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National Museum of American History

This black metal suitcase belonged to Iku Tsuchiya. It went with her to Tanforan Assembly Center, then to the Topaz camp, and back home to San Leandro, California. (NMAH)

What Happened to Japanese American Houses During Incarceration?

As the federal government evicted and incarcerated Japanese American citizens living in the western United States, their homes were neglected, ransacked, and looted

While held at the Poston camp in Arizona, Yasu Takei made this one-thousand-stitch sash to bestow good luck and protection to her son Jim Kuichi Takei, who was fighting with the 442nd in Europe. (NMAH)

Memories of Japanese Incarceration Camps Remind Us That Our Freedoms Are Fragile

Seventy-nine years ago, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066. For years afterward, people like my grandmother were forced to live behind barbed wire, under the gaze of armed guards.

The all-star team from Gila River (Arizona) that played at Heart Mountain (Wyoming). Tetsuo Furukawa is in the top row, fourth from the right. (NMAH)

Baseball Behind Barbed Wire

Prisoners in WWII Japanese incarceration camps were still American, and took part in baseball, the great American pastime

Norman Granz and Ella Fitzgerald at a microphone, 1950. (Ella Fitzerald Papers, NMAH Archives Center)

How Norman Granz Revolutionized Jazz for Social Justice

Granz fought Jim Crow America, identifying the potential of jazz music to combat racial inequality.

This 1989 custom-made guitar was designed by Prince and constructed by a small company, Knut-Koupee Enterprises, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (NMAH)

Five of the Most Intriguing Electric Guitars at the National Museum of American History

Celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month this April with a look at five of the most exciting electric guitars at the National Museum of American History.

Photograph for a Coca-Cola ad featuring Selena, 1994. Photo by Al Rendon. (NMAH)

How Do We Remember Selena?

Three women on the National Museum of American History staff share their personal connections with Selena and discuss why her legacy matters not just to them but to many Americans.

Rendon working on a photoshoot with Selena, 1994. Photo courtesy of Rick Tolar. (NMAH)

How an Advertising Photographer Created Some of the Most Iconic Images of Selena

Who wouldn't want to share a Coke with Selena?

How Do the Arts Promote Social Change?

The long tradition of Americans using the arts to move people to support all manner of philanthropic endeavors has shaped American society by advancing causes while also shaping American culture by fostering appreciation for the arts.

Lena Richard (Image courtesy of Newcomb Archives and Vorhoff Library Special Collections, Newcomb College Institute, Tulane University)

How Chef Lena Richard Became a Culinary Icon and Activist

Lena Richard was an African American chef who built a culinary empire in New Orleans during the Jim Crow era.

Portrait of Jessica Govea. Courtesy of the Govea Family. (NMAH)

How One Girl Helped Build a Latinx Civil Rights Movement

Jessica Govea organized and advocated on behalf of farmworkers.

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