The Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum, in partnership with Lincoln Library, will present “They Fought Too: Black Revolutionaries,” a public history program featuring historian and speaker Laura Keyes, on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, at 5:30 p.m.

From the very beginning of European colonization in North America to the final shots of the Revolutionary War, African Americans built pathways for American independence. Erased from so many history books, the daily lives, the stories, the loves and losses of enslaved Africans are a part of this country's patchwork quilt.

Now, hear the stories of soldiers, writers, spies, sailors, scientists, and common everyday people, who found themselves in amazing circumstances.