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African American History

A booking photo from Rosa Parks' arrest on December 1, 1955.

Sixty-Six Years After Rosa Parks Took a Seat in Montgomery, Protest Is Alive in America

The civil rights leader likely would have approved of current activists’ work

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Where Did Harriet Tubman Escape to and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

Activists picketing at a demonstration for housing equality while uniformed American Nazi Party members counterprotest in the background with signs displaying anti-integration slogans and racist epithets.

This Photo Book Is a Reminder That the Civil Rights Movement Extended Far Beyond the Deep South

Public historian Mark Speltz’s new book is full of images that aren’t typically part of the 1960s narrative

A statue of the former slave Clara Brown, who was born into slavery in 1800. She married and had four children, but the family was broken up and sold at auction.

Breaking Ground

In “Defending Freedom,” the Vanguards Who Refused to Be Suppressed Are Reunited

At the African American History Museum, this exhibition graphically conveys the trials and triumphs in the battle for Civil Rights

Gwen Ifill died today. She was 61.

Trending Today

Five Things to Know About Gwen Ifill

The late, great reporter turned curiosity into a career that changed journalism

A lobby card for Gunsaulus Mystery, a 1921 silent film written, directed and produced by Oscar Micheaux, an early black silent film auteur.

Cool Finds

Explore the Flickering, Forgotten Past of African-Americans in Silent Film

An estimated 80 percent of silent movies with all-black casts are thought to be lost, but a new project is making sure the people who made them aren’t

Freeman Fisher Gosden and Charles Correll, c. 1935 (detail), as "Amos and Andy"

Commentary

The Long, Unfortunate History of Racial Parody in America

Art historian Gwendolyn Dubois Shaw discusses the painful performative origins

Founder of the Black Panther Party Bobby Seale stands next to a wall graphic of the Party's Ten-Point Program inside the Oakland Museum of California's exhibition, "All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50."

The Black Panthers Were Founded 50 Years Ago, and Their Influence Hasn’t Waned

Group founder Bobby Seale reflects on the Panthers’ iconic Ten-Point Program

"Bird," 1990, David Hammons, painted metal, wire, basketball and feathers.

This $1.4 Million “Bird” Makes an African-American Art Collection Soar to New Heights

With his first major contemporary acquisition, the Detroit Institute of Arts’ new director is reinvigorating the museum

Ask Smithsonian

When Was the First Map Produced and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

The stacked bricks represent the people enslaved by President Thomas Jefferson in 1776 and include his own children and their mother Sally Hemings.

Breaking Ground

At the New “Slavery and Freedom” Show, a Mother Finds an Empowering Message for Her Young Daughters

A child’s shackles, a whip, and an auction block deliver a visceral experience of slavery

The West Front of Mount Vernon, by Edward Savage, 1787-1792

In a Groundbreaking Exhibit at Mount Vernon, Slaves Speak and History Listens

Life at the home of George Washington is told anew

Understanding the Gospel of Nat Turner

The leader of the deadly slave revolt had a deep Christian faith that propelled his rebellious actions

"A Changing America: 1968 and Beyond" exhibition.

Breaking Ground

The Sounds and Images of Black Power Take Center Stage in This Post-Civil Rights Exhibition

After Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, black leaders and cultural influencers encouraged community self-reliance and pride

The Cultural Expressions exhibition celebrates the everyday.

Breaking Ground

How Did Smithsonian Curators Pack 200 Years of African-American Culture in One Exhibition?

The curators of the Cultural Expressions exhibition collected stories and artifacts and brilliantly packed 200 years into one round room

The gallery's uncluttered walls make way for splashy art that has space to breathe and have an impact.

Breaking Ground

History Grabs the Headlines, But the Quiet Authority of the Art Gallery in the New Smithsonian Museum Speaks Volumes

In the visual arts exhibition the tone and the ambience suddenly shift

A fireman's hat dating to around 1860 was decorated for the Phoenix Hose Company of Philadelphia by David Bustill Bowser

In the Early 19th Century, Firefighters Fought Fires … and Each Other

Fighting fires in early America was about community, property and rivalry

Visitors on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. arrive to see the grand opening ceremonies.

Breaking Ground

Thousands Converge on the National Mall For Music, Family, Remembrance and Celebration

Families from all over the country arrive to celebrate the grand opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture

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Breaking Ground

Live: Watch the National Museum of African American History and Culture Grand Opening Dedication Ceremony

Watch the live stream of today’s museum opening

The Voice of Tomorrow Choir on the front porch of the new National Museum of African American History and Culture

Breaking Ground

What You Need to Know About the September 24 NMAAHC Grand Opening

Entry Passes are all gone for today, but there is plenty to see and do on the National Mall

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