Black belt worn by Kayla Harrison during the 2012 London Olympic Games when she became the first American (male or female) to win a gold medal in the sport of judo. Harrison began her judo career at age 6 and quickly rose to the top of the junior level field winning the 2003, 2004 and 2005 Junior US Open. in 2008, she became the third American to win the Junior World Championships and in 2010 only the fourth American to win the Senior World Championship. Harrison went on to become the only American to ever win an Olympic gold medal in judo at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.
The 2012 Summer Olympics, also known as the Games of the XXX Olympiad were held in London, England with 204 countries, 5,992 men and 4,776 women athletes participating. With the inclusion of women’s boxing, these Games became the first with female competitors in every sport and the first at which each country entered, had a female representative. Women’s boxing debuted and mixed doubles in tennis was held for the first time since the 1924 Games. American Michael Phelps won his 22nd medal making him the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time. Every athlete to win a medal at these Games was drug tested and as of 2017, 31 medals had been rescinded due to doping. The United States won the medal count with 104.
The 2016 Summer Olympics, also known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with 207 countries and 11,238 athletes participating. These were the first Olympic Games held entirely in the host country’s winter season and the first to be held in South America. These Games were designed with sustainability in mind and many of the features of the Games were made from recyclable materials. The Refugee Olympic Team entered 10 athletes for competition made up of refugees from the European Migrant crisis. The Zika virus was a factor in competition as many athletes decided to forgo the Games for fear of catching the virus spread through mosquitos. Michael Phelps came out of retirement to compete in the Games and added more medals to his historic count. Katie Ledecky won four gold medals and teammate Simone Manual won two gold and two silver medals becoming the first African American to win an individual swimming gold medal. Simone Biles dominated gymnastics, winning four gold and the women’s team won the all-around competition. The United States won the medal count with 121.
Hot Shots poster of the First Women's International 7 Ball Championship. The credibility professional pool player Billie Billing built for the WPBA eventually led to this tournament with total prize money equalling $25,000, the largest purse in the history of women's billiards. This was televised on ESPN.
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture. She recorded this unconventional time of Anti-War demonstrations in California, communes, Love-Ins, peace marches and concerts, as well as her family life as she became a wife and mother. The photographs were collected by William Yeingst and Shannon Perich in a cross-unit collecting collaboration. Together they selected over two hundred photographs relevant to photographic history, cultural history, domestic life and social history.
Law’s portraiture and concert photographs include Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Lovin Spoonful and Peter, Paul and Mary. She also took several of Janis Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, including the photograph used to create the poster included in the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum’s exhibition 1001 Days and Nights in American Art. Law and other members of the Hog Farm were involved in the logistics of setting up the well-known musical extravaganza, Woodstock. Her photographs include the teepee poles going into the hold of the plane, a few concert scenes and amenities like the kitchen and medical tent. Other photographs include peace rallies and concerts in Haight-Ashbury, Coretta Scott King speaking at an Anti-War protest and portraits of Allen Ginsburg and Timothy Leary. From her life in New Mexico the photographs include yoga sessions with Yogi Bhajan, bus races, parades and other public events. From life on the New Buffalo Commune, there are many pictures of her family and friends taken during meal preparation and eating, farming, building, playing, giving birth and caring for children.
Ms. Law did not realize how important her photographs were while she was taking them. It was not until after she divorced her husband, left the farm for Santa Fe and began a career as a photographer that she realized the depth of history she recorded. Today, she spends her time writing books, showing her photographs in museums all over the United States and making documentaries. In 1990, her video documentary, “Flashing on the Sixties,” won several awards.
A selection of photographs was featured in the exhibition A Visual Journey: Photographs by Lisa Law, 1964–1971, at the National Museum of American History October 1998-April 1999.
photo album with soiled, cream colored leather cover with "Photo Album" on front and a sticker that reads "Holidays 1939-1949'; black paper pages; photographs and postcards, most adhered to page using black photo corners; travel to florida, new york; beach; Belonged to Patricia Anne Cohen, formerly actor Patricia English
light green bound photograph album with black paper pages; "Photographs" printed in dark green on front cover and "Holidays 1954-1955" written on a sticker on front of spine; black and white photographs and postcards from travels around United States, Canada and Europe; four blank pages at end of album; Belonged to Patricia Anne Cohen, formerly actor Patricia English
green bound album with gold writing on front cover and spine that reads "Family Album 1910-1948"; black paper pages; photograph album containing photos of kids, kids with toys, kids on bicycles, families on vacation, kids in a classroom, automobiles; Belonged to Patricia Anne Cohen, formerly actor Patricia English
This Santa Cruz helmet was worn by downhill skateboarder Judi Oyama while racing during the late 1970's and into the 1980s. Oyama began skating as a teen and was sponsored by Santa Cruz Skateboards in the mid-seventies. She skated both vert and street but her passion was slalom and downhill racing where she was one of the few women that raced against the men. At the age of 43 she won the 2003 Slalom World Championships and in 2013 was ranked second in the US and first in the masters division overall. In 2015, Judi became the first woman to win the N-Men Icon Award given to Northern California skaters who have made an impact on the sport. Judi is also the Vice President of Board Rescue which provides skateboards and safety equipment to organizations that work with underprivileged and/or at-risk kids.
photograph album with green, leather cover with gold writing that reads "Family Album 1949-1956" on the front cover and spine; black, paper pages; mostly black and white photographs, some in color; Belonged to Patricia Anne Cohen, formerly actor Patricia English
The Equal Rights Amendment, originally introduced in 1923, is a proposed amendment to the Constitution to guarantee equal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. The Equal Rights Amendment, ERA, was reintroduced in 1971, and approved by the House in 1971, and the Senate in 1972. The original deadline for ratification was March 1979. The Susan B. Anthony dollar coin was minted between 1979-1981.
Advertisment for the Submarine Bathing Cap endorsed by Mille Gade Corson, the first mother to swim the English Channel. The advertisement is a blue and white photograph of Corson finishing her historic English Channel swim wearing the bathing cap. Mille Gade Corson, the second woman to swim the English Channel, three weeks after Gertrude Ederle's record breaking Channel swim emigrated to the United States from Denmark in 1919 and became a Life Saving Instructor and Lifeguard at the Harlem branch of the YWCA. In 1921 she became the second woman to swim around Manhattan Island and attempted to swim the English Channel in 1923 but was forced to abandon the effort 2 miles from the French coast. After her successful 1926 swim Corson returned to the US to many accolades and performed on the vaudeville circuit as the first mother to swim the English Channel.