Revival History

This is a self-portrait of ANA MENDIETA (1948–1985), an influential Cuban-born artist affiliated with 1970s ecofeminism. She died on this day in suspicious circumstances in 1985.  Ana's teenage years were spent in constant upheaval after she was forced to leave Havana at 12 years old. Ana and her sister were two of 14,000 children who migrated from Cuba to the USA through 'Operation Peter Pan' due to fears that children were at risk of being separated from parents under Fidel Castro’s rule. Ana and her sister arrived in a refugee camp, moving between foster homes and orphanages until finally being reunited with their parents and brother. Her father, Ignacio, had spent 18 years in prison for his role in the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Ana discovered a love of art which she pursued at college (though she faced discrimination). Her work centered upon identity politics, violence against women (seen in her work ‘Rape Scene’ from 1973), but also Afro-Cuban cultural, religious, and arti...

Calvin Smith: The Wealthy American Planter Who Ran a Slave Breeding Farm for Producing Only Biracial Children Calvin Smith was a wealthy American planter in the antebellum South who operated a notorious slave breeding farm. His plantation was infamous for its focus on breeding biracial children, or mulattoes, who were often sold at higher prices than their Black counterparts. Slave breeding involved the forced reproduction of enslaved people to increase the number of slaves available for labor or sale. This practice became particularly popular after the importation of Africans into the US was abolished in 1808. With the external supply of Africans cut off, plantation owners turned to internal methods to sustain and grow their enslaved workforce. Breeding farms, like Calvin Smith’s, were established to maximize the number of enslaved children born, often through coercive and violent means. As Frederick Douglass noted in his 1892 work, The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, and as oth...

"The mistress's husband was impotent... An Angolan slave changed everything and made her orgasm... The year was 1849, and on a farm in the Paraíba Valley, something happened that no one could have imagined. A 48-year-old woman, married for three decades to one of the most powerful people in the region, was about to commit the most forbidden and dangerous act that that slave-owning society could witness. What happened in the following months culminated in two brutal deaths. A betrayal that shook the foundations of that property and a secret that was buried along with the bodies. But the dead do not remain silent forever. And this story needs to be told exactly as it happened, without filters, without softening, because the truth is always more shocking than any fiction. Dona Eulália Mendes de Albuquerque, that was her name, 48 years old, brown hair punctuated by white strands that she hid under lace imported from Paris. Her skin still retained its brightness, despite the relent...

"On the morning of March 16, 1860, five warriors watched a camp in what would one day become Arizona. Inside a tent, a 23-year-old woman named Larcena was trying to sleep off a fever. By nightfall, she would be left for dead — bleeding, stripped of her clothes, and thrown down a ravine. What happened next, no one could have predicted. Larcena Pennington had already survived more than most people twice her age. Born in Nashville in 1837, she lost her mother young and spent her childhood helping raise ten younger siblings while her father kept moving the family west — Texas first, then toward California. In 1857, they joined a wagon train headed for the goldfields. They made it as far as southern New Mexico Territory — land that would one day become Arizona — before Larcena collapsed with mountain fever, too ill to travel another mile. The family stopped. And then, slowly, they put down roots. The Penningtons became the first American family to settle in what is now Arizona, farming...

He was a man already sentenced to die—his fate sealed, the electric chair waiting. But then, an unusual proposal came. A scientist approached him with an alternative: instead of a violent execution, he could take part in a psychological experiment that promised a peaceful death. The method sounded simple—almost harmless. A small incision on the wrist. A bowl placed beneath the arm. And the quiet sound of liquid dripping. Desperate to avoid the terror of the chair, the prisoner agreed. He was strapped to a stretcher. His eyes were covered so he could not see. A shallow cut was made—just enough to feel pain—but the real trick was hidden. The bowl beneath him wasn’t collecting blood. Nearby, a concealed bottle slowly released fluid drop by drop, mimicking the sound of his life draining away. The prisoner believed the illusion completely. As the drip continued, his skin grew pale. His breathing became shallow. His heart raced in panic. He felt himself dying because his mind accepted that ...

During the Second World War, a young boy was once seen carrying the lifeless body of his younger brother on his back. It was believed that the war had already taken the lives of their parents and every other member of their family. The little boy, now left completely alone, carried his brother in search of a place where he could give him a proper burial. Along the way, he encountered a group of soldiers. One of them, moved by pity, advised the boy to put the body down so he could move faster and lighten his burden. The child looked directly into the soldier’s eyes and replied: “He is not heavy… he is my brother.” Those few words reportedly brought tears to the eyes of the soldiers. It leaves one profound question: How do we treat the people around us when life becomes unbearable? Do we abandon them so we can carry our burdens more comfortably? That heartbreaking moment became the last recorded sighting of the boy. No one truly knows whether he survived the war. Yet, in another sense, h...

BEAR THE BURDEN OF OTHERS “Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” — Galatians 6:2 (KJV) In Japan, during the war, a little boy was seen carrying the body of his younger brother on his back. He planned to bury him when the opportunity came. A soldier noticed the boy and said to him, “Put him down so you can run more easily.” The little boy replied, “He’s not heavy… he’s my brother.” When the soldier heard those words, he burst into tears. Since then, this story and image have become a symbol of unity, love, and sacrifice in Japan. Let this inspire us in our daily lives. “He’s not heavy… he’s my brother.” “She’s not heavy… she’s my sister.” If your brother falls, lift him up. If he is tired, carry him. If he makes mistakes, forgive him and patiently bear with his weaknesses. And if the world turns its back on him, place him on your shoulders and help him through life, because he is not a burden. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one ano...

On a fateful day, I was walking along the road when I met a man and a woman in a heated argument over who enjoys sex more. The man claimed women do, while the woman argued it is men. Unable to agree, they decided to put it to the test. The woman agreed to volunteer for the experiment under one condition: each person must place 50,000 naira on the table as a reward. The money was set, and they all went to the woman's house, completely unaware that she was actually a married woman. As they were in the act, the unexpected happened... Here is the continuation of your story: ...They arrived at her house, completely unaware that her husband had returned home early from his trip. The bedroom door suddenly flung open, revealing her husband standing there with absolute fury in his eyes. The two strangers scrambled for their clothes, diving out the window to escape, while the wife was left to face the wrath of her enraged spouse. Ultimately, that 100,000 naira bet cost her the marriage, pro...

Here’s a polished and emotional rewrite suitable for you 💔 HIS BROTHER’S KEEPER 💔 This haunting photograph was taken in Nagasaki, Japan, shortly after the atomic bombing in 1945. It captures a young boy carrying the lifeless body of his little brother on his back as he waits at a cremation site on the outskirts of the destroyed city. The image was documented by photographer Joe O’Donnell, who later described the heartbreaking moment: “I saw a boy, about ten years old, walking past. He carried a small child on his back. In Japan, children often carried their younger siblings, but this boy was different. He wasn’t playing. He came with a purpose. He stood there silently for several minutes. His face was tense, his feet bare, and the little boy on his back looked as though he was asleep. Then workers approached and gently untied the child from his back. That was when I realized the little brother was already dead. The older boy stood motionless as the body was placed onto the fire. He b...

1890s Woman Carrying Charcoal A very cheerful Japanese working woman, with one of her breasts exposed, is carrying three huge packs of charcoal on what appears to be a country road. During the summer, women in the countryside often had much of their body exposed when they worked. Many men wore only a loincloth. Even in the city. This was especially the case for laborers and poor farmers. Prudish Western visitors, used to Victorian morality, generally were greatly shocked by all this nudity and frequently wrote about it in their diaries and letters. Nineteenth-century English travel-writer Isabella Lucy Bird (1831-1904), who in 1887 (Meiji 20) travelled deep into Japan’s heartland, described in her book  Unbeaten Tracks  her surprise upon seeing the scarce clothing of the people1: I write the truth as I see it, and if my accounts conflict with those of tourists who write of the Tokaido and Nakasendo, of Lake Biwa and Hakone, it does not follow that either i...

She Was Deemed Unmarriageable—So Her Father Gave Her to the Strongest Slave, Virginia 1856 "They said I'd never marry. 12 men in four years looked at my wheelchair and walked away. But what happened next shocked everyone, including me. My name is Elellanar Whitmore, and this is the story of how I went from rejected by society to finding a love so powerful it would change history itself. Virginia, 1856. I was 22 years old and considered damaged goods. My legs had been useless since I was 8. A riding accident that shattered my spine and trapped me in this mahogany wheelchair my father commissioned. But here's what nobody understood. It wasn't the wheelchair that made me unmarriageable. It was what it represented. A burden. A woman who couldn't stand beside her husband at parties. Someone who supposedly couldn't bear children, couldn't manage a household, couldn't fulfill any duty expected of a southern wife. 12 proposals my father arranged. 12 rejections,...

53x farms during slavery & the effeminization of Black Men Did you know that during slavery the slave holders would buy male slaves to engage in forced homosexual sex acts…….? These male slaves were purchase based entirely on the prerequisite of them possessing a large penis. Black men were routinely raped by their gay slave owners.…… The process was known as “breaking the buck.”…… 💜🖤 It involves a strapping Negro slave, who was defiant, was beaten with a whip till bloody in front of his entire slave congregation. The slave owner would cut down a tree and, with the help of the overseer, would then pummel the deviant “buck” into submission. Once the slave was worn down, the master had the other Negro slaves force him over the tree stump where his britches would be removed and he laid fully exposed buttocks, he would remove his own clothing and proceeded to savagely sodomize the buck in front his wife, family, friends, and children……. “Homosexuality” & Slavery: The History of B...

I was shocked to discover that there are people who actually believe there was a person called Yakub (left) who created White people. You heard me right, created White people by breeding them with dogs or something.  Then I asked myself this sounds like Dr Frankenstein giant story of him creating a Human monster. This Yakub story has similarities with Dr Frankenstein story and Jewish folklore of creating a Golem.  Let us look at something here. Yakub creates White people and takes them to the Caucasus mountains and leaves them there. They leave the mountains, come down and find Black people, whom they invade, enslave, steal their lands and kill them. So this Black man Yakub, is the reason we have been enslaved for 400 years, the Transatlantic Slave Trade to America and the colonisation of Africa. Black man seriously you want to believe this myth perpetuated by the Black Religious group called the Nation of Islam? And look at his forehead, he looks like an Alien to me

“There Is No Such Thing as a ‘Black American’… Only Africans Who Survived Kidnapping.” The phrase sounds simple. But it carries centuries of pain. “There is nothing like a Black American. There are only Black people who were kidnapped from the shores of Africa and taken to America.” Behind that statement is one of the largest forced migrations in human history. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, an estimated 12–12.5 million Africans were violently taken from their homes and shipped across the Atlantic in what history calls the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Entire communities were raided. Families were torn apart. Languages, names, and identities were stripped away. When those Africans arrived in the Americas, they were not seen as people. They were turned into property. Over generations, something extraordinary happened. Despite brutality, despite laws designed to erase them, those Africans built new cultures. They blended memories of Africa with the harsh reality of the Americas. From ...

The Stomach-Churning Events on Slave Breeding Farms When the sun rose on the plantations, the enslaved persons of America woke on dirt floors with only hard labor till sunset ahead of them. One figure lauded over them, watching their every move – the overseer. A haunting figure that could be cold indifferent professional, or a loose cannon of cruelty and wanton violence. For slaves in the antebellum, the hostile and unpredictable was everyday.  Any slave could be favored by the master, set against the rest to watch over them as driver – leaving any and all trust a broken dream. In a cruel and costly turn of fate, just as the European western world turned its back on the slave trade, America would double down. When the shores of Africa were outlawed as a slave market, America protected its slave stock by creating its own internal market by breeding slaves. What lay ahead for the enslaved people of America holds shame history can barely look at; stolen autonomy, bodies, children, you...

In 1781, one of the most chilling events of the transatlantic slave trade took place aboard a British slave ship known as the Zong. The ship left West Africa carrying more than 440 enslaved Africans—far beyond what it could safely hold. Overcrowding was not an accident. It was part of a system designed to maximize profit, where human beings were treated as cargo rather than lives. As the voyage continued across the Atlantic, conditions quickly deteriorated. Disease spread, food and clean water became scarce, and a series of navigational errors made matters worse. The ship missed key waypoints, extending the journey and putting everyone on board at greater risk. Then came a decision that would define the ship’s legacy. Faced with shortages and fearing financial loss, the captain ordered that enslaved Africans be thrown overboard. Not as an act of survival—but so the ship’s owners could later claim insurance compensation for “lost cargo.” Over the course of several days, more than 130 Af...

🤰 Intimacy During Pregnancy: Comfort & Safety Come First Pregnancy doesn’t mean the end of intimacy—but your body is changing, and comfort matters more than ever. There’s no single “right” position—what works depends on your body, your stage of pregnancy, and your medical history ❤️ 🔹 Key Structures • Uterus – expands as baby grows • Placenta – supplies oxygen and nutrients • Pelvic muscles – may feel increased pressure • Cardiovascular system – adapts to support both mother and baby 🔹 What Matters Most • Choose positions that feel comfortable and supported • Avoid pressure on the abdomen, especially in later pregnancy • Side-lying or woman-on-top positions may feel better as the bump grows • Communicate openly with your partner 🔹 Important Facts • Sex is generally safe in uncomplicated pregnancies • It does NOT reduce oxygen supply to the baby—your baby is well protected by the uterus, placenta, and amniotic fluid • Mild cramping after orgasm can happen and is usually normal ...

this visual beautifully represents fetal growth through different weeks. From the very first heartbeat to the final moments before meeting your little one, every stage of pregnancy tells a powerful story of growth, resilience, and love. 💛 This beautifully designed pregnancy calendar walks you through the incredible 9-month journey—month by month—highlighting how a tiny cluster of cells transforms into a fully developed baby. From those early microscopic beginnings to the magical first kicks, and finally to the moment your baby is ready to enter the world, every phase is a reminder of how extraordinary the human body truly is. For expecting parents, especially in today’s fast-paced world, having a clear, simple guide like this brings reassurance and connection. Whether you're tracking milestones, preparing your home, or simply soaking in the joy of anticipation, this visual timeline helps you stay informed and emotionally connected throughout the journey. No matter where you are—wh...