History · Heritage · Remembrance

    Historical Events

    Freedom sought, communities built, and lives changed — the events that shaped Black history.

    Charleston & the LowcountrySouth CarolinaFlorida

    6 historical events

    A 1773 colonial map of South Carolina with Charleston and Lowcountry waterways
    Colonial South Carolina map, 1773 — geographic context for the Stono Rebellion, not a contemporary depiction of it. The map was made 34 years after the uprising.
    Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division · Archive source

    Slavery & Resistance

    September 9, 1739 · Stono River, near Charleston, South Carolina

    Stono Rebellion

    On September 9, 1739, enslaved people near Charleston rose against slavery and marched south toward freedom in Spanish Florida.

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    Opening page of the Library of Congress transcription of the official 1822 Charleston trial report
    Opening page of the Library of Congress transcription of the 1822 official trial report. This is the court’s account of the allegations, not independent proof of every claim.
    Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections Division · Archive source

    Slavery & Resistance

    July 2, 1822 · Vesey’s execution · Charleston, South Carolina

    Denmark Vesey and the Charleston Executions

    July 2 marks Denmark Vesey’s execution in Charleston in 1822. The executions are documented; claims about the alleged uprising must be read critically.

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    Front page of The Bamberg Herald dated May 15, 1919, with coverage of attacks in Charleston
    Contemporary newspaper coverage of the Charleston racial violence. Early reports differed from later accounts; the headline’s death toll should not be treated as definitive.
    The Bamberg Herald, May 15, 1919, p. 1, South Carolina Digital Newspaper Program · Archive source

    Jim Crow & Racial Violence

    May 10, 1919 · Charleston, South Carolina

    Charleston Racial Violence

    On May 10, 1919, white servicemen and civilians attacked Black residents and businesses in Charleston, an early episode of the Red Summer.

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    Historic photograph of Julius ‘July’ Perry wearing a suit and hat
    Julius ‘July’ Perry, an Ocoee landowner and community leader killed during the 1920 Ocoee Massacre.
    Photographer unknown. Image reproduced from Florida History Blog. · Archive source

    Jim Crow & Racial Violence

    November 2, 1920 · violence continued into November 3 · Ocoee, Orange County, Florida

    Ocoee Election Day Massacre

    An attempt by Mose Norman to vote on November 2, 1920, was followed by white mob violence, July Perry’s lynching, and the displacement of Ocoee’s Black community.

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    Ruins of a burned African American home in Rosewood, Florida, 1923
    Ruins of a burned African American home in Rosewood, Florida, 1923.
    State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, RC12408. · Archive source

    Jim Crow & Racial Violence

    January 1923 · several days beginning January 1 · Rosewood, Levy County, Florida

    Rosewood Massacre

    Over several days in January 1923, a white mob attacked the Black community of Rosewood, Florida, forcing residents to flee and destroying homes.

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