Special Report

Breaking Ground

Smithsonian Institution

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

The Definitive Story of How the National Museum of African American History and Culture Came to Be

The Jones-Hall-Sims House, stripped down from 140 years of additions and siding, was acquired in 2009 by the National Museum of African American History and Culture and has been rebuilt as part of an exhibition called “Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation.”

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For Nearly 150 Years, This One House Told a Novel Story About the African-American Experience

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The Powerful Objects From the Collections of the Smithsonian's Newest Museum

Featured Stories

Tina Turner performing in Illinois in 1987

Tina Turner, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll, Left an Indelible Mark on Music History

Christopher Parker

The exhibition "Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures," (above, right: A scene from the 2014 Ghanian short film "Afronauts") is on view through March 24, 2024, at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History.

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What Is Afrofuturism?

Shantay Robinson

Musicians Cindy Campbell and DJ Kool Herc take center stage in a 2013 celebration of the 40th anniversary of hip-hop. The brother and sister duo threw a "Back-to School Jam" in August, 1973 and launched a lasting music genre.

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How the Block Party Became an Urban Phenomenon

Briana A. Thomas

“Spirit in the Dark: Religion in Black Music, Activism and Popular Culture,” (above: Nina Simone by G. Marshall Wilson, 1959) is on view at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture through November 2023.

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Movements Capturing the Spiritual Roots of Black Culture

Janelle Harris Dixon

Movements, Motions, Moments offers a visual journey from the early 1870s to the present, depicting the story of how African Americans take action in sacred worship, ministry or ceremony according to their beliefs.

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These Photographs of Spirituality in America Will Speak to Your Soul

At the Natural History Museum, "Cellphone: Unseen Connections" opens June 23; at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City, "Give Me a Sign: The Language of Symbols" goes on view May 13; and "Ay-Ō's Happy Rainbow Hell" is part of the National Museum of Asian Art's centennial exhibitions, opening March 25.

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Twenty-Three Smithsonian Shows to See in 2023

The 1923 Rosewood massacre resulted in the deaths of six Black people and two white vigilantes.

How History Forgot Rosewood, a Black Town Razed by a White Mob

This year's titles include I Was Better Last Night, Accidental Ecosystem and Winslow Homer: American Passage.

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Smithsonian Scholars Pick Their Favorite Books of 2022

Beth Py-Lieberman

"Sidedoor" host Lizzie Peabody creaks across museum attic floorboards and sneaks into an old house in the woods (above: What lurks inside the Sellman House at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center?) to investigate the spooky stories that only a few dare to tell.

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The Ghosts Who Haunt the Smithsonian

Emmett Lewis' ancestor Cudjo Lewis was one of the last survivors of the Clotilda.

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These Descendants Never Forgot the Story of the Last American Slave Ship