On this day, the “Exodus of 1879” began, marking the first major migration of Southern Black Americans after Reconstruction. Fleeing political oppression, violence, and economic exploitation in the South, thousands of African Americans—known as “Exodusters”—migrated to Kansas and other parts of the West in search of freedom and opportunity. The movement continued for several years and was led in part by Benjamin “Pap” Singleton, a formerly enslaved man who became a prominent advocate for Black land ownership and self-determination.
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