African American History

An African-American family leaves Florida for the North during the Great Depression.

The Long-Lasting Legacy of the Great Migration

When millions of African-Americans fled the South in search of a better life, they remade the nation in ways that are still being felt

Take an Interactive Tour of the National Museum of African American History and Culture

What to expect when you visit the Smithsonian’s newest museum

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

From courting Chuck Berry in Missouri to diving for a lost slave ship off Africa, the director's tale is a fascinating one

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

These artifacts each tell a part of the African-American story

Michael Jackson performs in Kansas City, Kansas during the "Victory" tour in 1984.

Michael Jackson's Costumes Show Why Nobody Can Beat the King of Pop When it Comes to Style

Outfits from the Jackson's "Victory" tour will be part of an inaugural exhibition at the African American History Museum

Free timed-entry passes to the new museum, which opens September 24, are available beginning August 27 at 9 a.m., EDT

How to Get Timed-Entry Passes for National Museum of African American History and Culture

It's finally time to plan your trip to NMAAHC

Langston Hughes' Harlem brownstone: Cultural remnant or great place for a Starbucks?

The Fight to Preserve Langston Hughes’ Harlem Home From Gentrification

A new kind of Harlem renaissance is threatening the home of one of America's greatest poets

Redd Velvet (born Crystal Tucker) started her career as a classically trained singer. In her early 40s she moved to Memphis and switched to the blues.

Keeping the Blues Alive

Is blues music a thing of the past? A festival in Memphis featuring musicians of all ages and nationalities shouts an upbeat answer

From Slavery to Mass Incarceration will be a museum dedicated to the history of racial injustice in America, and will be located just steps from a site where slaves were auctioned off.

Inside the Upcoming Memorial and Museum Dedicated to Lynching Victims

Spanning slavery to segregation to mass incarceration

Astronomy students at the Banneker and Aztlán Institutes in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Why the Universe Needs More Black and Latino Astronomers

Astronomy has one of the worst diversity rates of any scientific field. This Harvard program is trying to change that

Vanderbilt University's newly renamed "Memorial Hall."

Five Places Where Confederate Monuments Have Recently Disappeared (or Soon Will)

Vanderbilt University's decision to rename a building to "Memorial Hall" is just one of many ongoing efforts

A few of the Olympians pose for a photo upon their return to the U.S. after the 1936 Games. In the back row, on the far right is Tidye PIckett and third from the left is Louise Stokes.

Sports History Forgot About Tidye Pickett and Louise Stokes, Two Black Olympians Who Never Got Their Shot

Thanks to the one-two punch of racism and sexism, these two women were shut out of the hero’s treatment given to other athletes

“Even the greatest things in the world need attention when they’re not as strong as they could be. It was a cry for freedom,” says Tommie Smith of his silent act at the 1968 Olympics.

What You Don’t Know About Olympian Tommie Smith’s Silent Gesture

The simple act of civil disobedience, thrusting a black-gloved fist in the air, produced shock waves across the nation

Earliest known photograph of the White House. The image was taken in 1846 by John Plumbe during the administration of James K. Polk.

The White House Was, in Fact, Built by Enslaved Labor

Along with the Capitol and other iconic buildings in Washington, D.C.

Ballast from the first historically documented ship carrying enslaved Africans that wrecked off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa in December 1794.

Few Artifacts of the Transatlantic Slave Trade Still Exist. These Iron Blocks Help Tell That Gut-Wrenching Story

A profound symbol of the horrific conditions aboard a slave ship is the ballast used as a counterweight for human cargo

W.E.B. Du Bois at the 1900 Paris Exposition.

The Revolutionary Infographics of W.E.B. Du Bois And Booker T. Washington

Data visualizations shed light on the living conditions of black people decades after the end of slavery

"These chimpanzees get more recognition, respect & freedom in American than our people do," wrote Malcolm X to a friend in 1964.

Here's What Malcolm X Thought About Race in 1964

A revealing postcard to Redd Foxx is up for auction

Aerial view of Dallas, Texas in 1892.

The Tragic Story of Dallas' First African-American Police Officer

After William McDuff was killed, it took Dallas 50 years to replace him

"A Man Was Lynched By Police Yesterday" Dread Scott, 2015

How an Anti-Lynching Banner From the 1920s and '30s Is Being Updated to Protest Modern-Day Violence

One artist took inspiration from the NAACP's iconic flag

By the “dawn’s early light,” Key saw the huge garrison flag, now on view at the National Museum of American History, waving above Fort McHenry and he realized that the Americans had survived the battle and stopped the enemy advance.

Where’s the Debate on Francis Scott Key’s Slave-Holding Legacy?

During his lifetime, abolitionists ridiculed Key’s words, sneering that America was more like the “Land of the Free and Home of the Oppressed”

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