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Reckoning with Remembrance: History, Injustice, and the Murder of Emmett Till

On view September 3–November 2, and online

¡Pleibol!

In the Barrios and the Big Leagues
En los barrios y las grandes ligas

American Democracy

A Great Leap of Faith

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(It's complicated)

See our new exhibition

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American History on Instagram

  • Today, we join in remembering General Colin Powell, who devoted more than 50 years of his life to public service. This uniform was worn by Powell during Operations Desert Shield and Storm. Powell was the first African American and the youngest person to chair the Joint Chiefs of Staff, from 1989 to 1993. Powell entered the U.S. Army in 1958 as a commissioned officer and served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War. In the 1970s he held a White House fellowship and attended the National War College. In 1979 he was promoted to Brigadier General and served as the military assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense until 1981. In 1981 he assumed command of the 4th Infantry Division. From 1983 to 1986 Powell was military assistant to the Secretary of Defense. In 1986 he served as Commander of the V Corps in Western Europe, and the next year, was named Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. The following year, Powell became President Ronald Reagan’s National Security Advisor. In 1989 Powell became a four-star General and was named Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the youngest officer and first African American to hold the position. He had an important role in planning the American invasion of Panama in late 1989. He would further oversee the nation’s involvement in the Middle East with Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and later Operation Restore Hope before retiring from the army in 1993. Powell was appointed Secretary of State by President George W. Bush in 2001, becoming the first African American to hold the post. #AmericanHistory #History #AfricanAmericanHistory #MilitaryHistory
  • Made with organza and tulle, this pink quinceañera gown helps us explore the history of the fiesta de quince años, or quince años. Every year, tens of thousands of Latina/o youth nationwide celebrate their 15th birthday with a quince años—a celebration marking the transition to adulthood. For Natalia Flores, the young woman who wore this gown, the quinceañera was both a religious ceremony and an important new chapter in her family's story. To Flores, the dress' embroidered stems and flowers symbolized reaching out to the future while preserving roots to a traditional past. #HispanicHeritageMonth #HispanicHeritage #HHM #AmericanHistory #LatinoHeritage #LatinxHistory #LatinaHistory #Girlhood #GirlhoodHistory #YouthHistory #TeenHistory #Quinceanera #Dress #Fashion #OOTD #BecauseOfHerStory
  • Last year, this badge was discovered buried in the ground in Charleston, South Carolina. Though small, it's now helping our experts uncover a huge story: the histories of Black firefighters. Before the Civil War, even as African Americans were often excluded from the ranks of firefighting companies in Northern cities, some Southern cities such as Charleston relied on Black firefighters. As our curator explains, beginning in the early 1800s, 'African Americans, both enslaved and free, organized around auxiliary pumpers, called 'ward engines,’ meant to support white volunteer companies at fires. These ward engine companies were under the authority of white officers, but the men were issued badges and eventually uniforms and enjoyed some level of community status. They were even paid for their time assisting at a fire, though at a lower rate than their white counterparts, and enslaved men would likely have been expected to turn over their earnings.' During the Civil War, Charleston struggled to maintain the ranks of its fire companies. Some of the free Black men who had served on ward engines decided to step in to fill the gap. In November, 1861, one group formed the Niagara Fire Company No. 8, an independent African American volunteer fire company. Their motto: “Ever Ready.” Others followed their example. When Charleston surrendered to U.S. forces in 1865, there were around 10 fire companies that marched along with Black military regiments in a celebratory parade. Our curator believes that this badge belonged to William P. Perry, a local bricklayer who was just 17 years old when he decided to join the Niagara Fire Company. (Can you spot his initials, 'W. P. P.' on the badge?). Around 160 years after it was engraved, Perry's badge was discovered at a work site in the city, near where the company’s firehouse once stood. Follow the link in our bio today to learn more about this new object in our collection, as well as the larger history of Black firefighters in the early United States: s.si.edu/african-american-firefighting #History #AmericanHistory #AfricanAmericanHistory #BlackHistory #YouthHistory #SouthCarolinaHistory #Firefighter #FirePreventionWeek
  • In the 1980s, Smithsonian conservators carefully attached small pieces of tissue to a group of newly-collected wagon panels. This technique, called 'facing,' is a common conservation practice. The tissues ensured that the wagon's fragile painted surface would stay in place, even as the panels were moved from a barn to secure storage at our museum. Over the past year, our conservators have worked to carefully remove this protective layer and prepare the panels for a future exhibition. Their efforts have revealed many of these objects' details, including a painted scene from the classic novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin. Though the paint has faded since the wagon was in use a century ago as part of a traveling show, one can still see a depiction of one of the novel’s dramatic scenes: Eliza Harris and her son Harry fleeing across the frozen Ohio River, running towards freedom. Swipe above to take a closer look at our conservators' work, as well as an 1850s lithograph that depicts that same scene from Uncle Tom's Cabin. Follow the link in our bio today to learn more about this conservation project, as well as the ways in which these panels illuminate a complicated chapter in entertainment history: s.si.edu/3o2NPVY #History #AmericanHistory #EntertainmentHistory #Conservation #ObjectConservation MuseTech

Follow @amhistorymuseum on Instagram.

Our Mission

Empowering people to create a just and compassionate future by exploring, preserving, and sharing the complexity of our past.

Exhibitions

Exhibitions on a range of topics offer firsthand experiences with treasures of American history.

Collections

We collect artifacts of all kinds—from gowns to locomotives—to preserve an enduring record of our past for the American people.

News and Events

Visit the Museum

The museum is open Friday–Tuesday, 10:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m. All visitors ages two and older are required to wear a face covering. Follow the link to plan your visit.

Beer Histories, Now

Americans have been brewing, enjoying, and thinking about beer for generations. Join a conversation with several individuals who are working in innovative ways to share the stories and histories of beer. October 22, 7 p.m. Tickets required.

Smithsonian Commemorates Sept. 11 20th Anniversary as an Evolving Legacy

The anniversary web portal includes a story-gathering web tool, links to three virtual panel discussions, and a website featuring artifacts and photos from the museum’s collection.

Smithsonian’s Annual Youth Summit Connects Students Across the Country To Engage in Conversations About Gender Equity

Smithsonian To Display Emmett Till Historical Marker

See full events calendar
See more news items

From Our Blog

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 by conservators. That was the case for Caramelo Deportivo, a 15-page album on newsprint paper bound with staples in 1940s Havana, Cuba.
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 is a beautiful album of baseball cards featuring 100 players from Cuba’s four professional teams—Habana, Marianao, Cienfuegos, and Almendares—in the 1945–46 Cuban professional winter league.
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

Two objects, a valued heirloom and a forgotten metal pin, tell very different stories of African American communities and their connections to firefighting in the 1800s, one in the North and the other in the South.
Read more stories from our blog

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