Social and Cultural Events
Robben Island: A Monument to Courage
To visit the brutal prison that held Mandela is haunting, yet inspiring
May 2012 |
By Scott Johnson
Fort Monroe’s Lasting Place in History
Famous for accepting escaped slaves during the Civil War, the Virginia base also has a history that heralds back to Jamestown
July 05, 2011 |
By Andrew Lawler
Juneteenth: Our Other Independence Day
Two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, American slavery came to an end and a celebration of freedom was born
June 16, 2011 |
By Kenneth C. Davis
Ghana’s Monument to Sorrow and Survival
At Cape Coast Castle, visitors walk in the footsteps of African slaves
May 18, 2011 |
By Randy B. Hecht
Fort Sumter: The Civil War Begins
Nearly a century of discord between North and South finally exploded in April 1861 with the bombardment of Fort Sumter
April 2011 |
By Fergus M. Bordewich
Connie Sweeris, Ping-Pong Diplomat
A 1971 table tennis competition between the U.S. and China laid the groundwork for a foreign relations breakthrough
March 21, 2011 |
By Jeff Campagna
Holding on to Gullah Culture
A Smithsonian curator visits a Georgia island to find stories of a shrinking community that has clung to its African traditions
March 2011 |
By Erica R. Hendry
On the Trail of Harriet Tubman
Maryland’s Eastern Shore is home to many historical sites and parks devoted to the heroine of the Underground Railroad
February 02, 2011 |
By Jeanne Maglaty
Harriet Tubman's Amazing Grace
A hymnal owned by the brave leader of the Underground Railroad brings new insights into the life of the American heroine
September 2010 |
By Owen Edwards
The Great Escape From Slavery of Ellen and William Craft
Passing as a white man traveling with his servant, two slaves fled their masters in a thrilling tale of deception and intrigue
June 17, 2010 |
By Marian Smith Holmes
Emmett Till's Casket Goes to the Smithsonian
Simeon Wright recalls the events surrounding his cousin's murder and the importance of having the casket on public display
November 2009 |
By Abby Callard
Digging up the Past at a Richmond Jail
The excavation of a notorious jail recalls Virginia's leading role in the slave trade
March 2009 |
By Abigail Tucker
A Northern Family Confronts Its Slaveholding Past
Filmmaker Katrina Browne discusses her family’s role in American slavery
June 19, 2008 |
By Katy June-Friesen
Inside Cape Town
Tourists are flocking to the city, but a former resident explains how the legacy of apartheid lingers
April 2008 |
By Joshua Hammer
Sea Island Strata
At a former Georgia plantation, archaeologists delve into both the workaday and spiritual lives of slaves.
February 2007 |
By Eric Wills
Interview with Thomas Allen Harris
Director of "Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela"
September 01, 2006 |
By Lucinda Moore
Dirty Little Secret
To see the Revolutionary war through the eyes of slaves is to better understand why so many of them fought for the crown
May 2006 |
By Simon Schama
Profile in Courage
Fifteen years later, a photograph of an anonymous protester facing down a row of tanks in Beijing's Tiananmen Square still inspires astonishment
January 2004 |
By Dana Calvo
Tumult and Transition in "Little America"
Americans created Liberia as a homeland for freed slaves. But a quarter century of civil war over festering ethnic animosities has renewed questions about the U.S. role in the African nation
November 2003 |
By Alan Huffman
Heroes of the Underground Railroad
A groundbreaking chronicle sheds new light on one of the most dramatic chapters in American history
July 2003 |
By Smithsonian magazine
