM I NOT A MAN AND A BROTHER?”
William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. In 1785, he became an evangelical Christian, which resulted in major changes to his lifestyle and a lifelong concern for reform. In 1787, he came into contact with Thomas Clarkson and a group of activists against the slave trade, including Granville Sharp, Hannah More and Charles Middleton. They persuaded Wilberforce to take on the cause of abolition, and he soon became the leading English abolitionist. He headed the parliamentary campaign against the British slave trade for 20 years until the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807. Wilberforce continued the campaign for the complete abolition of slavery and continued his involvement after 1826, when he resigned from Parliament because of his failing health. That campaign led to the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, which abolished slavery in most of the British Empire.
This medallion was produced by Joseph Davis, but perhaps designed by Charles Fredrick Carter, a student of Halliday. A liberated slave stands over the instruments of coercion, raising his arms. To his left is the same broadleaf plant. The legend this time assures the English viewer of the gratitude of liberated Africa who will revere England, even before God: ‘England I Revere. God I Adore. Now I Am Free. MDCCCXXXIV.’ In the background, though, the primitive hut under the palm trees has been replaced with a windmill! In South Africa, under the Act slave ownership was abolish and replace by a transitional period of paid apprenticeships whereby freed slaves were to continue working for their past masters who were compensated by the Government for the imposed financial losses. A sum of 20,000 pounds sterling was allocated for this purpose. This medallion was a direct visual allusion to how abolition in South Africa was construed by many as a British political move against the Dutch colonists, one that would eventually lead to the Boer Wars with the breakaway Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic. Equating the symbol of the Dutch with the symbol of the ‘primitive’ Africans was a deliberate visual slur against the former. Moreover, the open, rugged landscape as imagined on this and similar medals through the inclusion of palm trees intersects directly with contemporary political discourse that justified colonization in Southern Africa though claims of ‘empty’ or ‘vacant’ land (McClendon 2010: 121), a rhetoric directly connected to ideas to colonial ideas of wilderness mentioned above.
This medal was given to school children in Tewkesbury in 1834 to celebrate the abolition of slavery in the British Empire. One side depicts a freed slave standing beneath radiant beams of light. His arms are raised to heaven and he holds broken manacles in his hands. Under his feet lies a broken whip and broken manacles are strewn around him. The broad-leaved plant next to him is either tobacco or sugar cane. The inscription around the edge of the medal is taken from Psalm 118, verse 23: ‘This is the Lord's doing; It is marvellous in our eyes’. On the reverse, the medal has the following text: 'In commemoration of the extinction of colonial slavery throughout the British Dominions in the reign of William the IV Augt 1 1834'. The Slavery Abolition Act that outlawed slavery in British colonies was passed on 23 August 1833. On 1 August 1834, all enslaved people in the British Empire were set free, but an 'apprenticeship' system kept many working in the same conditions until 1838. Slave owners received massive amounts of compensation, whilst those set free received nothing.
The emancipation of the British West Indies refers to the abolition of slavery in Britain's colonies in the West Indies during the 1830s. The British government passed the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833, which emancipated all slaves in the British West Indies. After emancipation, a system of apprenticeship was established, where emancipated slaves were required by the various colonial assemblies to continue working for their former masters for a period of four to six years in exchange for provisions. The system of apprenticeship was abolished by the various colonial assemblies in 1838, after pressure from the British public, completing the process of emancipation.
Cuffy, also spelled as Kofi or Koffi (died in 1763), was an Akan man who was captured in his native West Africa and stolen for slavery to work on the plantations of the Dutch colony of Berbice in present-day Guyana. In 1763, he led a major slave revolt of more than 3,800 slaves against the colonial regime. Today, he is a national hero in Guyana. Coffy is commemorated in the 1763 Monument in the Square of the Revolution in the capital Georgetown.
The coin is a commemorative issue celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Berbice slave revolt in Guyana that began on 23 February 1763 and lasted to December. It's leader was an enslaved man named Coffy. This was the first major slave revolt in South America. It is seen as a major event in Guyana's anti-colonial struggles, and when Guyana became a republic in 1970 the state declared 23 February as a day to commemorate the start of the Berbice slave revolt.
First claimed by Spain in 1492 when Christopher Columbus landed in Haiti, the nation was then ceded to France in 1665. Haiti's riches could only be exploited by importing up to 40,000 slaves a year. For nearly a decade in the late 18th century, Haiti accounted for more than one-third of the entire Atlantic slave trade. Conditions for these men and women were atrocious; the average life expectancy for a slave on Haiti was 21 years. Abuse was dreadful, and routine.” (Haiti: a long descent to hell, The Guardian). The oppression of slavery and exploitation soon led to unrest, and in 1791, a group of former slaves led the first successful slave revolt in history. This battle set the wheels in motion for the Haitian Revolution, ultimately leading to independence in 1804, making Haiti the first Latin American nation to gain independence and the first black-led republic in the world. However, slavery is still widespread in Haiti today. According to the 2014 Global Slavery Index, Haiti has an estimated 237,700 enslaved persons making it the country with the second-highest prevalence of slavery in the world, behind only Mauritania.
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This is one of the silver coins issued to commemorate the abolition of slavery. Great Britain abolished the use of slavery for all the members of the West African States in 1807. In 2007, those seven African nations authorized the minting (a mere 850 each!) of 27mm silver (0.25 oz. ASW) Essai coins to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of that monumental event. The coins feature the heroes of the Abolition of Slavery movement on one side and the issuing nations' coats of arms on the other.. Because the members of the West African States [7 in 2007] utilize a common currency, they have issued few coins under their own name. The obverse of the coin depicts the coat of arms, the inscription RÉPUBLIQUE DE CÔTE D'IVOIRE -UNION · DISCIPLINE · TRAVAIL. The reverse contains the image of the 1787 Wedgewood abolitionist token, “Am I not a man, and a brother
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This is one of the silver coins issued to commemorate the abolition of slavery. Great Britain abolished the use of slavery for all the members of the West African States in 1807. In 2007, those seven African nations authorized the minting (a mere 850 each!) of 27mm silver (0.25 oz. ASW) Essai coins to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of that monumental event. The coins feature the heroes of the Abolition of Slavery movement on one side and the issuing nations' coats of arms on the other.. Because the members of the West African States [7 in 2007] utilize a common currency, they have issued few coins under their own name. The obverse of the coin depicts the coat of arms, the inscription RÉPUBLIQUE DE CÔTE D'IVOIRE -UNION · DISCIPLINE · TRAVAIL. The reverse contains the image of the 1787 Wedgewood abolitionist token, “Am I not a man, and a brother
The coat of arms of Liberia consists of a shield containing a picture of a 19th-century ship arriving in Liberia. The ship represents the ships which brought the freed slaves from the United States to Liberia. Above the shield the national motto of Liberia appears on a scroll: "The love of liberty brought us here", and below the shield another scroll contains the official name of the country, Republic of Liberia. The plow and the shovel represent the dignity of labor and hard work through which the nation will prosper. The rising sun in the background represents the birth of a nation. The palm tree, the nation's most versatile source of food, represents prosperity. The white dove with a scroll represents the breath of peace.
These coins were minted by John Gibbs Company, Belleville, New Jersey, who also produced many of the American Hard Times tokens of that period. Liberia was the first African colony to become an independent republic. In 1833, the colony’s founding organization, the American Colonization Society, issued a copper coin bearing the names of the colony and the Society. It has previously been suggested to have been a token issue, wholly American in nature, and created for distribution as an advertising piece to promote the American Colonization Society within the United States. A thorough examination of the coinage itself and related contemporary sources within the context of the political and social setting of pre-independence Liberia will reframe the issue correctly as an integral part of a coinage proposal for the colony, struck at the hitherto understudied mint of Stephens, Thomas & Fuller in Belleville, New Jersey.
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Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York, becoming internationally famous for his oratory and incisive antislavery writings.
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Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York, becoming internationally famous for his oratory and incisive antislavery writings.
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This coin marks the 150th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the Dutch West Indies – presently the islands of Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and St. Maarten. The initial rebellion which took place in 1795 on the island of Curacao was led by a slave by the name of Tula – who did not survive the battle. It wasn’t until 1862 in which a law was proposed outlawing the slave trade in Dutch held possessions including Dutch Guyana or present-day Suriname. This law was passed in the same year and on the 1st July 1863, all slaves originating from West Africa and living in Dutch colonies in the Americas were liberated. The coin, which includes a depiction of the very monument dedicated to the slave Tula, is seen on the obverse along with the text “Verbreek de Ketenen” (Break the shackles) which is seen below the primary design. The commemorative years “1863 – 2013” are also included in the main design. Struck by the Royal Dutch Mint, the coin is struck to proof quality and has a strict mintage of just 750 pieces. The Authority denoted on the reverse is The Netherlands Antilles
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This coin marks the 150th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the Dutch West Indies – presently the islands of Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and St. Maarten. The initial rebellion which took place in 1795 on the island of Curacao was led by a slave by the name of Tula – who did not survive the battle. It wasn’t until 1862 in which a law was proposed outlawing the slave trade in Dutch held possessions including Dutch Guyana or present-day Suriname. This law was passed in the same year and on the 1st July 1863, all slaves originating from West Africa and living in Dutch colonies in the Americas were liberated. The coin, which includes a depiction of the very monument dedicated to the slave Tula, is seen on the obverse along with the text “Verbreek de Ketenen” (Break the shackles) which is seen below the primary design. The commemorative years “1863 – 2013” are also included in the main design. Struck by the Royal Dutch Mint, the coin is struck to proof quality and has a strict mintage of just 750 pieces. The Authority denoted on the reverse is The Netherlands Antilles
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John Brown (May 9, 1800 – December 2, 1859) was an evangelical Christian of strong religious convictions and an American abolitionist leader. First reaching national prominence for his radical abolitionism and fighting in "Bleeding Kansas",; he was captured and executed for a failed incitement of a slave rebellion at Harpers Ferry preceding the American Civil War.
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John Brown (May 9, 1800 – December 2, 1859) was an evangelical Christian of strong religious convictions and an American abolitionist leader. First reaching national prominence for his radical abolitionism and fighting in "Bleeding Kansas",; he was captured and executed for a failed incitement of a slave rebellion at Harpers Ferry preceding the American Civil War.
The abolition of slavery in Peru is celebrated on February 18, 1854. Throughout the Middle Passage, approximately 95,000 slaves were brought into Peru, with the last group arriving in 1850. Often slaves were initially transported to Cuba and Hispaniola, from where traders brought them to Panama and the Viceroyalty of Peru. Planters and others also purchased slaves in Cartagena, Colombia, or Veracruz, Mexico, at trade fairs, and they returned to Peru with the new slaves imported by the slave ships. As a result of the "New Laws" of 1548 and the influence of the denunciation of the abuses against Native Americans by Friar Bartolomé de las Casas, African slaves gradually replaced natives at the encomiendas. Slave owners in Peru developed preferences to have slaves from specific areas of Africa (believed to have certain characteristics); they wanted to have slaves of one area who could communicate with each other. They believed slaves from Guinea, from the Senegal River down to the Slave Coast, were easier to manage and had marketable skills. They already knew how to plant and cultivate rice, train horses, and herd cattle on horseback. The slave owners also preferred slaves from the area stretching from Nigeria to eastern Ghana. The slave owners' third choice was for slaves from Congo, Mozambique, Madagascar, and Angola.
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Toussaint Louverture (1743 – 1803) was born enslaved on the French colony of Saint-Domingue, now known as Haiti. He was a devout Catholic who became a freeman before the revolution and, once freed, identified as a Frenchman for the greater part of his life. Louverture, at the start of the Haitian revolution he was nearly 50 years old and began his military career as a lieutenant to Biassou, an early leader of the 1791 War for Freedom in Saint-Domingue. Initially allied with the Spaniards of neighboring Santo Domingo, Louverture switched his allegiance to the French when the new Republican government abolished slavery In March 1801, Louverture appointed a constitutional assembly, composed chiefly of white planters, to draft a constitution for Saint-Domingue. He promulgated the Constitution on 7 July 1801, officially establishing his authority over the entire island of Hispaniola. It made him governor-general for life with near absolute powers.
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Toussaint Louverture (1743 – 1803) was born enslaved on the French colony of Saint-Domingue, now known as Haiti. He was a devout Catholic who became a freeman before the revolution and, once freed, identified as a Frenchman for the greater part of his life. Louverture, at the start of the Haitian revolution he was nearly 50 years old and began his military career as a lieutenant to Biassou, an early leader of the 1791 War for Freedom in Saint-Domingue. Initially allied with the Spaniards of neighboring Santo Domingo, Louverture switched his allegiance to the French when the new Republican government abolished slavery In March 1801, Louverture appointed a constitutional assembly, composed chiefly of white planters, to draft a constitution for Saint-Domingue. He promulgated the Constitution on 7 July 1801, officially establishing his authority over the entire island of Hispaniola. It made him governor-general for life with near absolute powers.
These tokens are dated 1807, the date of abolition of the slave trade in Britain and its colonies. However, they were actually made about 1814 and again in about 1830-50 for use as coinage in the Sierra Leone colony of Freetown. They were commissioned by Zachary Macaulay, a former Governor of Freetown and member of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade. Freetown was founded in 1787, as a philanthropic venture by the Sierra Leone Company. It was intended to provide an African homeland for formerly enslaved Africans, many of whom had fought for the British in the American War of Independence. After the company was dissolved in 1808, Macaulay took up /the company on his own and traded with other parts of West/ Africa. He was later joined by his nephew, Kenneth Macaulay, son of Leicester MP Thomas Babbington, a founder member of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade. The text on the reverse of the token is in Arabic, and translates as 'Sale of slaves prohibited in 1807, Christian era, in the reign of George III: verily, we are all brothers'. The Arabic text was possibly included as the Arab slave trade continued long after British abolition. This token may have been seen as a way of spreading the abolitionist message.
Unknown to most for many years, the famous female figure depicted as Liberty on Saint-Gaudens double eagle (1907-1932) was African-American model Harriette Eugenia “Hettie” Anderson. , She was an African-American model who Saint-Gaudens referred to as a woman with the figure of a goddess. Based on research that surfaced in 1991 and published that year in Numismatic News and subsequent works that also confirms this information, it now appears very likely, if not certain, that the woman who served as the model for Liberty on the obverse of Augustus Saint-Gaudens legendary $20 double eagle gold coin was Hettie E. Anderson, a black American woman with fair complexion. Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker, "African-Americans on US Coins: Circulating Coins (Part 3)',Coin Week, Jan. 22, 2016, https://coinweek.com/coins/commemoratives/african-americans-on-us-coins-circulating-coins-part-3/
Unknown to most for many years, the famous female figure depicted as Liberty on Saint-Gaudens double eagle (1907-1932) was African-American model Harriette Eugenia “Hettie” Anderson. , She was an African-American model who Saint-Gaudens referred to as a woman with the figure of a goddess. Based on research that surfaced in 1991 and published that year in Numismatic News and subsequent works that also confirms this information, it now appears very likely, if not certain, that the woman who served as the model for Liberty on the obverse of Augustus Saint-Gaudens legendary $20 double eagle gold coin was Hettie E. Anderson, a black American woman with fair complexion. Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker, "African-Americans on US Coins: Circulating Coins (Part 3)',Coin Week, Jan. 22, 2016, https://coinweek.com/coins/commemoratives/african-americans-on-us-coins-circulating-coins-part-3/
The Booker T Washington commemorative half dollars were issues for six years, 1946 to 1951. .-African American artist Isaac Scott Hathaway designed 50-cent commemorative coins with the faces of Booker T. Washington in the 1940s and the combined faces of Washington and George Washington Carver in the 1950s. Washington was the first African American to have his face on a commemorative coin, and Hathaway was the first African American to design a U.S. coin.
From 1951 to 1954, the U.S. Mint produced the George Washington Carver-Booker T. Washington Half Dollar. It commemorated the lives of George Washington Carver (1864-1943), an agricultural scientist and educator, and Booker T. Washington (1856-1915), founder of the Tuskegee Institute. The coin was the last commemorative coin made by the Mint until the modern Commemorative Coin Program began in 1982.
Historian Drew Gilpin Faust observed that "leaders of the secession movement across the South cited slavery as the most compelling reason for southern independence". Slavery ended in and with the Civil War both because slaves sought their own freedom and because the Union Army demonstrated that the Confederate government could not make good on its promise to protect the property rights whites held in slavery. The formal abolition of slavery laws was carried out in the terms of reconstruction for Southern states. A new chapter in American history opened as the Thirteenth Amendment, passed in January of 1865, was implemented. It abolished slavery in the United States.
Historian Drew Gilpin Faust observed that "leaders of the secession movement across the South cited slavery as the most compelling reason for southern independence". Slavery ended in and with the Civil War both because slaves sought their own freedom and because the Union Army demonstrated that the Confederate government could not make good on its promise to protect the property rights whites held in slavery. The formal abolition of slavery laws was carried out in the terms of reconstruction for Southern states. A new chapter in American history opened as the Thirteenth Amendment, passed in January of 1865, was implemented. It abolished slavery in the United States.
The Civil War was America's bloodiest conflict.. Over four years, 237 named battles were fought, as were many more minor actions and skirmishes, The number of soldiers who died between 1861 and 1865, is generally estimated between 620,000 and 750, 000. This death toll is approximately equal to the total of American fatalities in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, and the Korean War ,combined. The central cause of the war was the dispute over whether slavery would be permitted to expand into the western territories
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Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. The Dodgers signing Robinson heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
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A stunning tribute to a legendary figure in American sports history. The front side of the coin, designed by Al Maletsky, beautifully depicts Jackie Robinson stealing home plate, a thrilling moment captured during the 1955 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson's dynamic pose is a lasting symbol of his skill, determination, and groundbreaking role in baseball.
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During his 10-year MLB career, Robinson won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, was an All-Star for six consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1954, and won the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player Award in 1949—the first black player so honored. Robinson played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Series championship.
In 1997, MLB retired his uniform No. 42 across all major league teams; he was the first professional athlete in any sport to be so honored. MLB also adopted a new annual tradition, "Jackie Robinson Day", for the first time on April 15, 2004, on which every player on every team wears No. 42. Robinson's character, his use of nonviolence, and his talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation that had then marked many other aspects of American life. He influenced the culture of and contributed significantly to the civil rights movement. Robinson also was the first black television analyst in MLB and the first black vice president of a major American corporation, Chock full o'Nuts. In the 1960s, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank, an African-American-owned financial institution based in Harlem, New York. After his death in 1972, Robinson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his achievements on and off the field.
Crispus Attucks (c.1723 – March 5, 1770) was an American whaler, sailor, and stevedore of African and Native American descent, commonly regarded as the first person killed in the Boston Massacre and thus the first American killed in the American Revolution. Historians disagree on whether Attucks was a free man or an escaped slave, but most agree that he was of Native American (specifically Wampanoag) and African descent. Two major sources of eyewitness testimony about the Boston Massacre published in 1770 did not refer to him as "black" nor as a "Negro"; it appears that Bostonians viewed him as being of mixed ethnicity. According to a contemporaneous account in the Pennsylvania Gazette, he was a "Mulattoe man, named Crispus Attucks, who was born in Framingham
Crispus Attucks (c.1723 – March 5, 1770) was an American whaler, sailor, and stevedore of African and Native American descent, commonly regarded as the first person killed in the Boston Massacre and thus the first American killed in the American Revolution. Historians disagree on whether Attucks was a free man or an escaped slave, but most agree that he was of Native American (specifically Wampanoag) and African descent. Two major sources of eyewitness testimony about the Boston Massacre published in 1770 did not refer to him as "black" nor as a "Negro"; it appears that Bostonians viewed him as being of mixed ethnicity. According to a contemporaneous account in the Pennsylvania Gazette, he was a "Mulattoe man, named Crispus Attucks, who was born in Framingham
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The American Anti-Slavery Society was founded in 1833 by Black New Yorkers and white abolitionists. The organization called for immediate emancipation of the nation’s two million enslaved people and worked to win over public opinion in northern states. 'Am I not a Woman and a Sister?' appeared on abolitionist tokens that have circulated in America and Great Britain. At the end of 1837 the American Anti-Slavery Society, located at 143 Nassau Street, New York, commissioned the firm of Gibbs Gardner & Co. of Belleville, N.J. to strike these copper tokens. These tokens show significant relations between abolition and the fight for equal rights of women. These tokens were sold at antislavery fairs organized by abolitionist women to raise money for the cause. The National Anti-Slavery Bazaar was a large fundraising fair run by the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society. In this example, to avoid charges of counterfeiting, the N in United States is reversed.
The obverse of the silver dollar, designed by retired United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Donna Weaver, depicts “Three Faces of Diversity,” representing the three cultures intersecting in Jamestown. On August 20, 1619, “20 and odd” Angolans, kidnapped by the Portuguese, arrived in the British colony of Virginia and were then bought by English colonists. The arrival of the enslaved Africans in the New World marks a beginning of two and a half centuries of slavery in North America.
One of the defining moments of the Civil Rights Era in the United States during the mid-20th century occurred when Central High School in the southern city of Little Rock, Arkansas, was formally integrated. Nine black students, soon to be known as “The Little Rock Nine,” made their way toward Central High School on the morning of September 4, 1957. They were escorted onto school grounds by police, were spat upon and assaulted by flying objects thrown from the throngs of angry bystanders . The desegregation of Central High School was more than merely a legal achievement and even more than a singular highlight in the Civil Rights timeline. It was a watershed moment for America. It was a major milestone, one deemed worthy of memorializing on the 50th Anniversary Commemorative coin.
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem. A master at writing miniatures for the three-minute 78 rpm recording format, Ellington wrote or collaborated on more than one thousand compositions; his extensive body of work is the largest recorded personal jazz legacy, and many of his pieces have become standards.
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem. A master at writing miniatures for the three-minute 78 rpm recording format, Ellington wrote or collaborated on more than one thousand compositions; his extensive body of work is the largest recorded personal jazz legacy, and many of his pieces have become standards.
The Girl Scouts of the USA was originally founded as a movement for all girls in 1912 by Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low, but girls of color were left out – particularly African-American girls., However, the first African-American girl members were a part of the third US troop formed in 1913 in New Bedford, Massachusetts, predating the first officially recognized all-African-American Girl Scout troop in 1917. The 100th Anniversary coin designed by Barbara Fox was inspired by both the historical and contemporary aspects of Girl Scouting and by its mission statement: "Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place." It depicts three girls who represent the different ages and diversity of Girl Scouts of the USA..
The U.S. Mint honored the 50th anniversary of the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Commemorative Coin. The coin's designs are emblematic of the enactment of the Act and its contribution to civil rights in America.
On October 16, 1859, the abolitionist John Brown led a group of 22 men (counting himself) in a raid on the armory. Five of the men were black: three free black men, one freed slave, and one fugitive slave. Brown attacked and captured several buildings, hoping to secure the weapons depot and arm the slaves, starting a revolt across the South. The first shot of the raid mortally wounded Heyward Shepherd, a free black man who was a baggage porter for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Brown was quickly tried in Charles Town, the county seat of Jefferson County, for treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, murder, and fomenting a slave insurrection. Convicted of all charges he was hanged on December 2. John Brown's words, "There will be no peace in this land until slavery is done for. “
Reverse die #271 features the slogan “Union For Ever” mostly surrounded by a wreath of agricultural products. There is a Union shield at the bottom flanked by two American flags on each side. The “Union Forever” slogan appears on many Civil War tokens on several different die varieties. Die #271 was also paired with nine other obverse dies which was not an unusual practice by those who made the tokens. The Fulds rated it as a rarity 3, with an estimated population of 501 to 2,000 pieces. This token was distributed by New York City token maker George Glaubrecht.
Reverse die #340a features a Union shield draped by American flags, mostly surround by a laurel wreath. A liberty cap, surrounded by 13 stars, is hung on a pole above the shield. This is by far the most common variety that has die #36 as the obverse. The Fulds rated it as a rarity 2, with estimated the number of available pieces to be between 2,001 and 5,000. This token was distributed by New York City token maker George Glaubrecht.
The most common obverse die that was used to make the anti-slavery Civil War tokens featured a portrait of Lady Liberty, the date, “1863,” and the slogan, “Liberty and No Slaves.” George and Melvin Fuld listed this die as #36 in their classic work, Patriotic Civil War Tokens. It was paired with three reverse dies, numbers 340, 271 and 432. Reverse die #432 has the slogan, “No Compromise with Traitors.” This is by far the scarcest of the tokens that featured the “Liberty and Slaves” slogan on the obverse. The Fulds rated it as a Rarity-4 (201 – 500 known).. Although the “No Compromise with Traitors” die was used to strike 22 varieties of Civil War tokens, all but three or four them are scarce to rare. It was a common practice to make “vanity tokens” for Civil War era collectors who wanted something rare. That would explain why so many CWT varieties are known with this design
Frederick Douglass (February 1817 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York, becoming famous for his oratory and incisive antislavery writings. Accordingly, he was described by abolitionists in his time as a living counterexample to enslavers' arguments that enslaved people lacked the intellectual capacity to function as independent American citizens. Northerners at the time found it hard to believe that such a great orator had once been enslaved. It was in response to this disbelief that Douglass wrote his first autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,
On January 12, 2017, the U.S. Mint kicked off a year-long celebration of its 225th anniversary with the unveiling of the design of the 2017 American Liberty $100 high relief gold coin. The design, which was recommended last spring by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee and Commission on Fine Arts, is the first to depict Lady Liberty as a young African-American woman.
Coin designer Justine Kunz’s design for the obverse (heads) side features three players reaching for the ball in unison, reflecting how the sport of basketball has brought together diverse people around the world through a simple, universal and unifying athletic experience. The most common ethnicity among basketball players is White, which makes up 72.8% of all basketball players. Comparatively, only 8.9% are Black. However, in 2018, 56 percent of Division I men's college basketball players were black; and in 2021, 73% of NBA players were black.
The United States Mint's (Mint) 2020 Women's Suffrage Centennial Silver Dollar marks 100 years since the 19th Amendment became law. The 19th Amendment declares that the right to vote "shall not be denied...on account of sex." For many women, especially women of color, the fight for voting rights didn't end when the 19th Amendment went into effect. To mark this major anniversary, the Mint produced a coin designed by Christina Hess and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill. The coin pays tribute to the generations of women, including many women of color, who advocated for the 19th Amendment. Artist Christina Hess wrote, “The coin has an older woman in the back, a younger woman in the middle, and a young African American woman up front.”
The bouncing of the ball. The satisfying swish of a perfect shot. The blaring of the buzzer and roar of the crowds. This design depicts an orange basketball with black channels about to pass through a white net and an orange rim. The basketball and the rim are presented in two distinct shades of the familiar orange hue associated with the sport and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The historic United States Mint Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Colorized Coins are the first to have color applied to their design elements. The game of basketball has excited players and fans for more than 125 years. This fast-paced game was invented on December 21, 1891, by Dr. James Naismith. From its humble roots in a gymnasium, the game has grown into a global phenomenon, embraced by players and fans around the world. Today, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame carries on Naismith’s vision for his game of “basket ball.”
Septima Poinsette Clark (May 3, 1898 – December 15, 1987) was an African American educator and civil rights activist. Clark developed the literacy and citizenship workshops that played an important role in the drive for voting rights and civil rights for African Americans in the Civil Rights Movement. Septima Clark's work was commonly under-appreciated by Southern male activists. She became known as the "Queen mother" or "Grandmother" of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. Martin Luther King Jr. commonly referred to Clark as "The Mother of the Movement". Clark's argument for her position in the Civil Rights Movement was one that claimed "knowledge could empower marginalized groups in ways that formal legal equality couldn't.
The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen, who received their flight training at Tuskegee Institute, AL and fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). The name also applies to the navigators, bombardiers, mechanics, instructors, crew chiefs, nurses, cooks, and other support personnel. The Tuskegee airmen received praise for their excellent combat record earned while protecting white American bombers from enemy fighters
In the late 19th century, the baseball color line developed in professional baseball, excluding African Americans from league play. After several decades of mostly independent play by a variety of teams, in 1920 the first Negro National League was formed and ultimately seven major leagues existed at various times over the next thirty years. 1951 is generally considered the last major league season of the Negro American League. The last professional club, the Indianapolis Clowns, operated as a humorous sideshow rather than competitively from the mid-1960s to the 1980s.
Obverse: Andrew "Rube" Foster (September 17, 1879 – December 9, 1930) was an American baseball player, manager, and executive in the Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981. Foster, considered by historians to have been perhaps the best African-American pitcher of the first decade of the 1900s, also founded and managed the Chicago American Giants, one of the most successful black baseball teams of the pre-integration era. Most notably, he organized the Negro National League, the first long-lasting professional league for African-American ballplayers, which operated from 1920 to 1931. He is known as the "father of Black Baseball." Foster adopted his longtime nickname, "Rube", as his official middle name later in life. Reverse: depicts the gesture of tipping one’s cap, an important sign of respect among players.
Her autobiography, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969)," tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim. The reverse of this coin, celebrates that autobiography and depicts Maya Angelou superimposed on a bird taking flight to the sun. Angelou was active in the Civil Rights Movement and worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Beginning in the 1990s, she made approximately 80 appearances a year on the lecture circuit, something she continued into her eighties. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" (1993) at the first inauguration of Bill Clinton, making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961
The Maya Angelou Quarter is the first coin in the American Women Quarters™ Program. Maya Angelou was a celebrated writer, performer, and social activist. Maya born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees
The Maya Angelou Quarter is the first coin in the American Women Quarters™ Program. Maya Angelou was a celebrated writer, performer, and social activist. Maya born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees
The Maya Angelou Quarter is the first coin in the American Women Quarters™ Program. Maya Angelou was a celebrated writer, performer, and social activist. Maya born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees
The reverse design of the 1999 New Jersey State Quarter features General George Washington and members of the Colonial Army crossing the Delaware River, including an enslaved black man named, according to legend, Prince Whipple, who accompanied General George Washington in the famous crossing of the Delaware River. He is the man portrayed fending off ice with an oar at Washington's knee in the painting Washington Crossing the Delaware, painted 75 years after the event. The coin reverse design was based on the 1851 “Washington Crossing the Delaware” painting by Emmanuel Leutze.”
The reverse design of the 1999 New Jersey State Quarter features General George Washington and members of the Colonial Army crossing the Delaware River, including an enslaved black man named, according to legend, Prince Whipple, who accompanied General George Washington in the famous crossing of the Delaware River. He is the man portrayed fending off ice with an oar at Washington's knee in the painting Washington Crossing the Delaware, painted 75 years after the event. The coin reverse design was based on the 1851 “Washington Crossing the Delaware” painting by Emmanuel Leutze.”
The US minted Missouri Quarter features Lewis and Clark and a third man, York, rowing the boat., York was enslaved by Clark. The second historical African-American to appear on a CIRCULATING United States coin was enslaved man, named York, York expected some consideration for his contribution to the celebrated journey.. Each of the other members of the group were compensated; but the freedom York sought was denied him by Clark. Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker, "African-Americans on US Coins: Circulating Coins (Part 3)',Coin Week, Jan. 22, 2016, https://coinweek.com/coins/commemoratives/african-americans-on-us-coins-circulating-coins-part-3/
The US minted 2003 Missouri Quarter features Lewis and Clark and a third man, York, rowing the boat., York was enslaved by Clark. The second historical African-American to appear on a CIRCULATING United States coin was enslaved man, named York, York expected some consideration for his contribution to the celebrated journey. Each of the other members of the group were compensated; but the freedom York sought was denied him by Clark. Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker, "African-Americans on US Coins: Circulating Coins (Part 3)',Coin Week, Jan. 22, 2016, https://coinweek.com/coins/commemoratives/african-americans-on-us-coins-circulating-coins-part-3/
William Lloyd Garrison joined the Abolition movement in 1830, when he was 25 years old. He became associated with the American Colonization Society, an organization that believed free blacks should emigrate to a territory on the west coast of Africa. At first glance the society seemed to promote the freedom and happiness of blacks. There certainly were members who encouraged the manumission (granting of freedom) to slaves. However, it turned out that the number of members advocating manumission constituted a minority. Most members had no wish to free slaves; their goal was only to reduce the numbers of free blacks in the country and thus help preserve the institution of slavery. In the very first issue of his anti-slavery newspaper, the Liberator, William Lloyd Garrison stated, "I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. . . . I am in earnest -- I will not equivocate -- I will not excuse -- I will not retreat a single inch -- AND I WILL BE HEARD." And Garrison was heard. For more than three decades, from the first issue of his weekly paper in 1831, until after the end of the Civil War in 1865 when the last issue was published, Garrison spoke out eloquently and passionately against slavery and for the rights of America's black inhabitants.
This Anti-Slavery token was produced by William Leggett Bramhall. Being a staunch Republican and supporter of Presidential-candidate Abraham Lincoln, Bramhall saw a medalet token as a lucrative and effective way to bolster Lincoln and get the word out about his pro-abolitionist stance. Depicted on his token are the words: “MILLIONS FOR FREEDOM / NOT ONE CENT FOR SLAVERY. Bramhill’s slogan on his medalet became so popular, that it quickly evolved to become a common rallying cry for abolitionists. Struck by the Scoville Manufacturing Company of Waterbury Connecticut, a total of 15,000 in brass, 7 in silver, and 75 in copper were made. The obverse reads “SUCCESS TO REPUBLICAN PRINCIPLES,” aligning the abolitionist movement to Lincoln’s Presidential campaign.
1871 Abraham Lincoln / Emancipation Proclamation medal. Bronze, 45 mm. Julian CM-16. Dies by William Barber. The surfaces are light mahogany with plenty of underlying gold and pale blue, lustrous and eye-catching. The high profile portrait of Lincoln has the merest whisper of cabinet friction on a single strand of hair, far less than usually encountered. There were 363 pieces struck in bronze between 1871 (when the first 45 pieces were struck) and 1904. The biggest single mintage year was 1872, with 155; after that, most years were 5, 10, or none at all, as demand required. It is no great surprise that Mint Director James Pollock, whose name appears at the base of the reverse, thought to honor Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation -- he got to know Lincoln well when they were both Congressmen and both roomed at Mrs. Anne Spriggs' boardinghouse, where Pollock's better-refined anti-slavery ideas may have informed Lincoln's evolving opinion on the issue. After Pollock chose not to run again for Governor of Pennsylvania, Lincoln appointed him to be Director of the Mint. This medal is something of a thank you memorial card from Pollack to Lincoln.
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is a museum of conscience, located in downtown Cincinnati, OH. However, the town of Mount Pleasant, OH, established in 1803 by Robert Carothers, an Irishman from Virginia, and Jesse Thomas, a Quaker from North Carolina, was founded in part out of anti-slavery sentiment by North Carolina Quakers who specifically sought a place where their slaves could be freed. The village is important for the role it played in the antislavery movement and the Underground Railroad. From an early date, the strong Quaker population in Mount Pleasant preached and practiced its abolitionist views and published antislavery literature, A station on the Underground Railroad, the town was a refuge for fugitive slaves and a welcome home for free blacks. Residents built and administered a school for free black children, and in 1848 established a Free Produce Store which sold no products produced by slave labor. The town was also integrated to some degree, with African-American living among whites, generally as servants. African Americans also owned property, but this was generally in the outlying areas of the community. The village's economic fortunes stagnated after the American Civil War came to an end because it was bypassed by the railroads.
Bessie Coleman (January 26, 1892 – April 30, 1926 was an early American civil aviator. She was the first African-American woman and first Native American to hold a pilot license. She earned her license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale on June 15, 1921, and was the first Black person to earn an international pilot's license
Obverse has profile of British Abolitionist, Joseph Sturge, the author of "The West Indies in 1837, an expose of the cruelty of slavery. In Jamaica." He founded “Free Villages” with the Baptists to provide living quarters for freed slaves. Joseph Sturge (2 August 1793 – 14 May 1859) was an English Quaker, abolitionist and activist. He founded the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society (now Anti-Slavery International). He worked throughout his life in Radical political actions supporting pacifism, working-class rights, and the universal emancipation of slaves. In the late 1830s, he published two books about the apprenticeship system in Jamaica, which helped persuade the British Parliament to adopt an earlier full emancipation date. In Jamaica, Sturge also helped found Free Villages with the Baptists, to provide living quarters for freed slaves; one was named Sturge Town in his memory.
The 2024 Harriet Tubman coins are part of several commemorative coins released by the United States Mint to honor the life and legacy of abolitionists who never gave up and never gave in on the quest for freedom for all. She was born as Araminta Ross in March of 1822 and raised in Dorchester County, Maryland, on a plantation. In her early teens, she sustained an accidental head injury, which gave her many troubles throughout her life. She married a man by the name of John Tubman in 1844. She sought freedom and attempted to convince her husband to join her quest to the Northern states, which had abolished slavery decades earlier. He declined to join Harriet. On September 17, 1849, Harriet and her two brothers escaped from a plantation beginning their journey to freedom. The Underground Railroad, where those escaping slavery could sleep and rest on their journeys north was a vital element in the quest for freedom.. From one safehouse to another, Tubman and a group of abolitionists guided those who sought their freedom in the United States, though many sought refuge in Canada. She continued risking her life as she crossed over into the South 13 times until the Civil War, which was sparked in 1861 between the North and the South over the issue of slavery.
Harriet Tubman was born as Araminta Ross in March of 1822 and raised in Dorchester County, Maryland, on a plantation. Tubman enlisted into service with the Union Army in 1862 with support from John Andrew, the governor of Massachusetts and a staunch abolitionist. Soon Tubman was tending to injured Black soldiers and those who had escaped slavery in South Carolina. She excelled in the field of nursing and used her vast knowledge of herbal remedies to treat patients. On June 2, 1863, Harriet Tubman became the first woman to lead a military operation under the direction of Union Colonel James Montgomery in the Civil War, who called her “a most remarkable woman, and invaluable as a scout.” During the Combahee Ferry Raid, Tubman was assisted by 150 Black soldiers and they rescued over 700 enslaved individuals. She was a master of disguises and served as a spy for the Union Army. Once the Civil War was over in 1865, Harriet Tubman moved to Auburn, New York, where she provided care for her parents. Tubman continued her fight for women's rights, she was an advocate for the women’s suffrage movement as well as the disabled. Suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony was Tubman’s friend from the Underground Railroad days, and she introduced her at the National Woman's Suffrage Association conference in 1896. Tubman took in the elderly at home to care for them until the end of her life, dying on March 10, 1913, at the age of 91. She was buried with military honors.
Harriet Tubman is well known for her role as a conductor in the Underground Railroad. After freeing herself from slavery, she personally returned to the South numerous times to lead other out, and provided instruction to still more people who found their own way to freedom. However, she didn’t stop there! In 1862 Harriet Tubman joined the Union Army as a nurse and served in multiple roles, including Army scout and spy. She was the first woman to lead an armed expedition in the Civil War, the Combahee River Raid, which resulted in more than 700 enslaved people being freed. Following the Civil War, Ms. Tubman continued to fight for causes she believed in. She was an active suffragist, speaking out for the right for women to vote. She also worked to provide care for newly freed people, young and old. Harriet Tubman’s life was characterized by her unwavering pursuit of freedom in every aspect of American life.
Anna Pauline "Pauli" Murray (November 20, 1910 – July 1, 1985) was an American civil rights activist, advocate, legal scholar and theorist, author and – later in life – an Episcopal priest. Murray's work influenced the civil rights movement and expanded legal protection for gender equality. As a lawyer, Murray argued for civil rights and women's rights. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Chief Counsel Thurgood Marshall called Murray's 1950 book States' Laws on Race and Color, the "bible" of the civil rights movement. Murray was appointed by President John F. Kennedy to serve on the 1961–1963 Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. In 1966, she was a co-founder of the National Organization for Women. Ruth Bader Ginsburg named Murray as a coauthor of the ACLU brief in the landmark 1971 Supreme Court case Reed v. Reed, in recognition of her pioneering work on gender discrimination. This case articulated the "failure of the courts to recognize sex discrimination for what it is and its common features with other types of arbitrary discrimination."
George Washington Carver was a Black scientist and inventor famous for his work with the peanut; he invented more than 300 products involving the crop, including dyes, plastics, and gasoline, but not peanut butter. Born enslaved, Carver developed an interest in botany and eventually earned a master’s degree from the Iowa State Agricultural College (now Iowa State University). He became a longtime teacher at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Carver died in 1943 around age 78 and became the first African American to have a national monument created in his honor.
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Victor Schœlcher ( 22 July 1804 – 25 December 1893) was a French abolitionist, writer, politician and journalist, best known for his leading role in the abolition of slavery in France in 1848, during the Second Republic. Schœlcher became an advocate for the immediate emancipation of slaves. He published this ideas in Des colonies françaises: Abolition immédiate de l'esclavage ("Of the French colonies: Immediate abolition of slavery") in 1842. He was a member of the Société française pour l'abolition de l'esclavage ("French Society for the Abolition of Slavery") founded in 1834.
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Victor Schœlcher ( 22 July 1804 – 25 December 1893) was a French abolitionist, writer, politician and journalist, best known for his leading role in the abolition of slavery in France in 1848, during the Second Republic. Schœlcher became an advocate for the immediate emancipation of slaves. He published this ideas in Des colonies françaises: Abolition immédiate de l'esclavage ("Of the French colonies: Immediate abolition of slavery") in 1842. He was a member of the Société française pour l'abolition de l'esclavage ("French Society for the Abolition of Slavery") founded in 1834.