African American History

Neal V. Loving in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1954

In 1946, a Black Pilot Returned to the Cockpit After a Double Amputation

Neal V. Loving, whose memoir will soon be released by Smithsonian Books, built his own planes, ran a flight school and conducted research for the Air Force

At the Paris World's Fair a powerful display of hand-drawn diagrams (above: Income and expenditure of 150 Negro families in Atlanta, Ga.,U.S. designed by W.E.B. Du Bois and his students) called attention to the unrecognized contributions of Black Americans. The fragile posters are being rotatated in and out of an exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum through May 2023.

How W.E.B. Du Bois Disrupted America’s Dominance at the World’s Fair

With bar graphs and pie charts, the sociologist and his Atlanta students demonstrated Black excellence in the face of widespread discrimination

The Splash Mountain ride at Disneyland in California

Disney’s Controversial Splash Mountain Ride Has Officially Closed

Come 2024, the attraction—inspired by the racist 1946 movie "Song of the South"—will be reimagined as Tiana's Bayou Adventure

Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson at his desk in November 1957

When Lyndon B. Johnson Chose the Middle Ground on Civil Rights—and Disappointed Everyone

Always a dealmaker, then-senator LBJ negotiated with segregationists to pass a bill that cautiously advanced racial equality

Among other items, numerous alligator and crocodile coats once owned by André Leon Talley will go on sale at Christie's later this month.

André Leon Talley’s Caftans and Cufflinks Are Going Up for Auction

In his will, the trailblazing fashion editor left the proceeds to two Black churches

Arthur Duncan performing on "The Lawrence Welk Show"

Arthur Duncan, Talented Tap Dancer Who Broke Barriers, Dies at 97

The pioneering entertainer enjoyed a dazzling career that kept him dancing for decades

The stunning Sydney Modern Project is the modern leg of the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Australia.

The Most Anticipated Museum Openings of 2023

Scheduled to launch this year are new institutions dedicated to punk rock, Amelia Earhart and robots

Drummer boy John Clem (left) and Robert Henry Hendershot, who claimed to be the celebrated "drummer boy of Rappahannock" (right)

Why the Union Army Had So Many Boy Soldiers

A new book unearths the startling numbers behind underage enlistment during the Civil War

At the Natural History Museum, "Cellphone: Unseen Connections" opens June 23; at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City, "Give Me a Sign: The Language of Symbols" goes on view May 13; and "Ay-Ō's Happy Rainbow Hell" is part of the National Museum of Asian Art's centennial exhibitions, opening March 25.

Twenty-Three Smithsonian Shows to See in 2023

A rare Bible, George Clinton's colorful wig, Disney World history and Japanese ghosts debut this year

This Du Bois infographic charted the dramatic growth in the value of property held by Black Georgians between 1875 and 1899.

Why W.E.B. Du Bois Remains Such an Inspiration

A new Smithsonian exhibition invites visitors to use his groundbreaking infographics as a lens into Black history

Three Great Abolitionists: A. Lincoln, F. Douglass, J. Brown, c. 1945. The onetime expressionist saw his stark new style as “not a change but a development.”

William H. Johnson’s Art Was for His People

The painter’s entire “Fighters for Freedom” series is now on view for the first time in more than 75 years

The statue Sons of St. Augustine imagines a warm encounter between Alexander Darnes, a physician, and Edmund Kirby Smith, the Confederate general who had enslaved him.

The Doctor and the Confederate

A historian’s journey into the relationship between Alexander Darnes and Edmund Kirby Smith starts with a surprising eulogy

In November 1955 at Carnegie Hall, Anderson performed Mozart, Schubert, spirituals and more.

How Marian Anderson Took the World by Storm

Her mighty contralto propelled her across color lines

Toni Morrison, the renowned author of powerful novels about the Black experience, taught at Princeton between 1989 and 2006.

Toni Morrison's Rarely Seen Papers Will Go on View at Princeton

The university is planning a months-long series of exhibitions, programs and performances

The 1923 Rosewood massacre resulted in the deaths of six Black people and two white vigilantes.

How History Forgot Rosewood, a Black Town Razed by a White Mob

A century ago, a false accusation sparked the destruction of the Florida community

A photo of Henrietta Lacks in the living room of her grandson, Ron Lacks

Henrietta Lacks' Virginia Hometown Will Build Statue in Her Honor, Replacing Robert E. Lee Monument

Lacks' unique cancer cells were taken without consent and used for medical breakthroughs

Ethel Payne wore this plush, wide-brimmed hat in the early 1960s, during her pioneering civil rights journalism for the Chicago Defender.

Pioneering Journalist Ethel Payne Wasn’t Afraid to Stand Out

Her hats turned heads, but it was her work as a reporter that changed the nation

Workers removing the statue of Ambrose P. Hill from its pedestal in Richmond, Virginia, on December 12

Richmond Removes Its Last City-Owned Confederate Monument

The statue of Ambrose P. Hill had stood at a busy intersection since 1892

Protesters in Beijing hold up white sheets of paper during a November 27 protest against China's strict zero-Covid policy.

A Brief History of Silent Protests

Activists in China are using blank sheets of paper to speak out against the country's draconian zero-Covid policies

Benjamin J. Burton was a trailblazing entrepreneur once thought to be the wealthiest Black businessman in Rhode Island. His killing on October 6, 1885, polarized the Newport community.

A Gilded Age Tale of Murder and Money

The 1885 death of Black entrepreneur Benjamin J. Burton divided the close-knit community of Newport, Rhode Island

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