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Race and Ethnicity

Patrick Francis Healy, depicted here in front of Healy Hall, served as Georgetown University's president between 1874 and 1882.

Born Enslaved, Patrick Francis Healy ‘Passed’ His Way to Lead Georgetown University

Because the 19th-century college president appeared white, he was able to climb the ladder of the Jesuit community

The finish of the 2019 Kentucky Derby.

The Complicated Legacy of ‘My Old Kentucky Home’

Sung each year at the Kentucky Derby, the tune’s original meaning has long been lost to history

“Freeman's Hands"

The Remarkable Life and Work of Guitar Maker Freeman Vines

For nearly half a century, the North Carolina native has created instruments out of found wood—including some from a notorious hanging tree

A photo from the statue's unveiling in Central Park on Wednesday, August 26

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

Why the First Monument of Real Women in Central Park Matters—and Why It’s Controversial

Today, New York City welcomed a public artwork honoring three suffragists. But some scholars argue that the statue obscures more than it celebrates

Civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer's searing speech about the brutality she'd endured because, as a voting rights activist, she wanted black Americans "to become first-class citizens," made primetime before the 1964 DNC officially kicked off.

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

Fannie Lou Hamer’s Dauntless Fight for Black Americans’ Right to Vote

The activist did not learn about her right to vote until she was 44, but once she did, she vigorously fought for black voting rights

Karen Orozco Gutierrez and Ann Banks returned to Alabama to visit the area where Banks' ancestors had enslaved people, including Orozco Gutierrez's ancestor Milton.

Two Women, Their Lives Connected by American Slavery, Tackle Their Shared History

One descended from an enslaver, the other from the people he enslaved. Together, they traveled to the Deep South to learn their families’ pasts

Death Valley National Park saw a record-breaking 130 degrees Fahrenheit on August 16. The measurement might be the hottest temperature recorded on Earth since at least 1913, according to the National Weather Service.

Coalition Calls for Naming Heat Waves Like Hurricanes

The group’s climate and health experts say naming and categorizing extreme heat events could save lives

Composite portraits of Augustus (left) and Maximinus Thrax (right)

Peer Into the Past With Photorealistic Portraits of Roman Emperors

Artist Daniel Voshart used machine learning and editing software to create likenesses of 54 ancient leaders

Assateague wild ponies parade through town during the Chincoteague Island Pony Swim in Virginia.

How America Became Obsessed With Horses

A new book explores the meaning the animal holds for people—from cowboys to elite show jumpers—in this country

This month's picks include Caste, Veritas and The Organ Thieves.

Books of the Month

The Forged Gospel of Jesus’s Wife, Hidden Castes and Other New Books to Read

These five August releases may have been lost in the news cycle

The Penn Museum in Philadelphia, part of the University of Pennsylvania, as pictured in 2012

The Penn Museum Moves Collection of Enslaved People’s Skulls Into Storage

Per a statement, the Philadelphia institution is actively working to ensure the bones’ “repatriation or reburial”

Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch on the History of Protest in America

Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III examines key movements in black history, from the Greensboro sit-in to Black Lives Matter

Effective immediately, the franchise will be known as the "Washington Football Team."

After Retiring Its Racist Name, D.C. Football Team Announces Temporary Moniker

A new title will be announced once trademark issues are resolved

Pierre Charles L'Enfant's Plan for Washington D.C., as revised by Andrew Ellicott. Engraved by Thackara and Vallance sc.

The Notorious ‘Yellow House’ That Made Washington, D.C. a Slavery Capital

Located right off the National Mall, the jail lent institutional support to slavery throughout the South

John Lewis' mugshot, taken after his arrest in Jackson, Mississippi, as a Freedom Rider

John Lewis’ Storied History of Causing ‘Good Trouble’

The activist and congressman, who died Friday at age 80, viewed protest as crucial in American society

In April, people queued at a testing tent in East New York in Brooklyn. COVID-19 rates are highest among black New Yorkers in Kings County.

Race in America

What ‘Racism Is a Public Health Issue’ Means

Epidemiologist Sharrelle Barber discusses the racial inequalities that exist for COVID-19 and many other health conditions

Nina Chanel Abney, Untitled, 2019. Installation view, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2019.

Eight Online Exhibits to See Right Now on Black History, Racism and Protest

Educating yourself with these shows is one more way to understand the current moment

An archival photo of the main street in the Frog's Hollow neighborhood of Brisbane, Australia

Archaeologists Unearth Trove of Artifacts From 19th-Century Australian Chinatown

Chinese immigrants created a community in the Frog’s Hollow neighborhood of Brisbane

A 1967 funeral program for Mrs. Julia Burton

New Digital Archive Explores 133 Years of African American Funeral Programs

The online resource offers a veritable treasure trove of information for historians and genealogists

Quaker Oats announced this week that it will retire the Aunt Jemima name and logo. "We recognize Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype," said a spokesperson in a statement.

Quaker Oats to Retire Aunt Jemima After Acknowledging Brand’s Origins as ‘Racial Stereotype’

The breakfast line’s rebranding arrives amid widespread protests against systemic racism and police brutality

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