Activity
PBS

Pbs Africans in America: Venture Smith

For Students 9th - 10th
This website briefly describes the life of a captured slave, Venture Smith. He is a legend for his size and his feat of buying his and his family's freedom.
Article
PBS

Africans in America: Phillis Wheatley

For Students 9th - 10th
This website briefly describes the life of Phillis Wheatley, poetess and freed slave.
Lesson Plan
Library of Virginia

Virginia Memory: Manumission Petition for James Lafayette

For Teachers 9th - 10th
For what service during the American Revolution was James Lafayette awarded his freedom? Students investigate what events led to James Lafayette, a slave, winning his freedom.
Lesson Plan
Library of Virginia

Virginia Memory: Gilbert Hunt and the Richmond Theater Fire

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A lesson about the Richmond Theater Fire in 1811. Many perished in the fire. Those who were saved were helped from inside by Dr. James McCaw, who dropped them from a window to Gilbert Hunt, who caught them enough to break their fall. The...
Activity
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: Phillis Wheatley, Poet

For Students 3rd - 8th
A brief look at the fascinating life of African American poet, Phillis Wheatley. Provides two portraits, and a sample page from Wheatley's collection of poems.
Handout
The History Cat

The History Cat: Us History: The Buffalo Soldiers

For Students 9th - 10th
Describes the history of the Buffalo Soldiers, African Americans who served in four Calvary peacetime units in the 19th and 20th centuries. Highlights the experiences of Emanuel Stance, a freed slave who joined the military in 1866.
Website
Other

Women in History: Phillis Wheatley

For Students 3rd - 8th
This fact sheet provides dates and details about the life and work of the poet Phillis Wheatley.