Discover how African Americans have contributed to the U.S. economy, despite historical inequalities. Explore the impact of ...

How did the idea of sharecropping originate? Ed Ayers: After [freedmen] begin to get that one crop in the ground, they can tell, they're going to have to work something on a more stable basis.

Her story began many decades before and thousands of miles away from that sharecropping homestead. Originally named Abake – “born to be loved by all” – the girl later renamed Matilda by ...