World War II offered American women opportunities to work outside the home as they never had before. For the nearly 600,000 African American women who took up such jobs, it was not an opportunity to work for the first time, but one to move into a better-paying and more respectable job than what had been previously available to them.

Black Rosies

As school children most of us have a story painted for us about Rosa Parks as a tired seamstress who refused to give up her seat on the bus. This story, however, is not close to the full picture.

Rosa Parks

You have likely heard of the Medici family, famous as patrons of many artists of the Italian Renaissance. Alessandro di Medici, nicknamed The Moor, is considered by many to be the first black head of state in the west.

Alessandro de Medici, First Duke of Florence

Before the slave trade and European colonialism devastated the region, West Africa was renowned for its wealth and culture. In 1375, Mansa Musa, the king of Mali, may have been the richest person who ever lived.

Mansa Musa

After the collapse of the Roman Empire, much of learning of the ancient Greeks and Romans was lost in Western Europe, but was preserved in the Arab world. It has been said – to quote the title of one popular history book – that "The Arabs Saved Civilization."

How the Arabs Saved Civilization

Today's story takes us back to 1819 and the negotiation of a treaty between the Native inhabitants of what is now Saginaw, Michigan, and the U.S. government.

The Treaty of Saginaw

Fatema Mernissi was a Moroccan Muslim feminist who fought for women's rights in her country and throughout the Muslim world.

Fatema Mernissi

This family of African-American photographers produced an "Art Souvenir" of Saginaw, Michigan, in 1902.

The Goodridge Brothers

As the librarian at Howard University, Dorothy Porter Wesley built one of the world's best collections of books on Black culture and history.

Dorothy Porter Wesley

Born of a white mother and a black father, William Cuffay led a great struggle for workers' rights in Victorian Britain.

2/20/24 - William Cuffay

The origins of the Juneteenth celebration and how June 19 became a federal holiday in 2021.

Juneteenth

It's not often that a nun goes to prison, but that was part of Sister Ardeth Platte's story.

Sister Ardeth Platte

For this 12th-century noblewoman, her father's bad behavior could only mean one thing—time to pull out the ol' crossbow!

Juliane de Fontevrault

Erna Schneider Hoover reputedly sketched her computerized telephone switching system in the hospital after giving birth to one of her three daughters.

Erna Schneider Hoover

Sharron Frontiero was a lieutenant in the US Air Force who sued to receive a dependent's allowance for her husband that were regularly approved to male service members for their wives.

Sharron Frontiero

The Sephardic Jews lived in Spain and Portugal during the Middle Ages, but the Spanish Inquisition sent them across several continents in search of a home.

Sephardic Jews

Before Brown v. Board of Education, a case brought forward by Chinese immigrants looked at how "public" our public schools are.

Joseph & Mary Tape

Hazel Ying Lee was a trailblazer who navigated the skies and the social norms of the 1940s.

Hazel Ying Lee

History is filled with interesting events and fascinating people from all walks of life. Historia highlights the voices that aren't traditionally amplified in history textbooks. Come celebrate the stories of all of us!

Historia - Delta College Public Radio

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