The full history of American people of color has never been told. These stories fill in the narrative
Stories of people of color aren’t always found in the usual public records or data sets. Often, the stories are hidden in slave schedules and plantation accounting books. They are packed away with family secrets in an attic. They are in plain sight, carved on monuments and statues. Or they exist only in the minds and memories of our elders.
USA TODAY’s series “Never Been Told: The Lost History of America’s People of Color” aims to fill in the gaps in the national story. These stories elevate, through investigative and explanatory journalism, the people, places and ideas that are often left out of the history books.
In a time when we are relying more than ever on the internet for information, it’s easy to think that because we know a name, we know a story. But history isn’t a website brief. Nor is it a static document.
History is a fluid, living, energetic thing fed continuously by the stories of the people creating that history.
They include all the people of color whose labor and thought built our society. African, Asian, Latino and Native Americans – history is made by the participation of all people of all races and ethnicities.
One of the most powerful people in US politics was once a Mexican woman
An immigrant who shaped politics for Latino communities during the Chicano civil rights movement was also one of a few female doctors in the 1960s. Read the story
Japanese American detainees at Camp Amache recall 1942 incarceration
Thousands of people were forced to live in a desolate Colorado detention camp during World War II. Congress is considering making it a historic site. Read the story
Jackson Giles: In 1902, a postal worker challenged Jim Crow Alabama
The longtime political activist took his complaint all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Their decision reinforced voter suppression for six decades. Read the story
‘Fabulous’ Lena Richard: The cooking queen of New Orleans
Richard used her culinary talents to become a successful entrepreneur and likely the first Black TV chef in the USA. Her contributions are forgotten. Read the story.
Carlos Bulosan’s critique of America gave Filipino migrants a voice
“America Is in the Heart,” his definitive work, unveils hardships, heartaches and hopes of the first wave of Filipino workers to arrive in the USA. Read the story
Negro Leagues’ history was erased for generations. This man keeps it alive
In 1993, Bob Kendrick met one of the Negro Leagues’ greatest players, Buck O’Neil. The meeting, and the stories, gave him his life's mission. Read the story
A Mexican-American woman saved the Alamo. Remember Adina De Zavala
A Tejana woman’s dedication to preserving the structure – no matter what it cost her - is why we can still visit the site of the famous Texas battle. Read the story
Abolitionist David Ruggles gave his soul to the fight against slavery
Before Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells, this 19th-century free Black man was an antislavery activist, journalist and owner of the first Black bookstore. Read the story
In 1972, Melvin McNair helped hijack a plane. He wanted to escape U.S. racism
In exile in France, McNair has built a life around community service and baseball. But he is still wanted by U.S. authorities for his 50-year-old crime. Read the story
Long before George Floyd, the slaying of another Black man sparked a national movement
Jimmie Lee Jackson’s 1965 killing by law enforcement inspired the 'Bloody Sunday' march. His death led to equal voting rights, but his story has been forgotten. Read the story
Essay: American history is not just ‘his’ story. It’s also ‘our’ story
History has been filtered primarily through the eyes of white men. It's time to include stories about the lives, sacrifices and triumphs of people of color. Read the story
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Never Been Told: The Lost History of People of Color