Black History Month

A group of women sewing a quilt on the porch of a property in Georgia, May 1939

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

A group photo taken at what might have been a memorial or funeral service at the Florida School for Boys in the 1950s

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

A 1910 watercolor portrait of Belle da Costa Greene by Laura Coombs Hills

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

William Henry Ellis traveled the world, made and lost millions, tried his hand at Texas politics, consulted with emperors, and met with the presidents of multiple countries.

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

A Harper's Weekly illustration of Confederate soldiers driving Black Americans south in 1862

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

Alfred L. Cralle optimized his invention for one-handed use by adding a thumb grip and a scraping tool that kept food from sticking to the scooper.

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

Kerry Washington stars as Charity Adams in Tyler Perry's newest film, The Six Triple Eight.

The Real Story Behind Netflix's 'The Six Triple Eight,' a New Tyler Perry Film About the Women of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion

The Black, female unit sorted through a massive backlog of undelivered mail, raising American soldiers' morale during World War II

A grand jury tasked with investigating the riots argued that the violence outside Peekskill “was basically neither antisemitic nor anti-Negro in character.”

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

A 1959 photograph of William "W.R." Saxon, who is standing third from left

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

To mark her graduation from dental school in 2021, Breanna Henley took photographs in front of a slave cabin at Redcliffe Plantation.

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

Saxophonist Dexter Gordon at Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen in 1964

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

Suzan-Lori Parks' Sally & Tom makes its New York debut on April 16.

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

Mario Van Peebles directs and stars in a new film titled Outlaw Posse.

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

Two unidentified Gullah Geechee women photographed by Lorenzo Dow Turner in the early 1930s

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

Elroy and Sophia Williams stand inside the Hopewell School, a site on the National Register of Historic Places. Once freed from slavery, Sophia’s grandparents, depicted in the artwork she holds, acquired and then donated land for the school, one of nearly 5,000 built for African American children across from 1912 to 1937.

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

Members of the National Negro Opera Company pose backstage during a 1941 performance of Aida.

The Founder of This Trailblazing Opera Company Put Black Singers at Center Stage

Mary Cardwell Dawson created unprecedented opportunities for aspiring Black musicians

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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

Lincoln Cemetery was established in 1867, two years after the Civil War ended.

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

A white Baptist woman named Harriet M. Buss taught Civil War hero Robert Smalls (pictured) how to read and write.

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

Genealogy researchers use military records, birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, wills, legal and court documents, and census records to help piece together the past.

How the Smithsonian Is Helping Black Americans Trace Their Roots

Free sessions hosted by the National Museum of African American History and Culture offer visitors advice on researching their genealogy

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