Articles tagged as African American History

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

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

September 2016

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

August 29, 2016

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

Breaking Ground

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

August 26, 2016

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

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

August 26, 2016

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

September 2016

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.

Cool Finds

Inside the Upcoming Memorial and Museum Dedicated to Lynching Victims

Spanning slavery to segregation to mass incarceration

August 24, 2016

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

Space Hub

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

August 23, 2016

Vanderbilt University's newly renamed "Memorial Hall."

Vanderbilt University’s decision to rename a building to “Memorial Hall” is just one of many ongoing efforts

August 19, 2016

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.

The Paris Olympics

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

August 15, 2016

“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.

The Paris 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

August 9, 2016

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

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

July 26, 2016

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

Breaking Ground

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

July 14, 2016

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

Cool Finds

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

July 14, 2016

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

Cool Finds

Here’s What Malcolm X Thought About Race in 1964

A revealing postcard to Redd Foxx is up for auction

July 12, 2016

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

July 12, 2016

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

One artist took inspiration from the NAACP’s iconic flag

July 11, 2016

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.

Commentary

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”

July 1, 2016

An unnamed Pullman porter works at Chicago's Union Station in 1943.

As the oldest Pullman porters die, it’s time to reflect on the proud legacy of these African-American workers

June 30, 2016

The Masonic Lodge in Monrovia, Liberia. Before the civil war, the descents of American slaves who mainly controlled the government often made official decisions at the lodge, which did not allow native members.

These Abandoned Buildings Are the Last Remnants of Liberia’s Founding History

The world created by former slaves in Liberia was a cruel paradox for more than 150 years

July 2016

American Exiles: Leaving Home

A series of three photo essays explores how America has treated its own people in times of crisis

July 2016