Race and Ethnicity

Amy Sherald's posthumous portrait of Breonna Taylor serves as the Louisville show's focal point.

How an Art Exhibition in Breonna Taylor's Hometown Honors Her Life and Impact

The Louisville show is organized around three overarching themes proposed by Taylor's mother: promise, witness and remembrance

Tuskegee history professor Frank Toland speaks to the gathered students at the base of the Confederate monument.

Black Protesters Have Been Rallying Against Confederate Statues for Generations

When Tuskegee student Sammy Younge, Jr., was murdered in 1966, his classmates focused their righteous anger on a local monument

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Looking Back at the Tulsa Race Massacre, 100 Years Later

Confronting the murderous attack on the most prosperous black community in the nation

Smith, the first black American to earn a medical degree, was also a leading abolitionist and prolific writer. His alma maters included the African Free School #2 (bottom right) and the University of Glasgow (top right).

America's First Black Physician Sought to Heal a Nation's Persistent Illness

An activist, writer, doctor and intellectual, James McCune Smith, born enslaved, directed his talents to the eradication of slavery

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

The costume worn by Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther during his Marvel Studios debut (2016's Captain America: Civil War), from the collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

How Black Panther Changed Comic Books (and Wakanda) Forever

The Marvel superhero pounced on the scene in the '60s and never looked back

Rainey’s “polite and dignified bearing enforces respect,” an 1871 newspaper report said before disparaging him as unequal to the “best men of the House.”

Meet Joseph Rainey, the First Black Congressman

Born enslaved, he was elected to Congress in the wake of the Civil War. But the impact of this momentous step in U.S. race relationships did not last long

Our favorite books this year are ones with messages that help kids understand the world around them.

The Ten Best Children's Books of 2020

These top titles deliver history lessons, wordplay and a musical romp through the animal kingdom

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Why the Smithsonian Is Encouraging Americans to Talk More Openly About Race

In a year marked by calls to reckon with America’s racial past, the Smithsonian is taking a big step toward helping the nation heal

An illustration from the May 26, 1882 issue of the San Francisco Illustrated Wasp depicts three ghoulish figures called malarium, smallpox and leprosy and one holding a sash that says “Chinatown.”

The Long History of Blaming Immigrants in Times of Sickness

Panelists at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History discuss pandemics and scapegoating

President Lyndon B. Johnson shakes hands with Martin Luther King Jr. at the signing of the Civil Rights Act.

The Outsized Role of the President in Race Relations

A new podcast series explores how the presidency has shaped the nation's approach to pursuing racial justice

Ethan Hawke plays abolitionist John Brown in Showtime's "The Good Lord Bird."

'The Good Lord Bird' Paints a Different Portrait of Abolitionist John Brown

In a year of anti-racism protests, the new Showtime series focuses on the polarizing abolitionist who led a raid on Harper's Ferry

Eleanor Roosevelt talks to a child at the ceremonies inaugurating the slum clearance in Detroit, Michigan.

Why Eleanor Roosevelt's Example Matters More Than Ever

A new biography shows how decency, determination and generosity of heart can change the world

Parliament's halls are lined with art.

How the U.K. Parliament's Art Collection Is Linked to Slavery

An initial review identified 189 works depicting individuals associated with the slave trade

Curators removed the tsantsa, or shrunken heads, from display in July.

Oxford Museum Permanently Removes Controversial Display of Shrunken Heads

Citing the exhibit's reinforcement of "racist and stereotypical thinking," the Pitt Rivers Museum moved a total of 120 human remains into storage

The museum's CEO emeritus, John Guess Jr., stands in front of the newly installed Spirit of the Confederacy sculpture.

Why the Houston Museum of African American Culture Is Displaying a Confederate Statue

The institution describes the move, which arrives amid a reckoning on the U.S.' history of systemic racism, as "part of healing"

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

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

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