Free Expression-Stories of Peoples

Indians 101: The Franciscans in the American Southwest

by Ojibwa 11/12/10 DAILY KOS

"you must explain to the natives of the land that there is only one god in heaven, and the emperor on earth to rule and govern it, whose subjects they must all become and whom they must serve."

Indians 101: The California treaties of 1851-1852

by Ojibwa 24/11/22 DAILY KOS

In 1850, California became a U.S. state. The American system, unlike the Spanish and Mexican systems, viewed Indians not as an economic asset but as an impediment to civilization, to the ability to acquire individual wealth. 

Juneteenth Means Protecting Our History and Safeguarding Our Joy

by Jazmyne Owens 18/6/25 NEW AMERICA

On June 19, 1865, a Union army under the leadership of General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, and announced that all enslaved African Americans were free—two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed, and two months after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered, ending the Civil War. Despite the enormous economic and social impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the United States, Juneteenth only became a federal holiday in 2021. The first Juneteenth celebration, however, took place in 1866 and Black communities have been celebrating it on a yearly basis ever since.

Juneteenth is the most widely known US emancipation celebration – but it’s not the only one

by Adria R Walker 19/6/25 The Guardian

In Galveston, Texas, it wasn’t until 19 June 1865 that people who were enslaved found out about the declaration. Though Robert E Lee had surrendered in April, people continued fighting for the lost cause for months.

The Midnight Cry

DailyKos Mark Sumner 6/13/20

After all, there are now almost 19 million Seventh-Day Adventists and 8 million Jehovah’s Witnesses. Both groups came from just a handful of stubborn Millerites after the majority of the movement had decamped in disgust.
The Millerites were a protestant group that had gone from zero to 100,000 members in a decade. They were named for William Miller, a farmer and Bible enthusiast from that fabulous generator of new faiths, the "burned-over district" of New York. Miller, like many Americans around the time of the Revolution, had spent his early life as deist, believing in a remote God who had little to do with human beings. But following a "foxhole conversion" during the War of 1812, in which he had survived while men all around him died, Miller began to study the Bible, looking for signs and portents. Starting in 1832, Miller published a series of letters in a local Baptist paper. In these letters, Miller first laid out his unique theories about prophetic statements found in the Old Testament book of Daniel. In particular, Miller latched on this verse.

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  The Definitive Story of How the National Museum of African American History and Culture Came to Be By Lonnie G. Bunch III SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2016