African American History

Jackie Robinson, is shown in post-swing position in front of the stands

The Year of Jackie Robinson's Mutual Love Affair With Montreal

Before he became a major leaguer, Robinson spent a formative year in the more hospitable environs of Canada

Hiram Rhodes Revels

The First African American Senator Was Sworn in 145 Years Ago Today

Hiram R. Revels made history when, amid the tensions of Reconstruction, he became a senator from Mississippi

Marian Anderson approved stamp art by Albert Slark, c. 2005. Canadian-born artist Albert Slark created this full-color oil portrait of Marian Anderson from a circa 1934 black-and-white photograph.

Previously Seen on a Tiny Postage Stamp, These Beautiful Portraits of African-Americans Go on View

The artists who made them bring enormous dedication and talent to the artwork that adorns the nation's mail

Aerial view of flooded area. Oregon Historical Society, Neg. 67585.

How Oregon's Second Largest City Vanished in a Day

A 1948 flood washed away the WWII housing project Vanport—but its history still informs Portland's diversity

A member of the Ku Klux Klan holds a noose during attempts to suppress black voters in Miami, Fla., in 1939.

Lynchings Were Even More Common in the South Than Previously Thought

A group of criminal justice reformers find 700 more lynchings in the segregated South than previously recorded

"One of the most important contributions" of the film, says Lonnie Bunch, "is the humanization of Dr. King," as portrayed by David Oyelowo.

The Director of the African American History Museum Weighs in on 'Selma'

A film with black history at its core and created by African Americans opens up a "national conversation"

Cyrus Gates House, in Broome County, New York, was once an important stop along the Underground Railroad.

The Little-Known History of the Underground Railroad in New York

Pultizer-Prize winning historian Eric Foner uncovers the hidden story behind this passage to freedom

Read Through Early Drafts of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Speeches

One website gives you a peek into the mind of one of America’s most powerful orators

Marian Anderson as Ulrica in the Verdi opera Un ballo in maschera

60 Years Ago, the First African-American Soloist Sang at the Met Opera

Marian Anderson performed as the fortuneteller Ulrica in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera

Tony Award winner Geoffrey Holder's ingenious design used a skillet to complete the Tin Man’s hat in the 1975 Broadway production of The Wiz.

The Tin Man's Hat From "The Wiz" Offers Just a Hint of the Musical's Beating Heart

When the all-black musical production opened on Broadway 40 years ago, critics scoffed, but audiences embraced it

King led a throng of 25,000 marchers through downtown Montgomery in 1965.

The Radical Paradox of Martin Luther King’s Devotion to Nonviolence

Biographer Taylor Branch makes a timely argument about civil right leader’s true legacy

A Lost John Steinbeck Short Story Was Rediscovered, Published

The short story deals with the racial politics of the mid-20th century

Ridley's film focuses on Hendrix in the years before he became famous, 1966-1967.

The Oscar-Winning Writer John Ridley, Talks About His New Jimi Hendrix Movie

The writer and director of <i>Jimi: All Is by My Side</i> speaks about making living history from legend

Bernard Kleina took rare color photographs of Martin Luther King Jr. during the Chicago Freedom Movement.

A Collection of Rare Color Photographs Depicts MLK Leading the Chicago Freedom Movement

The Smithsonian has acquired some of the only known images of Martin Luther King Jr. at the momentous protest

Maureen Yancey donated her late son’s Akai MIDI Production Center 3000 Limited Edition (MPC) and his custom-made Minimoog Voyager synthesizer to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The Legacy of Hip-Hop Producer J Dilla Will Be Recognized

The late producer's mother announced she is donating his synthesizer and beat machine to the African American History Museum

The descendants of abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison donated ten items to the National Museum of African American History and Culture this month.

The Descendants of Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison Donate Family Heirlooms

Objects belonging to the anti-slavery advocate spent a century collecting dust in an attic. Now they're on their way to the African-American history museum

More than 1,200 newspapers serve ethnic communities across America. Current front pages from some of those publications are on display at the Newseum.

News For All: How the Immigrant Experience Shaped American Media

From Benjamin Franklin to Noticiero Univision, the Newseum discusses the profound influence of immigrants on modern news

Itinerant African American musicians played to so many different audiences that they had to be as versatile as a jukebox.

Before There was the Blues Man, There Was the Songster

A new release from Smithsonian Folkways celebrates the diverse sounds of turn-of-the-century itinerant musicians

The Parliament-Funkadelic Mothership is a 1,200-pound aluminum stage prop that once stole the show at funk singer George Clinton's concerts. Now, it's a part of the Smithsonian's permanent collections.

Watch George Clinton's P-Funk Mothership Get Reassembled For Its Museum Debut

A timelapse video shows Smithsonian curators rebuilding one of music's most iconic stage props—the Parliament-Funkadelic Mothership

This month's Atlantic cover story by Ta-Nehisi Coates is generating some serious discussion about "The Case for Reparations."

America's Moral Debt to African Americans

The director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture joins the discussion around "The Case for Reparations"

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