Founded in 1837, the Baltimore Sun published numerous articles characterizing local, national, and international events relating to and impacting people of color. Beginning with the year 1870, Mrs. Pagan has scoured the newspaper for all such accounts and summarized their contents through 1927, amounting to some 800 entries. To quote the historian Donna T. Hollie, who wrote the Foreword, "The author has selected articles for this publication which provide an expansive overview of experiences chronicling the African diaspora. For example, the reader will earn of the evolution of 'Jim Crow' regarding housing and interstate travel." Mrs. Pagan has also included references to marriage license applications and obituaries, the latter sometimes providing details about the decedent's family and organizational connections.