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Special Report

Race in America

To mark the Smithsonian's multi-year initiative, Our Shared Future: Reckoning With Our Racial Past, which will confront the history and legacy of race and racism through live and virtual events, pop-up exhibitions, digital resources, and other offerings, Smithsonian magazine has compiled this collection of relevant coverage.


The Smithsonian's Race and Our Shared Future: Reckoning With Our Racial Past initiative centers on six pillars. Getty Images
In 1860, Lieutenant John M. Brooke wrote, “I am satisfied that [Manjiro] has had more to do with the opening of Japan than any other man living.” 

The Shipwrecked Teenager Who Helped End Japan's Isolationist Era

The spiraled crafted work On the Air by Jeong Ju Lee is made to flow with the contour of the model's shoulder.

These Asian American Artists Merge Traditional Aesthetics With Contemporary Practices

Wong Kim Ark's departure statement

How the Fight for Birthright Citizenship Shaped the History of Asian American Families

Asian American History

Wong Kim Ark's departure statement

HISTORY

How the Fight for Birthright Citizenship Shaped the History of Asian American Families

Hardeep Dhillon

During World War II, Executive Order 9066 authorized the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans (above: In Los Angeles in April 1942, dozens of families wait for a train to Manzanar War Relocation Center in Owens Valley, California).

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Japanese American Artists Recall the Trauma of Wartime Incarceration

Chris Klimek

Japanese American National Museum volunteer Barbara Keimi stamps the Ireichō.

SMART NEWS

The First-Ever List of Japanese Americans Forced Into Incarceration Camps Is 1,000 Pages Long

Molly Enking

Black History

Tina Turner performing in Illinois in 1987

SMART NEWS

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

Christopher Parker

The only meeting between Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X occured on March 26, 1964, at the U.S. Senate.

SMART NEWS

Martin Luther King Jr. Never Said Famous Quote Criticizing Malcolm X

Christopher Parker

Edna Lewis gathers ingredients in the garden behind Ellerslie Plantation west of Charlottesville, Virginia, 1975.

ARTS & CULTURE

What Made Edna Lewis the Mother of Soul Food

Taryn White

Latino American History

Gloria Estefan performing at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2021

SMART NEWS

Gloria Estefan Will Be the First Hispanic Woman in the Songwriters Hall of Fame

Ella Feldman

Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson at his desk in November 1957

HISTORY

When Lyndon B. Johnson Chose the Middle Ground on Civil Rights—and Disappointed Everyone

Zachary Clary

The 17th-century fort at Portobelo, built by enslaved laborers, overlooks the bay area where some of the earliest maroons settled after gaining their freedom.

HISTORY

A New Discovery Puts Panama as the Site of the First Successful Slave Rebellion

Melba Newsome

Native American History

A two-year-old adult female bison named Wyoming Hope gave birth to the 30-pound calf on May 16.

SMART NEWS

Rare White Bison Born in Wyoming State Park

Sarah Kuta

View of the Skagit River, with the Diablo Dam (completed in 1930) visible

HISTORY

On This Disputed River, Progress May Mean a Return to the Past

Adam M. Sowards

To allay any suspicions, an English colonist took a drink from one container, then surreptitiously offered another filled with poisoned wine to the Powhatans. 

HISTORY

Was the 1623 Poisoning of 200 Native Americans One of the Continent's First War Crimes?

Peter C. Mancall

From the Smithsonian

Our Shared Future: Reckoning With Our Racial Past Initiative


Watch a Discussion on Race and Wellness


Educator Tools for Talking About Race


Glossary of Key Terms and Phrases

More from the magazine

Protestors march through the streets of D.C. during demonstrations over the death of George Floyd, who died in police custody.

HISTORY

158 Resources for Understanding Systemic Racism in America


Protesters attend a rally in support of affirmative action in college admissions on October 31, 2022.

HISTORY

The Origins of the Term 'Affirmative Action'


Nazi officials use calipers to measure an ethnic German's nose on January 1, 1941. The Nazis developed a pseudoscientific system of facial measurement that was supposedly a way of determining racial descent.

SCIENCE

The Disturbing Resilience of Scientific Racism


<p>To many people, Henrietta Lacks, painted by Kadir Nelson in 2017, symbolizes inequity in medicine. Lacks died from cervical cancer in 1951, but her tumor cells— used in research without her permission—would enable medical advances, including the polio vaccine.</p>

SCIENCE

The Historical Roots of Racial Disparities in American Health Care


Simone Biles (pictured) and Naomi Osaka, both Black athletes at the top of their sports, have been vocal about their struggles with mental health.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

The Relationship Between Race and Wellness Has Never Been More Pressing


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AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Why the Smithsonian Is Encouraging Americans to Talk More Openly About Race

Smithsonian Magazine Logo in Black

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