TIL…

African women who were enslaved and brought to America often smuggled core culinary seeds inside the braids of their hair.

“African women braided their hair and hid rice seeds as well as other grains in cornrows. Also hidden in hair are black eyed beans, small cassava cuttings, maize and other grains depending on how thick the hair was.”

https://face2faceafrica.com/article/how-hair-was-used-to-smuggle-grains-into-the-caribbean-by-african-slaves

#BlackHistoryMonth #Africa #EnslavedPeople #Culinary #TIL #History

By #DelaitreHollinger via the #TallahasseeDemocrat - Jan 18, 2026

My fight 2 ensure dignity @ CCCC won’t stop. Here’s why:

•A local community leader→speaking out against the transfer of a cemetery 4 #EnslavedPeople 2 a country club

•The author calls 4 further #archaeological study of the site, citing advancements in #technology & a preliminary report

•The author criticizes the city 4 not attempting 2 locate descendants of the nearly 200 #AfricanAmericans buried there

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/opinion/2026/01/18/my-fight-to-ensure-dignity-at-cccc-wont-stop-heres-why-opinion/88215657007/

American Ancestors: New Database: Kentucky: Kentucky Enslaved Church Records Project. “We are excited to share a new 10 Million Names database today, Kentucky: Kentucky Enslaved Church Records Project. These valuable records were provided by Reckoning, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to examine the legacy of slavery in America and to create ways for communities to engage […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/11/17/new-database-kentucky-kentucky-enslaved-church-records-project-american-ancestors/

Indianz: Native America Calling: A new archive tells the story of Indigenous slavery. “A team of researchers are actively sifting through archival documents, artifacts even artwork to expand the story of Indigenous slavery. The Native Bound Unbound project includes interactive maps, digitized documents and recent interviews with descendants whose ancestors endured enslavement.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/11/07/indianz-native-america-calling-a-new-archive-tells-the-story-of-indigenous-slavery/

The Guardian: ‘This is strength’: stories of enslaved Africans in Grenada will be made into searchable archive. “The stories of enslaved African people and more than 1,000 British plantation owners who were compensated after abolition will be brought together in a searchable archive for the first time.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/10/04/this-is-strength-stories-of-enslaved-africans-in-grenada-will-be-made-into-searchable-archive-the-guardian/

University of Massachusetts Amherst: Sowing History, Reaping Justice: Art History Students Publish Children’s Books about Slavery in the Northern US and Canada. “These books were written and illustrated by students in Dr. Charmaine A. Nelson’s UMass Amherst spring art history course, The Visual Culture of Slavery. They have now been digitally published in an open access collection by Black […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/09/21/sowing-history-reaping-justice-art-history-students-publish-childrens-books-about-slavery-in-the-northern-us-and-canada-university-of-massachusetts-amherst/

University of Cambridge: Family fortunes founded on slavery. “More than 600 letters, photos and papers – pieced together over 20 years from auction sites such as eBay – paint a vivid picture of a British dynasty who profited from enslaving people during the 18th and 19th centuries and indenturing people into the 20th century. The first tranche of the collection is now open to researchers […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/08/29/university-of-cambridge-family-fortunes-founded-on-slavery/

Associated Press: A volunteer finds the Holy Grail of abolitionist-era Baptist documents in Massachusetts. “The 5-foot-long scroll is a handwritten declaration signed by 116 New England ministers saying they ‘disapprove and abhor the system of American slavery.’”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/07/05/associated-press-a-volunteer-finds-the-holy-grail-of-abolitionist-era-baptist-documents-in-massachusetts/

Journal of Blacks in Higher Education: New Database Provides Insights Into Black Americans Born Before Emancipation. “Michigan State University’s ‘Enslaved: Peoples of the Historical Slave Trade’ website has recently published new data on more than 2 million Black Americans born before emancipation who were included in the 1900 census.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/06/25/journal-of-blacks-in-higher-education-new-database-provides-insights-into-black-americans-born-before-emancipation/