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Author and scholar Carter G. Woodson established the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915. The son of former slaves, Woodson created the first Negro History Week in 1926 to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Fifty years later, the association designated the first Black History Month.

In honor of this year's celebration, explore the story behind the first black opera in Washington, DC. and discover a new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery featuring 100 photographs of African-American activists, artists, scientists, authors, musicians and athletes. Tune into Freedom Songs Radio, and learn about Black History Month celebrations at the Smithsonian and the around the country.

Mob attacks bus

The Freedom Riders, Then and Now

Fighting racial segregation in the South, these activists were beaten and arrested. Where are they now, nearly fifty years later?
By Marian Smith Holmes

African American opera company

Lifting their Voices

Paying tribute to America's first black opera
By Marian Smith Holmes

Sarah Vaughan topped jazz polls in the 1950s

Portraits of Resistance

The inaugural show of the National Museum of African American History and Culture
By Lucinda Moore

Celebrating Resistance

The curator of a portrait exhibition discusses how African Americans used photography to resist stereotypes
By Lucinda Moore

EXPLORE MORE SMITHSONIAN COVERAGE OF BLACK HISTORY HERITAGE

The African American DNA Roots Project
  • Family Ties
    African Americans use scientific advances to trace their roots
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Dream Assignment
    Photographer Bob Adelman's picture of Martin Luther King, Jr., taken 40 years ago, captures one of the greatest speeches in American history
"All I know is that the museum
  • Fabric of Their Lives
    There's a new exhibition of works by the quilters of Gee's Bend, Alabama, whose lives have been transformed by worldwide acclaim for their artistry.
Black Woodstock
  • Black Woodstock
    Harlem 1969: Jesse Jackson, Nina Simone, B.B. King and 100,000 spectators gather for a concert worth remembering

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    Calendar of Events

    Bayou Classic Greek Show, Kappa Alpha Psi, 2003

    At the Smithsonian

    Celebrate Black History Heritage Month with the Smithsonian Institution
    Church members celebrate the release of the arrested boycott leaders, February 1956.

    Around the Country

    Learn about Black History Heritage Month celebrations in your state

    Photo Gallery

    Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits

    October 19, 2007 through March 2, 2008 at the National Portrait Gallery

    Sounds of America

    Freedom Songs of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement

    Listen to our new streaming music program, "Sounds of America." To celebrate Black History Month, we're featuring freedom songs from the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s