History
We start by tracing the early experience of African Americans in 1619 and overview how racial views from Europe influenced the early structures of governance from the colonies through the founding of the United States to the end of the nineteenth century.
We begin with the arrival of the first African slaves on the North American shores in 1619 and conclude with the resurgence of white supremacy in 2019. While the history section is, for now, complete, we will continuously update the website. The story does not end in 2023.
We hope this historical overview is a first step toward creating a more just and democratic society. As communities organize to advocate for more economic opportunity, community-based policing, and fair access to health care and education, we all benefit from understanding the systems that contributed to the inequalities and biases experienced today.
1718: African Slavery in the French and Spanish Colonies
After 1718, when they established a strong presence in New Orleans, the French began importing African slaves to the Mississippi region in response to increasing needs for labor.
1763: The Establishment of St. Louis and African Arrivals
Saint Louis brought together Africans from different parts of Africa as well as from the Americas.
1770: African Ideas of Slavery
Even as the legal system across the French, Spanish, and British colonies moved to deny Africans their rights, Africans themselves retained a vision of resistance that refused to embrace slavery as a permanent institution.
1787: The United States Constitutional Convention
James Madison noted that slavery fueled conflict between the Northern and Southern delegates during the Constitutional Convention.
1790: The Naturalization Act
In 1790 Congress passed the Naturalization Act, which restricted citizenship to “any alien, being a free white person” who had been in the United States for two years. This effectively denied all enslaved and free Blacks persons the opportunity to become U.S. citizens.