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African American History

The lunch counter interactive at the National Museum of African American History and Culture explores key moments in the struggle for Civil Rights.

Commentary

What Death Threats Against My Parents Taught Me About Taking a Stand

Family stories are an ideal way to explore themes like “where have I come from?” and “where am I going?”

Portrait of Edmonia Lewis by Henry Rocher

Google Doodle Sculpts a Tribute to Pioneering Artist Edmonia Lewis

Celebrate the first day of Black History Month by getting to know the 19th-century sculptor

A 1925 pastel portrait of Hughes that belongs to the Smithsonian.

How Langston Hughes’s Dreams Inspired MLK’s

Langston Hughes wrote about dreams at a time when racism meant that black people’s dreams were silenced

An illustration from "Bessie, Queen of the Sky," a forthcoming children's book about Bessie Coleman.

The ‘Queen of the Sky’ Is Finally Getting Her Due

On her birthday, we’re remembering Bessie Coleman’s incredible achievements

Cool Finds

This Map Shows Over a Century of Documented Lynchings in the United States

Mapping the history of racial terror

Paul Robeson, photographed by Alfredo Valente in 1940.

Remembering Paul Robeson, Actor, Sportsman and Leader

Among other things, Robeson transformed one of history’s most famous showtunes into a protest song

Central High School, where school integration battles of the Civil Rights Movement played out, is among 39 sites and historical projects to get National Park Service grants.

Trending Today

New Grants Give Out Millions to Preserve African-American History

A $7.5 million grant program will fund 39 projects in over 20 states

Anti-war demonstrators raise their hands toward the White House as they protest the shootings at Kent State University and the U.S. incursion into Cambodia, on May 9, 1970.

History of Now

Eleven Times When Americans Have Marched in Protest on Washington

Revisiting some of the country’s most memorable uses of the right to assemble

When it comes to representation, this coin is more than worth its weight in 24-karat gold.

Cool Finds

New $100 Coin Features First-Ever African-American Lady Liberty

She’ll put a new face on a familiar allegory

Harriet Tubman in 1911. The later years of her life are being preserved at a new national historical park that bears her name.

Women Who Shaped History

Harriet Tubman Is Getting Her Own National Historical Park

The park will tell the story of Tubman’s later years

Breaking Ground

Smithsonian Artifacts and Music Legends Share the Stage in Tonight’s Star-Studded Television Program

Notable African-American performing artists commemorate the opening of the National Museum of African American History

“One of the great things we can do at this museum is ask those questions and think about the larger significance of sports and African-Americans," says curator Damion Thomas.

Breaking Ground

Stories of Sports Champions in the African American History Museum Prove the Goal Posts Were Set Higher

The sports exhibition delves into the lost, forgotten or denied history of the heroes on the field

Ask Smithsonian

Why Were Electric Cars Once Advertised as ‘Ladies’ Cars’?

Your questions answered by our experts

Oil portrait of Barack Obama by Kadir Nelson

A Portrait of Obama in the Final Days of His Presidency

Commissioned for Smithsonian magazine, this painting shows a leader at a crossroads

A Sonic Boom drum major dashes across the field.

March to the Joyous, Raucous Beat of the Sonic Boom of the South

College football seasons come and go, but the joyous thunder of Jackson State’s iconic marching band rolls on

Richard and Mildred Loving by Grey Villet, 1965

When the Serendipitously Named Lovings Fell in Love, Their World Fell Apart

The new film captures the quiet essence of the couples’ powerful story, says Smithsonian scholar Christopher Wilson

The American holiday celebrating African traditions is 50 years old this year.

This Year Marks the 50th Kwanzaa

The week-long holiday is a celebration of African-American culture

Williams is perhaps best known for his iconic Theme Building, a space-age structure at Los Angeles International Airport.

Trending Today

Why You Should Know Trailblazing Architect Paul Revere Williams

Almost four decades after his death, the African-American architect whose work came to define Los Angeles gets his due

After the 2016 election, several hundred students at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, walked out of the classrooms in protest.

Finding Lessons for Today’s Protests in the History of Political Activism

A whirlwind of action, both organized and organic, supported by legal defense teams brought historic change

We asked Smithsonian scholars to make book recommendations to our readers for this holiday season of gift giving.

Increase and Diffuse Knowledge for the Holidays With These Smithsonian Curated Books

Books recommended by Smithsonian Institution scholars

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