Buzzfeed News has compiled an amazing collection of pictures for Black History Month that speak to the struggles, oppression and triumphs of Black people in America. The photos range from an era when Blacks were sold as chattel to the present day when a half-Black man was elected President of the United States.
The collection of historical photographs includes a double portrait of Albro Lyons Sr. and Mary Joseph Lyons from the 19th century (above). The Lyonses owned and operated a home for black seamen, which also served as a station on the Underground Railroad, according to Buzzfeed News. Albro Lyons and his family were attacked and forced to flee New York City due to racially motivated violence during the Draft Riots prior to the start of the American Civil War.
An image from 1911 shows the resplendent Madam C.J. Walker posing with her equally glamorous friends in her new car. Madam C.J. Walker was the first Black woman to become a self-made millionaire in the United States.
Other photos show a young Harriet Tubman posing with a group of former slaves she helped to escape from the South in the 19th century.
There’s also a photo of famed educator and reformer Booker T. Washington speaking to an awed crowd at the dedication of a cotton seed mill in Mississippi in 1899.
Visit Buzzfeed News to view the powerful collection of Black History photos, as we continue to celebrate our Black History Month.
Photos by Smith Collection / Getty Images
