https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/african-american-history/RSS feed for African American HistoryenFri, 17 Jul 2026 18:30:12 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/this-19th-century-diary-written-by-an-enslaved-maryland-man-is-a-crucial-record-of-his-life-and-family-historyand-the-only-one-of-its-kind-found-in-the-united-states-180989146/Adam Francis Plummer’s chronicle is believed to be the country’s sole known example of a multigenerational journal begun by an enslaved person. It’s now on view at the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community MuseumFri, 17 Jul 2026 18:30:12 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/this-19th-century-diary-written-by-an-enslaved-maryland-man-is-a-crucial-record-of-his-life-and-family-historyand-the-only-one-of-its-kind-found-in-the-united-states-180989146/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-photography-studio-hooks-brothers-captured-the-beauty-of-black-life-in-the-south-soon-its-archive-once-hidden-away-will-have-a-new-museum-home-180988982/The Hooks brothers documented life and joy in Memphis during the 20th century. Their images will be put on public view when the Memphis Art Museum opensThu, 18 Jun 2026 19:15:23 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-photography-studio-hooks-brothers-captured-the-beauty-of-black-life-in-the-south-soon-its-archive-once-hidden-away-will-have-a-new-museum-home-180988982/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/by-signing-his-name-to-massive-jars-this-enslaved-artist-david-drake-defied-literacy-bans-in-the-south-now-his-masterpiece-is-on-view-with-a-famed-paul-revere-bowl-180988964/Born into slavery around 1800, David Drake was a skilled ceramicist. His work will be on display at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston as the institution marks America's 250th birthdayThu, 18 Jun 2026 16:29:01 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/by-signing-his-name-to-massive-jars-this-enslaved-artist-david-drake-defied-literacy-bans-in-the-south-now-his-masterpiece-is-on-view-with-a-famed-paul-revere-bowl-180988964/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/americas-150th-birthday-celebration-was-deemed-the-nations-greatest-flop-what-went-wrong-with-the-sesquicentennial-180988946/Philadelphia politicians hoped to replicate the success of the 1876 Centennial Exposition. Instead, the 1926 world's fair lost millions of dollars, essentially bankrupting the city on the eve of the Great DepressionTue, 16 Jun 2026 12:57:27 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/americas-150th-birthday-celebration-was-deemed-the-nations-greatest-flop-what-went-wrong-with-the-sesquicentennial-180988946/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/with-few-tweaks-countrys-favorite-sports-went-pastimes-part-fabric-culture-180988816/Can you imagine a football game where there was never a passing play? The forward pass is just one of the innovations that made these contests into eventsMon, 15 Jun 2026 15:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/with-few-tweaks-countrys-favorite-sports-went-pastimes-part-fabric-culture-180988816/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/they-were-just-having-back-school-party-apartment-rec-room-little-did-know-creating-hip-hip-180988814/The music genre that became a global sensation started with some creative teens just getting together and riffing rhymes to DJ Kool Herc’s curated beatsMon, 15 Jun 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/they-were-just-having-back-school-party-apartment-rec-room-little-did-know-creating-hip-hip-180988814/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-events-that-took-place-in-this-selma-alabama-home-were-key-to-the-civil-rights-movement-and-you-can-now-visit-it-180988944/The Jackson family opened their home to civil rights leaders planning the Selma-to-Montgomery march, which led to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The entire house was recently moved to Greenfield Village at The Henry Ford, in Dearborn, MichiganFri, 12 Jun 2026 13:35:42 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-events-that-took-place-in-this-selma-alabama-home-were-key-to-the-civil-rights-movement-and-you-can-now-visit-it-180988944/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/alan-lomax-spent-years-traveling-country-record-sounds-america-legacy-obsession-live-forever-180988858/By letting Muddy Waters hear himself for the first time, he unlocked a new confidence that set the sharecropper on the path to superstardom. And that’s just the start of what he found in churches, prisons and even lumberjack campsWed, 10 Jun 2026 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/alan-lomax-spent-years-traveling-country-record-sounds-america-legacy-obsession-live-forever-180988858/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/pivotal-moment-civil-war-frederick-douglass-delivered-speech-reframed-what-was-at-stake-slavery-stood-180988836/In “The Mission of the War,” America’s incomparable orator helped turn public sentiment in favor of the Union and Abraham Lincoln, beginning the process of “national regeneration”Tue, 09 Jun 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/pivotal-moment-civil-war-frederick-douglass-delivered-speech-reframed-what-was-at-stake-slavery-stood-180988836/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/during-the-revolution-american-women-fought-for-freedom-spied-on-the-british-cared-for-the-sick-and-fell-in-love-a-new-exhibition-reveals-their-rich-wartime-stories-180988887/Now on view at the New York Historical, "Revolutionary Women" spotlights figures with connections to the state, including a Jewish chocolatier, a Mohawk leader and a woman who disguised herself as a man to enlist in the Continental ArmyThu, 04 Jun 2026 12:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/during-the-revolution-american-women-fought-for-freedom-spied-on-the-british-cared-for-the-sick-and-fell-in-love-a-new-exhibition-reveals-their-rich-wartime-stories-180988887/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-revolutionary-spark-180988782/Celebrating the visionary insights & darling innovators that forged a nation.Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:04:49 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-revolutionary-spark-180988782/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ona-judge-escaped-from-slavery-while-george-washington-was-eating-dinner-inside-now-new-mural-honors-her-legacy-180988851/The artwork in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, shows Judge arriving in the city after her journey from Philadelphia in May 1796. She remained a free woman until her death in 1848Thu, 28 May 2026 20:07:08 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ona-judge-escaped-from-slavery-while-george-washington-was-eating-dinner-inside-now-new-mural-honors-her-legacy-180988851/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/groundbreaking-dna-analysis-identifies-13-million-living-relatives-of-colonial-marylands-earliest-settlers-180988778/Experts compared DNA from 49 skeletons buried in a cemetery in St. Mary's City to genetic data shared by 11.5 million 23andMe users. They also identified what may be the remains of the colony's second governorThu, 21 May 2026 14:49:03 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/groundbreaking-dna-analysis-identifies-13-million-living-relatives-of-colonial-marylands-earliest-settlers-180988778/