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National Museum of American History

Luisa Moreno stands on a balcony in Mexico City, 1927 (NMAH)

The Case of Luisa Moreno

Luisa Moreno not only organized workers in the fields and canneries, she was also a vocal advocate for Latino/a civil rights, becoming a principal leader of El Congreso de Pueblos de Habla Española (the Spanish-Speaking People’s Congress)

Hopper and a colleague examine a sequence mechanism (NMAH)

Grace Under Pressure

Grace Hopper was an American computer scientist and mathematician and United States Navy rear admiral. One of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I computer, she was a pioneer of computer programming.

During World War I, Black soldiers served in segregated units. (Scurlock Studio Records, NMAH Archives Center)

How Black Philadelphians Fought for Soldiers During World War I

Since the colonial era, in times of peace and war, the African American experience of inequality included being denied medical treatment equal to that received by white peers. Unequal treatment continued during World War I. Not even the era's increasing humanitarian efforts were immune to inequality. Groups like the Crispus Attucks Circle for War Relief, founded by Black Philadelphians, worked to help members of their own communities.

Many contemporaries argued that Black men had more than earned the right to vote through their military service in the Civil War. (NMAH)

In 1868, Black Suffrage Was on the Ballot

Every election season in the United States revolves around a set of issues—health care, foreign affairs, the economy. In 1868, at the height of the Reconstruction, the pressing issue was Black male suffrage.

Maggie Lena Walker (Scurlock Studio Records, NMAH Archives Center).

How Maggie Lena Walker Became the First Black Woman to Run a Bank in the Segregated South

Maggie Lena Walker was the first Black woman in the nation to organize and run a bank. And she did it in the segregated South in the former capital of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia.

The trunk of Frank's car after three hours of collecting.

The Cold Morning of the Day After

National Museum of American History curator Frank Blazich discusses rapid-response collecting in the wake of the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

Director of the National Museum of American History Reflects on the Challenges of Our Historic Times

Anthea M. Hartig, the Director of the National Museum of American History, reflects on the challenges of living through a historic time.

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