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African American History

Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama

Traveling Along the U.S. Civil Rights Trail

Traveling Along the U.S. Civil Rights Trail

Take in some of the sites and landmarks across the American South that were pivotal to the Civil Rights Movement and the advancement of social justice

Lead author Matt von Konrat studying moss found with reburied human remains.

How a Tiny Clump of Moss Helped the FBI Solve a Grave-Robbing Case

Cemetery workers argued that the crimes happened before their employment. But a buried bit of moss told a different story

Jermain Wesley Loguen’s former enslaver offered to relinquish her claim on him in exchange for $1,000. But Loguen refused as a matter of principle, even turning down others’ offers to pay the fee.

Untold Stories of American History

After the ‘King of the Underground Railroad’ Escaped From Slavery, He Led 1,500 Others to Freedom

Jermain Wesley Loguen opened his home to fugitives fleeing the South. He publicized this work openly, risking arrest or even re-enslavement

The passage is located beneath the bottom drawer of this built-in dresser.

Cool Finds

Why Did a Man Build This Secret Passageway Below a Dresser Drawer Nearly 200 Years Ago? Historians Think It Was Part of the Underground Railroad

Staffers at the Merchant’s House Museum in Manhattan are unraveling the mysteries of the narrow tunnel, which is hidden beneath a piece of built-in furniture on the second floor

The Reverend Jesse Jackson attends an event commemorating the 20th anniversary of the March on Washington.

Jesse Jackson Witnessed Martin Luther King Jr.’s Assassination. Here’s How He Carried the Torch for the Civil Rights Movement Into the Future

He emerged as a leader in the 1960s and championed unity among marginalized groups across the U.S.

“If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated,” wrote Carter G. Woodson in a 1926 essay.

Traveling Along the U.S. Civil Rights Trail

A White Historian Claimed That Black People ‘Had No History.’ This Trailblazing Scholar Dedicated His Life to Proving Otherwise

Carter G. Woodson, the “father of Black history,” founded the celebration now known as Black History Month in 1926. A prolific writer and activist, he viewed his efforts to educate the public as a “life-and-death struggle”

A 2015 photo of Ron Teasley

Ron Teasley, Pioneering Baseball Player and One of Two Surviving Negro League Veterans, Dies at 99

The former Brooklyn Dodger and New York Cuban leaves a lasting legacy of coaching and service in his hometown of Detroit

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Here Are 250 Places to Visit to Celebrate America’s 250th Birthday. How Many Have You Been To?

Journey around the nation with this interactive map, divided by region or category, and discover American history in a way you’ve never seen before

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There's More to That

A Stunning Escape From Slavery Told on Tattered Pages

Thomas White’s tale of finding freedom is discovered more than a century after it was documented

In 1823, 17 enslaved people were sold at an auction in Barbados in the name of Britain's then-king, George IV.

The British Crown Enslaved Thousands at the Height of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. New Research Reveals Their Stories

A leading historian examines how the monarchy not only tolerated slavery but also administered it, profited from it and sanctioned its cruelties

A historic marker at Jackson State University, ca. 1950, from the “At the Vanguard” exhibition at the National Museum of African American History and Culture

How Historically Black Schools Create and Preserve Their Own History Through Amazing Artifacts, From Paintings to Marching Band Hats

For nearly 200 years, HBCUs have educated Black Americans. Now, a new exhibition highlights special objects from five universities

President Lyndon B. Johnson awards the Medal of Honor to Dwight Hal Johnson on November 19, 1968.

Untold Stories of American History

History Remembered This Black Medal of Honor Recipient for the Two Worst Days of His Life. A New Book Dives Into the Vietnam Vet’s Story

Dwight Hal Johnson received the nation’s highest military honor in 1968. Three years later, he was killed during an attempted robbery at age 23

Claudette Colvin, photographed here in 1998, helped end segregation on public transportation.

Women Who Shaped History

Months Before Rosa Parks Made Headlines, Claudette Colvin Refused to Give Up Her Seat for a White Woman on a Segregated Bus

Colvin, a lesser-known figure who took a stand against racial discrimination as a teenager in Montgomery, Alabama, has died at age 86

 Miles Davis’ ceaseless reinventions of his art led Duke Ellington to call him the “Picasso of jazz.”

Miles Davis Emerged From Middle America to Become the ‘Picasso of Jazz’ and Taught Us All How to Be Cool

As we approach the 100th anniversary of the birth of a jazz legend, look back on the staggering impact of his work and its continued relevance

Detail of a 19th-century mural in the Library of Congress that depicts America as a successor to ancient Egypt

How White Southerners Distorted the History of Ancient Egypt to Justify Slavery in the U.S.

American writers misleadingly interpreted Egypt’s past to argue that slavery was a divinely sanctioned institution

Fascinating finds unveiled in 2025 ranged from an Auguste Rodin sculpture to a ring bearing the likeness of the goddess Venus Victrix.

Cool Finds

Seventy-Two Fascinating Finds Revealed in 2025, From a Luxury Spa in Pompeii to a Pair of World War I Messages in a Bottle

The year’s most exciting discoveries included the site where a young George Washington stopped a friendly fire incident, the missing torso of a Buddha statue and a hidden Picasso painting

The new Barbara Rose Johns statue was unveiled in Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol on December 16.

Traveling Along the U.S. Civil Rights Trail

She Protested School Segregation as a Teenager. Now She’s Being Honored With a Statue at the U.S. Capitol

Lawmakers gathered in the Capitol for the unveiling of a bronze statue honoring teenage civil rights activist Barbara Rose Johns

The house is located in Tryon, North Carolina, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Nina Simone’s Childhood Home, Saved From Demolition Years Ago, Has Now Been Fully Restored

A group of contemporary artists purchased the house in 2017, and its long-awaited renovation began in June 2024

Smithsonian magazine's picks for the best history books of 2025 include We the People, The Stolen Crown and Medicine River.

The Best Books of 2025

The Ten Best History Books of 2025

Our favorite titles of the year resurrect overlooked histories and examine how the United States ended up where it is today

Demonstrators at an anti-Vietnam War protest held at Bronx Science High School in New York in April 1968

Untold Stories of American History

Newly Declassified Records Suggest Parents Collaborated With the FBI to Spy on Their Rebellious Teens During the 1960s

As high school students across the U.S. embraced political activism, adults turned to the authorities to shield their sons and daughters from radical influences

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