33 Little-Known Facts About Black History That You Didn’t Learn In School

Published February 5, 2022
Updated March 12, 2024

From forgotten war heroes to overlooked inventors, dive into some of the most fascinating stories from the annals of Black history.

Throughout American history, Black cowboys have roamed the plains, Black explorers have traveled to unseen lands, and Black women have broken barriers as doctors and activists. Black history is American history. And these 33 Black history facts are just the tip of the iceberg.

In the gallery below, you can explore the stories of some truly remarkable Black Americans. From Bass Reeves, the deputy who fearlessly patrolled the Wild West, to Hazel Scott, the musician who successfully played two pianos at once, these little-known Black history facts shed light on the past like never before.

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33 Little-Known Facts About Black History That You Didn’t Learn In School
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In the Black history facts gallery, you can also learn about Black Americans who turned their backs on racism in the United States and found fame abroad. Eugene Bullard became the first Black American fighter pilot by fighting for the French during World War I. He famously flew with a plane painted with the words "All Blood Runs Red."

Josephine Baker was another Black American who moved to France. There, she thrived as a dancer before she emerged as one of the French Resistance's most important spies during World War II.

But while many of these Black history facts are inspiring, some of them are heartbreaking, such as the tragic statistics that show how common lynching was in the United States during the Jim Crow era — and how many millions of people were stolen from Africa during the transatlantic slave trade.

The gallery above includes facts like these and more. From the lost history of Manhattan's Seneca Village to how Martin Luther King Jr. changed his famous "I Have A Dream" speech at the last moment, discover the most revealing Black history facts that don't show up in most textbooks.


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Episode 57: Doris Miller, From Kitchen Duty To Pearl Harbor Hero
A Black serviceman forced to work in the kitchen, Doris Miller proved to be one of the greatest heroes amid the carnage of Pearl Harbor.

After looking through these little-known Black history facts, read about unsung civil rights leaders who never got their due. Then, check out the forgotten stories of the most fascinating Black cowboys of the Wild West.

author
Kaleena Fraga
author
A senior staff writer for All That's Interesting since 2021 and co-host of the History Uncovered Podcast, Kaleena Fraga graduated with a dual degree in American History and French Language and Literature from Oberlin College. She previously ran the presidential history blog History First, and has had work published in The Washington Post, Gastro Obscura, and elsewhere. She has published more than 1,200 pieces on topics including history and archaeology. She is based in Brooklyn, New York.
editor
John Kuroski
editor
Based in Brooklyn, New York, John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of expertise include modern American history and the ancient Near East. In an editing career spanning 17 years, he previously served as managing editor of Elmore Magazine in New York City for seven years.
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Fraga, Kaleena. "33 Little-Known Facts About Black History That You Didn’t Learn In School." AllThatsInteresting.com, February 5, 2022, https://allthatsinteresting.com/black-history-facts. Accessed July 30, 2025.