Historical Flashback: Enslavement life in Tuskegee, Alabama before the existence of the famous Tuskegee University

Historical Flashback: Enslavement life in Tuskegee, Alabama before the existence of the famous Tuskegee University

Tuskegee, Alabama has played a major role in the history of the state of Alabama and in the history of the United States. Tuskegee is located in central Alabama, approximately 40 miles east of Montgomery, 21 miles west of Auburn and 127 miles west of Atlanta. Tuskegee is the county seat of Macon County. The City of Tuskegee is home to the famous Tuskegee University (formerly named Tuskegee Institute).

At the time of Tuskegee’s founding the region was populated by Native Americans of the Creek Nation. The location of Tuskegee on a former Native American trading trail. White European settlers forcibly removed the Creek from Alabama in 1836. The city was officially incorporated in 1843. It is said that Tuskegee is named after a Creek leader named Taskigi.

In 1881, Lewis Adams, a formerly enslaved African and entrepreneur, founded Tuskegee University along with educator Dr. Booker T. Washington the founding president. Booker T. Washington would later grow Tuskegee to national prominence.

During World War II, Tuskegee became home of the Tuskegee Airmen, who trained at Tuskegee Institute, Moton Field and the Tuskegee Army Air Field (a major Army Air Forces installation for African Americans).

Below are a few historical newspaper articles showing how the press displayed life for African Americans within Tuskegee, Macon County and the United States. These articles depict factual conditions of enslaved Africans in the United States of America. It is important to never forget, to never stop telling and sharing the stories of the African American saga in America and the world.

1838

1849

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1859

Tuskegee University campus and the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System Tuskegee-East Campus

Historical Flashback: The power of Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University)
https://dilemma-x.net/2016/03/28/historical-flashback-the-power-of-tuskegee-institute/

Reparations: Martin Luther King Jr. , Barack Obama and America’s apology
https://dilemma-x.net/2013/01/20/2013-barack-obamas-2nd-term-inauguration-martin-luther-king-jr-and-reparations/

H.R.40 – Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act
https://dilemma-x.net/2017/02/07/h-r-40-commission-to-study-and-develop-reparation-proposals-for-african-americans-act/

Remembering Yesteryear: American carnivals once held “Hit The Nigger Baby”
https://dilemma-x.net/2015/02/07/remembering-yesteryear-american-carnivals-once-held-hit-the-nigger-baby/

Religion of former enslaved Africans after slavery ended in the United States
https://dilemma-x.net/2015/02/17/religion-of-former-enslaved-africans-after-slavery-ended-in-the-united-states/

This is how “Historically Black Colleges and Universities” (HBCUs) became the “branding”
https://dilemma-x.net/2015/03/09/this-is-how-historical-black-colleges-and-universities-hbcus-became-the-branding/