In Honor of Black History Month, Cultural Institutions Are Sharing Archival Treasures
The best of the U.S. National Archive’s #ArchivesBlackHistory
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On the first Friday of every month, the National Archives hosts an “Archives Hashtag Party” on social media, inviting museums, galleries, archives and other institutions to share items from their collections that are relevant to a specific theme. For Black History Month, the National Archives teamed up with Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture to put out a call for relics pertaining to African American history. Many cultural institutions responded using the hashtag #ArchivesBlackHistory, which lit up social media with all sorts archival treasures. Check out some of our favorites below:
Meet #MatthewHenson: accomplished #Arctic explorer & co-discoverer of the North Pole! An expert dog sledge driver and carpenter, Henson integrated into the Inuit culture of Northwest Greenland, and learned to speak their language. #ArchivesBlackHistory #ArchivesHashtagParty pic.twitter.com/YDD0hCwfOH
— ArcticMuseum (@arcticmuseum) February 2, 2018
Abolitionist William Parker escaped slavery and fought for emancipation in the years leading up to the Civil War. He wrote about that experience for The Atlantic in 1866: https://t.co/MnhOnNIFJA #ArchivesBlackHistory
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) February 2, 2018
Lucy Terry Prince, stolen from Africa & sold into slavery in RI, married Abijah Prince who bought her freedom in 1756. She was the 1st woman to successfully negotiate a case before the U. S. Supreme Court. Her obituary celebrates her "fluency of speech." #ArchivesBlackHistory #VT pic.twitter.com/m56SaTi4wB
— VT State Archives (@VTStateArchives) February 2, 2018
Joining @NMAAHC #ArchivesHashtagParty for #BlackHistoryMonth - In 2017 we explored the experiences of several generations of fashion designers of African descent from the 1950s to the present. #BlackFashionDesigners #ArchivesBlackHistory https://t.co/at9MeYEk4v pic.twitter.com/gc9uxGOeOZ
— Museum at FIT (@museumatFIT) February 2, 2018
Celebrate #BlackHistoryMonth by exploring the #MetLibrary's Digital Collection of pamphlets from exhibitions of "Fine Arts by Negro Artists" that were held in the 1930s. https://t.co/edyr8Hgr1B #ArchivesBlackHistory pic.twitter.com/VjgIOsVMVm
— The Met (@metmuseum) February 2, 2018
Harry S. Truman was the 1st sitting President to speak to the NAACP, at Lincoln Memorial on 6-29-1947. #ArchivesBlackHistory #ArchivesHashtagParty pic.twitter.com/cBNFBLhIpf
— Truman Library (@TrumanLibrary) February 2, 2018
Why is the 14th amendment (1868) is so important? Its Citizenship Clause ensured that anyone born in the US was automatically a citizen, safeguarding the citizenship status of African Americans after the Civil War: https://t.co/TZRw57eFiW #ArchivesBlackHistory pic.twitter.com/JgQxDmBnGD
— US National Archives (@USNatArchives) February 2, 2018
#ArchivesBlackHistory African Americans fought a war on two fronts, consciously struggling to achieve victory over racism at home while fighting fascism abroad. See these #WWII posters and many more in our upcoming exhibit #TheArtofWar American Poster Art 1941-1945 opening 4/21 pic.twitter.com/6VqcbhDEI8
— FDR Library (@FDRLibrary) February 2, 2018
On this day in 1959, 15 year old Louis Cousins climbed the 29 steps of Norfolk's Maury High School and made history. Read about his day here->https://t.co/PwqSzTiii5 #ArchivesBlackHistory @USNatArchives #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/TMnNgRU0cJ
— The Pilot Archives (@musty_clips) February 2, 2018
Thomas Howland was the first African American elected official in #PVD, but post-Dred Scott wasn't "deemed" a US citizen ... might help us interpret his expression in this portrait by John Blanchard.
— Rhode Island History (@RIHistory) February 2, 2018
More: https://t.co/ujPcGJOczi#ArchivesHashtagParty #ArchivesBlackHistory #BHM pic.twitter.com/Vvd9GWeszF