African American History

Catoctin Furnace in Cunningham Falls State Park, Maryland

DNA Links 42,000 Living People to Enslaved and Free African Americans Buried in Maryland

The research, initiated by the local African American community, could be a roadmap for future genealogy studies

Captivity, 1974 is a quilted version of a photo taken of Tyler after his initial arrest.

He Was Wrongfully Imprisoned for 41 Years. Now He Has His First Solo Exhibition

In "We Are the Willing," quilter Gary Tyler revisits his time in prison and explores his newfound freedom

Tupac Shakur designed the gold, ruby and diamond crown ring, which recently sold at auction for a little over $1 million.

Drake Buys the Most Valuable Hip-Hop Artifact Ever Sold: Tupac Shakur's Ring

Shakur designed the piece himself and wore it during his last public appearance before his death in 1996

The family of Henrietta Lacks pose with a statue of Henrietta Lacks and the artist at an unveiling in the United Kingdom in 2021.

Henrietta Lacks' Family Settles Lawsuit Over the Use of Her Cells Without Consent

Lacks' endlessly replicating cancer cells, collected without her knowledge in 1951, have enabled major medical breakthroughs

Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, at home in Chicago

Biden Establishes National Monument Honoring Emmett Till and His Mother

Three sites connected to the 14-year-old boy's murder in 1955 will now receive federal protection

The new app provides access to banned titles based on readers' locations.

Readers Can Now Access Books Banned in Their Area for Free With New App

Based on users' locations, the Banned Book Club provides e-book editions of titles banned in nearby libraries

The monument, designed by artists Amanda Williams and Olalekan B. Jeyifous, will be placed at an entrance to Prospect Park.

A Monument Honoring Shirley Chisholm, the First Black Congresswoman, Is Coming to Brooklyn

After years of delays, New York City officially approved a statue commemorating the borough native and political trailblazer

President Harry S. Truman speaks from the dais at the Convention Hall as Kentucky Senator Alben Barkley (seated onstage in black suit) looks on during the 1948 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

The 1948 Democratic National Convention Is the Missing Link in Civil Rights History

Civil rights activists failed to expel an all-white, segregationist delegation. But their efforts foreshadowed later milestones in the fight for equality

The memorial wall inside the new Africatown Heritage House

New Exhibition Tells the Story of the 'Clotilda,' the Last Known American Slave Ship

A display spotlighting the schooner's survivors is now open inside the new Africatown Heritage House in Mobile, Alabama

Members of the New York International Salsa Congress dance during People en Español's Hispanic Heritage Month festival in 2019. The congress has collaborated with the International Salsa Museum in the past, and the groups are partnering again this Labor Day for the museum's next pop-up event.

A Salsa Museum Is Dancing Its Way to the Bronx

While the museum lacks a permanent home, it's bringing lively events to the "Borough of Salsa"

In the exhibition, Basquiat’s art and objects are described not in esoteric art world terms but in loving, even playful ways, often from the perspective of his sisters, Lisane Basquiat and Jeanine Heriveaux

For Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat's Family, This Exhibition Was a Means of Grieving

Visitors to "Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure," now in Los Angeles, walk through the late artist’s studio and connect with him on a personal level

Protesters attend a rally in support of affirmative action in college admissions on October 31, 2022.

The History Behind the Supreme Court's Affirmative Action Decision

The phrase, first used in early 20th-century employment laws, is at the center of two new rulings against its use in higher education

Big Boi in between verses at Lakewood Amphitheater in Atlanta on September 10, 2016.

A Rap Legend Looks Back on 50 Years of Hip-Hop

Outkast’s Big Boi traces the genre’s indelible impact on global music and culture

Bisa Butler selects fabrics that symbolically honor and protect her subjects.

The Genius Behind Bisa Butler's Vibrant Quilts

The renowned artist's exuberant portraits celebrate Black history and take the form to a new level

The crew of the USS Kearsarge, photographed shortly after battle with the CSS Alabama

Was This Civil War Hero the First Medal of Honor Recipient Born in Africa?

Recent research suggests Joachim Pease, a sailor recognized for his role in sinking a Confederate raider, was from Cape Verde

Rhoda Goodridge in a 2 ¾-by-3 ¼-inch ambrotype made by her husband, the pioneering photographer Glenalvin Goodridge.

A Massive Archive Tells the Story of Early African American Photographers

Arresting portraits, now a part of the Smithsonian collections, illuminate the little-known role these artists played in chronicling 19th-century life

Sergeant Henry Johnson (standing, holding bouquet of flowers) and the Harlem Hellfighters at a 1918 victory parade in New York City

Louisiana Army Base Formerly Named for Confederate General Now Honors Black WWI Hero

Sergeant Henry Johnson received a posthumous Medal of Honor recognizing his bravery in battle in France

Adopting the last name of his former enslaver, Harry spent the rest of his life pursuing the ideal for which the name Washington has long been revered in American history: fighting for freedom.

Enslaved by George Washington, This Man Escaped to Freedom—and Joined the British Army

Harry Washington fought for his enslaver's enemy during the American Revolution. Later, he migrated to Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone

Lewis Wickes Hine's 1909 photograph of a young spinner in a Georgia cotton mill

The Photographer Who Forced the U.S. to Confront Its Child Labor Problem

Lewis Hine's early 20th-century "photo stories" sparked meaningful legislative reform

Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture has acquired Ebony magazine's bright and bold test kitchen, originally built in 1972.

'Ebony' Magazine's Vintage Test Kitchen Finds a Home at the Smithsonian

The 1970s-era kitchen will undergo conservation at the National Museum of African American History and Culture

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