Famed illustrator Thomas Nast designed this celebration of emancipation, with Abraham Lincoln inset at the bottom, in 1865

Black Lives Certainly Mattered to Abraham Lincoln

A look at the president’s words and actions during his term shows his true sentiments on slavery and racial equality

Featured in the museum's first temporary exhibition, the Fisk Jubilee Singers introduced spirituals to audiences around the world.

A New Museum in Nashville Chronicles 400 Years of Black Music

The culmination of two decades of planning, the National Museum of African American Music opened its doors last month

HBCUs have consistently enrolled more Black women than men every year since 1976. As of 2018, those women comprise 62 percent of students.

How America’s HBCUs Produced Generations of Black Women Leaders

Take a deep dive into the Smithsonian’s artifacts and archives and explore the legacy of America’s historically Black colleges and universities

In honor of Black History Month, Etsy debuted nine online stores featuring work by Gee’s Bend quilters (including Doris Pettway Mosely, who is pictured here).

Thanks to Etsy, You Can Now Purchase a Gee’s Bend Quilt Online for the First Time

The Alabama community of women quilters launched nine new Etsy stores in honor of Black History Month

A group of freed African American men along a wharf during the Civil War.

How to Tell 400 Years of Black History in One Book

From 1619 to 2019, this collection of essays, edited by two of the nation’s preeminent scholars, shows the depth and breadth of African American history

Sergeant Major William L. Henderson and hospital steward Thomas H.S. Pennington of the 20th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiment, as photographed by W.H. Leeson

How Photography Tells the Story of the Civil War’s Black Soldiers

A new book by scholar Deborah Willis features more than 70 photos, as well as letters, journal entries and posters

This month's picks include The Ravine, Four Lost Cities and The Three Mothers.

Books of the Month

Civil Rights Icons’ Mothers, Lost Ancient Cities and Other New Books to Read

These February releases elevate overlooked stories and offer insights on oft-discussed topics

Author, teacher and certified genealogical lecturer LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson will share best practices in using probate and other estate records to research enslaved ancestors.

Kick Off Black History Month With Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain and a Host of Other Events

Join Smithsonian’s NMAAHC for book talks, kid programs, artist meetups and a STEM Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon

Gordon Parks, Boy With June Bug, Fort Scott, Kansas, 1963

Gordon Parks’ Photos of 20th-Century Black Americans Are More Relevant Than Ever

An exhibition at NYC’s Jack Shainman Gallery underscores the contemporary resonance of the photographer’s work

The women featured in Brave. Black. First. include, among others, Nina Simone, Zora Neale Hurston, Ann Lowe and Condoleezza Rice.

New Book Draws Inspiration From Life Stories of African American Women

In “Brave. Black. First.,” meet more than 50 African American women who changed the world

The "Faces of Dudley" mural depicts residents of Boston's Roxbury neighborhood

This Map Details More Than 200 Massachusetts Sites Connected to African-American History

You can contribute to the project by suggesting new entries or proposing edits to existing ones via the project’s main hub

Scene from the 1967 Detroit riot.

Trending Today

Study Shows Little Change Since Kerner Commission Reported on Racism 50 Years Ago

An update to the landmark study finds there is now more poverty and segregation in America

Cleveland Sellers, center, stands with officers after his arrest in Orangeburg, S.C., where three were killed and 28 others wounded on Feb. 8, 1968.

In 1968, Three Students Were Killed by Police. Today, Few Remember the Orangeburg Massacre

The shootings occurred two years before the deaths of students at Kent State University, but remain a little-known incident in the Civil Rights Movement

The Museum at FIT tweeted about its "Black Fashion Designers" exhibition drawn from its permanent collection.

In Honor of Black History Month, Cultural Institutions Are Sharing Archival Treasures

The best of the U.S. National Archive’s #ArchivesBlackHistory

A plantation kitchen in Georgia in 1880.

These Were the First Cookbooks Published By Black People in America

These cookbooks and domestic guides offer historians a window into the experiences and tastes of black Americans in the 1800s

Bill Robinson as photographed by George Hurrell in 1935.

Three Ways Bill “Bojangles” Robinson Changed Dance Forever

Robinson worked throughout his career to make life better for black performers

Follow the Path of the Freedom Riders in This Interactive Map

These civil rights activists showed true courage in telling the nation about the segregated South

This image, entitled "Doing Their Share, Too," celebrated the war work of black women.

Cool Finds

This African American Artist’s Cartoons Helped Win World War II

Charles Alston knew how to turn art into motivation

Within Our Gates is the oldest surviving film by a black director.

Cool Finds

Watch the Oldest-Known Surviving Film by an African-American Director

Within Our Gates was Oscar Micheaux’s response to a racist classic

African-American Girl Scouts chat at a camp named after Josephine Holloway, who pioneered scouting for girls of color.

Cool Finds

Girl Scouting Was Once Segregated

Though the Girl Scouts of the USA initially declared itself a space for all girls, the reality was different for girls of color

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