Black History

Freed men and women built the Scotland A.M.E. Zion Church in Potomac, Maryland, in the early 1900s. Now, the church is gathering donations to complete a restoration and expansion project. News4’s Tommy McFly reports.

The ancestral roots of the ten oldest African American families in Fredericksburg, Virginia, were revealed Friday as part of a project created to recognize the city’s Black residents. Representatives of families with deep roots in Virginia gathered together on the auditorium stage at James Monroe High School. They submitted their DNA for the research months ago to learn more...

The ancestral roots of the ten oldest African American families in Fredericksburg, Virginia, were revealed Friday as part of a project created to recognize the city’s Black residents. News4’s Julie Carey reports.

A reminder that slavery is a not-so-distant part of our history: Daniel Smith Sr. was born in 1932 to a 70-year-old father who was once in bondage in Virginia.

A reminder that slavery is a not-so-distant part of our history: Daniel Smith Sr. was born in 1932 to a 70-year-old father who had been in bondage in Virginia. News4’s Derrick Ward reports.

The B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore recently opened a new exhibit about the Underground Railroad. News4’s Shawn Yancy spoke with the museum’s executive director.

The B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore has opened a new exhibit that spotlights the journey enslaved people took on their way to freedom along the city’s physical railroad tracks. The new permanent exhibit is called “The Underground Railroad: Freedom Seekers.” It shares the journey of 27 people who “are documented as having used the B&O Railroad during their journeys”...

Woodlawn Cemetery in Southeast D.C. is overgrown despite its rich history.

Two prominent sorority groups want to rescue 22 acres of Black history they believe are in grave danger. News4’s Molette Green reports.

Many cities claim to have celebrated Memorial Day first, but the true earliest version of the commemoration — organized by Black residents of Charleston, South Carolina — was nearly erased from history.

The first Memorial Day, organized by Black residents of Charleston, South Carolina, was nearly erased from history. In 1865, a group of Black Charlestonians exhumed a mass, unmarked grave filled with the bodies of Union soldiers, and then gave them proper burials. LX News storyteller Jalyn Henderson speaks with David Blight, a historian who uncovered the Memorial Day history —...

Descendants of formerly enslaved residents of Georgetown gathered for the installation of a plaque commemorating a trailblazing Black couple. News4’s Mark Segraves reports on the honor that’s the first of many.

Charles County recently dedicated four new historical markers to African American history in the area: Mount Hope Church, Carroll Farmhouse & Cemetery, Blue Jay Motel, and the Village of Pomonkey. Residents tell News4 why it’s important to preserve these historical stories.

The Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy looked at the continued impact Jackie Robinson has on youth athletic development in the District.

Three-quarters of a century ago, baseball legend Jackie Robinson made history by breaking baseball’s racist color barrier and joining the Brooklyn Dodgers. At the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, Robinson’s legacy lives on. Harry Thomas, head of the Hustle program at the academy says participants, called “scholar athlete,” are reminded of Robinson’s example every day. “One of the big...

Two Silver Spring boys’ curiosity about a boarded-up church has spun into a documentary that dives into local African-American history. News4’s Molette Green reports.

Some young D.C. students are paying tribute to Black history with a creative calendar. News4’s Aimee Cho explains Bunker Hill Elementary School’s unique project.

Teachers have long sought ways to deliver a complete version of U.S. history that engages their young students and includes contributions by people of color

Over roughly 60 years from the 1910s to 1970, 6 million Black Americans packed what they could and took the nearest train, bus, or horse and buggy out of the South. Many were searching for better lives for their families, economic parity, to get away from Jim Crow laws — “everything that was stifling to them in the South,” said…

All year long, NBC4 is profiling local artists, activists and trailblazers making a difference and inspiring change in the African American community. News4’s Jummy Olabanji hosts this special report.