African American History
How the New Deal Left Out African-Americans
During the Great Depression, unemployment among African-Americans was twice that of whites – mostly due to segregation
Sixty Years Ago, Willie O'Ree Broke the NHL's Color Barrier
A debilitating eye injury and racial epithets weren't enough to derail the player's resolve
The TV Show ‘Black Lightning’ Gives the Superhero World a Jolt of Social Justice
For the protagonist of WB’s new comic book show, community and family come first
Massive Data Project Will Help People Identify Enslaved Ancestors
Michigan State's 'Enslaved: The People of the Historic Slave Trade' will combine available historical data on slavery into one searchable hub
Deeply Grieving MLK’s Death, Activists Shaped a Campaign of Hurt and Hope
At Resurrection City, an epic 1968 demonstration on the National Mall in Washington D.C., protesters defined the next 50 years of activism
The Strike That Brought MLK to Memphis
In his final days, Martin Luther King Jr. stood by striking sanitation workers. We returned to the city to see what has changed—and what hasn’t
How Mickalene Thomas Is Ushering in a New Wave of Contemporary Art
The celebrated portraitist’s glittering images of black women upend tradition
Remembering Mamie ‘Peanut’ Johnson, the First Woman to Take the Mound as a Major-League Pitcher
The Negro Leagues trailblazer has died at 82. Barred from trying out for a segregated female league, she made her mark playing alongside men
Zora Neale Hurston’s Study of the Last Known U.S. Slave to Be Published in 2018
Cudjo Lewis was captured and transported to the U.S. in 1860. After regaining his freedom five years later, he went on to help establish African Town
The Most Notorious Poet in 18th Century America Was An Enslaved Teenager You've Never Heard Of
Phyllis Wheatley was a prodigy, but her ultimate fate reflects the gross racial disparities of 1700s America
How Industrial Espionage Started America's Cotton Revolution
To the British, Samuel Slater was ‘Slater the traitor,’ but to the Americans, he was the father of the American industrial revolution
This American Doctor Pioneered Abdominal Surgery by Operating on Enslaved Women
Glorified with a statue in the U.S. Capitol, Ephraim McDowell is a hero in Kentucky, but the full story needs to be told
Gone at 27 and Eternally Youthful For the Ages, Jimi Hendrix Would Have Been 75 This Year
A gold-brocade vest at the Smithsonian evokes the innovative musician’s enduring legacy
George Washington’s Hard Death Shows the Limits of Medicine in His Time
He’s one of the United States’s most revered figures, but his last hours were plagued by excruciating illness
Remains Tell Stories of Delaware's Earliest Enslaved
Burials uncovered in Rehoboth Bay give a first-hand account of the hard life faced by those forced to labor on a 17th-century Delaware plantation
Civil War Reenactments Were a Thing Even During the Civil War
These 'practice battles' are the root of today's Civil War reenactors
Why the Ku Klux Klan Flourished Under Prohibition
The Ku Klux Klan's resurgence in the 1920s is linked to the passage of the Volstead Act in 1920
Maverick Music Takes Center Stage in This New Play on Nina Simone
A Smithsonian expert delves into the song and struggle at the heart of 'Four Women' at D.C.'s Arena Stage
Square Dancing is Uniquely American
Like the culture it came from, square dance has roots in European, Native American and African practices
Ava DuVernay's Visionary Filmmaking Is Reshaping Hollywood
Her eye for American history puts her in the vanguard. Her passion for justice makes her a hero
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