This Exhibition Spotlights the Black Artists Who Called France Home in the 20th Century
A blockbuster show at the Centre Pompidou in Paris spotlights 300-plus works by 150 artists of African heritage
From the Antebellum South to the Civil Rights Movement, Black American Women Have Long Told Their Stories Through Quilts
In a new exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery, over 30 works showcase the significance of this quilting tradition
The Real Story Behind ‘Nickel Boys’ and the Brutal Florida Reform School That Inspired the Film
Based on a Colson Whitehead novel, the Oscar-nominated movie dramatizes the story of the Florida School for Boys, which traumatized children as young as 5 for more than a century
The Trailblazing Black Librarian Who Rewrote the Rules of Power, Gender and Racial Passing
Belle da Costa Greene, the first director of the Morgan Library, was a Black woman who passed as white in the early 20th century
Untold Stories of American History
Born Enslaved, This Black Millionaire Attempted to Colonize Mexico and Aspired to Be the Emperor of Ethiopia
William Henry Ellis masqueraded as a Mexican businessman, but he never shied away from his Black roots
Untold Stories of American History
After Confederate Forces Captured Their Children, These Black Mothers Fought to Reunite Their Families
During the Civil War, Confederates targeted free Black people in the North, kidnapping them to sell into slavery. After the conflict ended, two women sought help from high places to track down their lost loved ones
Meet the Black Inventor Who Developed the Ice Cream Scoop, Revolutionizing a Beloved Frozen Treat
While working as a porter, Alfred L. Cralle witnessed how hard it was to serve ice cream cones one-handed. He saved the day with his mold and disher tool, patented on this day in 1897
How an All-Black Female WWII Unit Saved Morale on the Battlefield
The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion sorted through a massive backlog of undelivered mail, raising American soldiers’ morale during World War II
Untold Stories of American History
The Peekskill Riots Revealed the Racism and Antisemitism Hidden Beneath the Surface of the Anti-Communist Movement
In the summer of 1949, World War II veterans protested a pair of concerts held by Paul Robeson, a Black singer and civil rights activist who expressed support for communist causes
Untold Stories of American History
This Little-Known Civil Rights Activist Refused to Give Up His Bus Seat Four Years Before Rosa Parks Did
William “W.R.” Saxon filed a lawsuit against the company that forced him to move to the back of the bus, seeking damages for the discrimination and mental anguish he’d faced
Why Descendants Are Returning to the Plantations Where Their Ancestors Were Enslaved
Some Black Americans are reclaiming antebellum estates as part of their family legacy, reflecting the power and possibility of these historic sites
Why the Nordic Countries Emerged as a Haven for 20th-Century African American Expatriates
An exhibition in Seattle spotlights the Black artists and performers who called Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden home between the 1930s and the 1980s
This Play Within a Play Confronts the Power Dynamic Between Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson
In “Sally & Tom,” Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks continues her investigation of American myths
How a Century of Black Westerns Shaped Movie History
Mario Van Peebles’ “Outlaw Posse” is the latest attempt to correct the erasure of people of color from the classic cinema genre
How the Memory of a Song Reunited Two Women Separated by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
In 1990, scholars found a Sierra Leonean woman who remembered a nearly identical version of a tune passed down by a Georgia woman’s enslaved ancestors
Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries
These 15 Moving Photos Celebrate Black History Month
To mark the February heritage month, these images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest offer proof that African American history is timeless
The Founder of This Trailblazing Opera Company Put Black Singers at Center Stage
Mary Cardwell Dawson created unprecedented opportunities for aspiring Black musicians
How to Separate Fact From Myth in the Extraordinary Story of Sojourner Truth
Two historians tell us why the pioneering 19th-century feminist, suffragist and abolitionist’s legacy has so frequently been misrepresented
Untold Stories of American History
Near the Site of the Gettysburg Address, These Black Civil War Veterans Remain Segregated, Even in Death
Denied burial alongside Union soldiers killed during the Battle of Gettysburg, the 30 or so men were instead buried in the all-Black Lincoln Cemetery
Untold Stories of American History
What a Teacher’s Letters Reveal About Robert Smalls, Who Stole a Confederate Ship to Secure His Freedom From Slavery
Harriet M. Buss’ missives home detail the future congressman’s candid views on race and the complicity of Confederate women
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