✊🏾 BHM 2026 Notables by QCT | Post #02

 

✊🏾 BHM 2026 Notables by QCT | Post #02
Resistance. Leadership. Legacy. 🗳️🔥📜

Meet two extraordinary freedom fighters who turned resistance into Reconstruction-era leadership:

• James Henry Harris (c.1832–1891)
  • Born enslaved, rose to become an educator & Republican organizer
  • Among the first Black NC state senators (Wake County, 1868)
  • Helped draft NC’s 1868 Constitution, securing Black suffrage 🖋️
  • Defended public schools & civil rights while resisting Klan violence
  • Led as a teacher and principal in Raleigh until his death

• Abraham Harris Galloway (1837–1870)
  • Born enslaved in Smithville, NC; escaped North in 1857
  • Union spy, soldier recruiter, and suffrage advocate 💣
  • Met with Lincoln in 1864 to demand voting rights for Black troops
  • Elected state senator (New Hanover, 1868 & 1870)
  • Championed anti-Klan laws, land rights & women’s equality
  • Passed at age 33—6,000+ mourners filled Wilmington in his honor 🕯️

🎉 Honor their impact this February on the
👉🏾 28^th Annual QCT Charlotte Pilgrimage Tour^sm 2026
🎟️ Tickets & details at: charlottepilgrimagetour.com

#BHM2026 #BlackCharlotte #NCReconstruction #JamesHenryHarris #AbrahamGalloway #QCTHeritage #Trailblazers #FreedmenPolitics #CivilRightsPioneers #BlackHistoryUncovered #CharlotteTours #HiddenHistory #VoteLegacy

📚 Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Harris_(North_Carolina_politician)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Galloway
https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/harris-james-henry
https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/galloway-abraham
https://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2023/12/22/james-h-harris-1832-1891-h-86
https://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2023/12/11/abraham-galloway-1837-1870-d-114