Sons and Daughters of the U.S. Middle Passage

https://apnews.com/article/un-vote-africa-slavery-trafficking-reparations-a7497cdb7d24a89eedb50beb683adc0f

UN calls for reparations to remedy the 'historical wrongs' of trafficking enslaved Africans The U.N. General Assembly has adopted a resolution declaring the trafficking of enslaved Africans “the gravest crime against humanity” and calling for reparations as “a concrete step towards remedying historical wrongs.”

The Spirit We Move With explores the legacy of Mitchelville on Hilton Head Island and its Gullah Geechee community

in 1865, Congress established the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, commonly known as the Freedmen’s Bureau.

This federal agency, which operated in 15 states throughout the South and the District of Columbia, provided aid to newly freed men, women, and children as they began to build new lives after enslavement. Through their interactions with the Freedmen’s Bureau, African Americans fought to secure the things they needed to live as free citizens, including land, family, education, safety, and justice.

When it ceased operations in 1872, the Freedmen’s Bureau left behind millions of pages of written records. These records documenting the various activities of the Bureau include labor contracts, land leases, marriage certificates, hospital registers, ration orders, teachers’ reports, and testimony from civil and criminal complaints. They also record the names of newly freed African Americans and offer glimpses into their struggles and aspirations to forge new lives after enslavement.

During reconstruction African Americans were recognized by the U.S. government as equal citizens. But due to white resistance, Reconstruction’s promise of racial equality was not fulfilled. Instead of full citizenship rights, African Americans experienced decades of discrimination, segregation, and terrorism.

Explore the bounty, challenges and promises of Emancipation in our museum's Freedmen's Bureau Search Portal: https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/freedmens-bureau

📸 Hermitage, Savannah, Ga., 1907. Courtesy of Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, 2016809838.

Want excellent information about genealogy? Attend RootsTech from the comforts of your home.

RootsTech Genealogy Conference & Learning Library Explore RootsTech, the world’s largest family history conference. Join inspiring live events and access on-demand genealogy classes anytime, anywhere.

Save the date! We're hosting a in celebration of the first abolitionist society in America on February 14. Stop by and check out the sculpture by Mural Arts Philadelphia in the museum lobby now.

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqcOuvrzkiHtbHl9fjiJlf1G3ttzDAEd9N #/registration

🖤 Freedom Day | February 1, 2026 🖤

Today, we observe Freedom Day, commemorating February 1, 1865, when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Joint Resolution that would become the 13th Amendment—the constitutional end of slavery in the United States.

Let’s be plain about this: freedom did not come easily, quickly, or generously to our ancestors. It was fought for, resisted, delayed, and, in many places, denied long after the law was signed. Enslaved Africans and their descendants pushed freedom forward with their labor, their courage, their faith, and their insistence on their own humanity—often in the face of brutal opposition.

Freedom Day reminds us that emancipation was not a moment—it was a process. And its legacy continues to shape our lives today.

At SDUSMP, we honor the lives of those who endured enslavement, those who survived it, and those who carried freedom forward even when the nation refused to fully deliver on its promise. We remember them by naming them, researching them, and refusing to let their stories be erased.

Today, we don’t just celebrate freedom.
We claim it, study it, and protect the truth about how it came to be.

Because memory is power—and forgetting has always served oppression.

🕊️ Freedom Day | February 1
🖤 Remember. Reflect. Recommit.

The official start of Black History Month!

https://apnews.com/article/slavery-exhibit-removed-philadelphia-trump-executive-order-dd764277133f47ec1173e8dc16703958?user_email=dd1f8b5cfc5b29e24d9bf5a1bed2bdb38d1ed600f9e194d4db032dc567e81362&utm_medium=Afternoon_Wire&utm_source=Sailthru_AP&utm_campaign=AfternoonWire_Fri_Jan23_2026&utm_term=Afternoon%20Wire

Philadelphia sues over removal of slavery exhibit at Independence National Historical Park Outraged critics are accusing President Donald Trump of “whitewashing history” after the National Park Service removed an exhibit on slavery at Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park.

Giving Tuesday...Please consider giving to Sons & Daughters of the United States Middle Passage.

Pay Sons and Daughters of United States Middle Passage using PayPal.Me Go to paypal.me/SDUSMP and type in the amount. Since it’s PayPal, it's easy and secure. Don’t have a PayPal account? No worries.