African American History

A weathered white driver’s suit with prominent logos for Goodyear and other companies.
The Black American Racers fought for equity in auto racing
“The recognition of the Smithsonian collecting these artifacts gives us even more motivation to move forward and still try to get the word...
Rosary with metal crucifix and black beads. Circular and rectangular medals are positioned regularly along the chain
Beads of faith: Exploring the diversity of American rosaries in the museum’s collection
Rosaries or prayer beads are an essential part of American material religion, the study of the objects, icons, images, and spaces of...
Graduation cap, gown, rainbow-colored stole, and costume wings in the pattern of Monarch butterfly wings. The top of the cap is decorated with flowers and has a message, "I am one of those people Mexico sent."
Making history happen: Reflecting on DACA and its impact
In 2011, one year after the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act failed to pass through the Senate, members of...
Sepia-toned photo of young African American man in U.S. Marine Corps uniform
Calvin and Clarence Curtis: Montford Point Marines
Like many young men during World War II, Calvin Curtis and his fraternal twin brother, Clarence, were drafted in 1943. They were juniors in...
Conservator sews linen thread along the spine of the Caramelo Deportivo album
Unveiling the Caramelo Deportivo through conservation
In preparation for an exhibition, all objects undergo a thorough assessment of their condition. Conservators determine whether the objects...
Cover of the Caramelo Deportivo baseball card album decorated with illustrations of player and related baseball ephemera
Caramelo Deportivo: A card collection that blurred baseball's color line
Caramelo Deportivo baseball card album after treatment by conservation technician Verónica Mercado Oliveras. The album contains cards of...
Two images. On the left, a small metal badge, decorated with an engraved star and other small line flourishes. The main engraving reads "Niagra, F. C., No. 8, 1861, W. P. P." On the right, an ornamental silver trumpet.
Two objects bring the history of African American firefighting to light
It’s late winter of 2006 and an ornate silver speaking trumpet is on offer at a prestigious New York City auction house. The engraved...
Wagon panels with faded artwork advertising a traveling production of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, leaning against a wall outside a building
Conserving pieces of the history of Uncle Tom's Cabin
During my time at the museum’s object conservation lab, I discovered that a set of painted panels in the museum’s collection had quite a...
Anna Dickinson, seated
Meet Anna Dickinson: Trailblazing orator and political firebrand
On a Saturday evening in January 1864, abolitionist Anna Dickinson stood inside the Hall of Representatives looking out into the U.S. House...
Joan Trumpauer Mulholland
"They called me 'race traitor'": Joan Trumpauer Mulholland's lifetime of resistance
Last year I began working as a stage manager for Join the Student Sit-Ins, an interactive theater program at the museum set in 1960. The...
Street signs in Washington, D.C.
Reflecting on Black Life In Two Pandemics
The writers of the Black Life in Two Pandemics series have examined the deep roots of racial violence in the Midwest and the connections...
Posters in Washington D.C.
COVID-19, police violence, and the historical thread that binds them: Structural racism as a public health issue
IntroductionOur political and legal systems are inextricably intertwined with and fueled by structural racism. This legacy predates the...
“George Floyd,” by Peyton Scott Russell
Art and Uprising: The George Floyd and Anti-Racist Street Art Database
In March 2020, the Urban Art Mapping research team, a small group of faculty and students from the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul,...
Fort Snelling
"Where Two Waters Come Together": The Confluence of Black and Indigenous History at Bdote
Minnesota doesn’t typically come to mind when you think about slavery and the Civil War. It’s also not a place that’s figured into the...
Man carrying a box outside a food distribution center
A Watched Pot Never Boils
With the murder of George Floyd and the ensuing civil unrest, historians, educators, and the general public once again fixated on the “long...
Destruction by fire of Pennsylvania Hall
Many Tulsa Massacres: How the Myth of a Liberal North Erases a Long History of White Violence
"Destruction by fire of Pennsylvania Hall, the new building of the Abolition Society, on the night of the 17th May," courtesy of Library of...
Black Life in Two Pandemics: Histories of Violence
Black Life in Two Pandemics: Histories of Violence
George Floyd’s Memorial Day 2020 killing by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin shook the nation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the...
Room with medical staff and patients in Freedmen's Hospital
Racism is a public health crisis
Racism has been a public health emergency in America for over 400 years. We can call it a crisis or disaster or something else entirely....
John Lewis and Good Trouble
For John Lewis, activism for social change was a communal activity. He believed that people coming together to mentor, protest, and learn...
Chef Lena Richard and others filming a television segment
Chef Lena Richard: Culinary Icon and Activist
Lena Richard was an African American chef who built a culinary empire in New Orleans during the Jim Crow era. She reshaped public...
Newspaper clipping
When Watchmen were Klansmen
Note: While history shouldn’t require a spoiler alert, this blog does contain some minor ones regarding the HBO series Watchmen.“You know...
Anti-Suffrage pendant
Why a social activist opposed woman suffrage
The trouble began soon after well-known social reformer Emily Bissell had finished her remarks at the meeting of the National Association...
How picturing the Boston Massacre matters
Maybe this painting looks familiar. A long row of red-coated soldiers. A cloud of gun smoke engulfing the street. Falling bodies.Detail of...
Pennies and nickels add up to success: Maggie Lena Walker
Maggie Lena Walker was one of the most important Black businesswomen in the nation, and today too few people have heard of her.Maggie Lena...
An illustration of Civil War-era African American troops in the U.S. military posing with the U.S. flag in the background
In 1868, Black suffrage was on the ballot
Every election season in the United States revolves around a set of issues—health care, foreign affairs, the economy. In 1868, at the...
A line of people wait outside the Baltimore branch of the NAACP in 1843
Does an amendment give you the right to vote?
In 2020, the Fifteenth Amendment—the first voting rights amendment added to the U.S. Constitution—celebrates its 150th anniversary. You’ve...
Dollars for Donuts in Monrovia, Liberia
If you were to buy a donut and cup of coffee at the Donut Bar in the Royal Grand Hotel in Monrovia, Liberia, you would more than likely pay...
Square banner for boxer John L. Sullivan showing flags and the phrases “Champion of the world…May the best man win”
A sports star being political, 19th-century style
There has been a lot of debate over the last few years about whether sports should be political. From NFL players taking a knee to a range...
Three political ribbons with red, yellow, and blue colors, all showing illustrations of James Buchanan
The unforgettably forgettable president: A look at Mr. Buchanan
James Buchanan. Do you recognize this name? According to TIME magazine’s “Top 10 Forgettable Presidents,” you probably don’t. Chances are,...
American history must-reads of 2018
These are our most fascinating blog posts of 2018, according to our readers.When FBI agents showed up with a pair of sparkly, red shoesA...
An illustration of an African American soldier
How black Philadelphians fought for soldiers during World War I
Suffering from "shell shock and a general breakdown," Charles Mackall and James Randall arrived in Philadelphia in September 1918 from...
Signed baseball
Satchel Paige: Pitching through history
"How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?" – Satchel PaigeWith a professional baseball career spanning the jazz age to the...
4 music-inspiring objects through the eyes of our Making American Music interns
Musical inspiration abounds in the collections and exhibitions around us. As interns in the Making American Music project, we get to follow...
Photo of album cover featuring Aretha Franklin shown in four reflections with stained glass background
Reflecting on the Queen of Soul's reign in American culture
Today we're reflecting on the life of singer, songwriter, diva, civil rights activist, and cultural icon Aretha Franklin. Over 100 of...
Sheet music cover, 'Get off the track!'
An anti-slavery anthem reimagined for today
Turn right at the Batmobile. Take the elevator behind the John Bull locomotive. If you hit Julia Child's kitchen, you've gone too far. My...
A yellowed page with black text announcing the "Grand Concert in aid of the Russian Jewish Refugees"
How do the arts promote social change?
The arts are "a space where we can give dignity to others while interrogating our own circumstances," Darren Walker, president of the...

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