Robert Shaw's 54th Colored Regiment

The 54^th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment was the first all African American regiment to serve in the United States military. This was all made possible by Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. The regiment came out of Boston, but very few of the ...

Boston Women's Memorial: Phillis Wheatley

Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784) came to America when she was a sickly eight years old. After landing in Boston, John Wheatley bought her as a domestic slave for his wife Susana. John and Susana, then later their children, were all instrumental ...

Boston Women's Memorial: Lucy Stone

Lucy Stone (1818-1893) was an abolitionist and suffragette from a farm in Massachusetts. Even though her family were strong abolitionists, her father did not believe women had or should have equal rights. Initially, he did not support Lucy’s dreams and ...

Elaine Noble

Elaine Noble (1944- ) was the first openly gay person to run for state office and win. She served the Massachusetts State Legislature and represented Boston’s Fenway and Back Bay neighborhoods. She won her first term in 1974 and was ...

BAGLY

The Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth (BAGLY) began in July of 1980 when youth members of the Committee for Gay Youth became frustrated with the adult leadership of the organization. These founders saw the need for ...

Cain and Abel

Did you know that the last execution held in Pensacola occurred at noon on July 30, 1920? The condemned man’s name was Hosea Poole who had been found guilty of brutally murdering his brother.

On a warm summer ...

Blood on the Sidewalk

In the early morning hours of St. Patrick’s Day 1964, a man was found bleeding to death on the sidewalk in front of the Linen Department Store at 127 South Palafox Street. A trail of blood led from a ...

Obscenity

Authorities in Pensacola once strictly enforced anti-obscenity laws in the city, including a prohibition on swearing in public and the sale of any literature deemed indecent. These restrictive laws do not date back to the prudish Victorian Era but ...