But the truth is somewhat different. Blacks were exploring what became the southwest United States at the beginning of the sixteenth-century. In the eighteenth-century they were fighting the British to secure freedom for the colonies. In the nineteenth-century, Americans of African descent sailed the most treacherous waters of the world in search of whales, drove cattle by the tens of thousands from Texas to Kansas up the famous Chisolm Trail, searched for gold in Alaska and for beaver pelts in the streams and mountains of the west. They stole war ships from the Confederate navy and delivered them to Union forces, fought Americans for the Mexicans and then Mexicans for the Americans. They won with Teddy Roosevelt at San Juan Hill and died with Custer at Little Big Horn. They were among the first managers of a national park and interpreters and scouts for the U.S Army. A black man was with Admiral Peary when he journeyed to the North Pole and another was with Lewis and Clarke when they journeyed to the northwest.

In America, and probably much of the rest of the world, these exploits stir our imagination, and the men and women who participated have become our heroes. And while some men went on adventures for the adventure itself, for many, and certainly for most Americans of African descent, the drive was to live a life more free from discrimination then what they found in 'civilized' society.

Here are some of their stories.

James P. Beckwourth, Black Mountain Man

Steven Bonga, Fur Trader of the Great Lakes