Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

10/03/2023

Journey into the past and explore future possibilities through a Spring 2024 internship at our museum. Interns will have opportunities to grow at one of Washington, D.C.’s most exciting museums, working closely with a variety of professionals and scholars in the museum field.

“I would describe my internship at NMAAHC as life-changing. The skills that I learned during my time at NMAAHC applies to my current job and future opportunities.” - Paris Y., Chesapeake Heartland Intern (2018)

Learn more and apply before October 15, 2023: https://nmaahc.si.edu/connect/internships-fellowships/internships

10/03/2023

The development of Historically Black Colleges and Universities ( ) grew from a desire by newly freed African Americans to experience the freedom and liberty of full personhood and citizenship in America. By the turn of the century, HBCUs provided undergraduate training for 75 percent of all Black Americans holding a doctorate degree; 75 percent of all Black officers in the armed forces; and 80 percent of all Black federal judges.

This skill and compassion combination can be seen in the ability of HBCU alumni to meet the needs of their communities, country and the world, while introducing groundbreaking theories in science, social work, and medicine, engineering, and education, necessary to uplift and excel. HBCUs educated intellectuals who produced legal and social challenges to systems of oppression including Jim Crow by becoming political, cultural and social leaders.

HBCUs like Fisk University in Tennessee and Tuskegee in Alabama, trained their students to meet the needs of Black communities using cultural understanding, respect, and loyalty as tools of their trade.

For the entire month of October our Robert F. Smith Center for the Digitization and Curation of African American History will be headquartered at Fisk University's John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library providing engaging programming, and digitizing materials for local institutions, organizations, and community members. Learn more: https://s.si.edu/46dPI58



📸 Courtesy of Nashville Public Library, Special Collections

10/02/2023

Join us this month for a celebration of our “Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures” exhibition with a series of programming that celebrates Black futures in a multitude of ways.

Throughout the month, participate in Afrofuturism-themed programs, activities and workshops that explore Black identity, agency and freedom through art, creative works and activism. Learn more: https://s.si.edu/48AGuBw

10/01/2023

in 1962, James Meredith became the first African American student at the University of Mississippi, despite fierce resistance from the campus community.

After serving in the United States Air Force for 9 years, Meredith attended Jackson State University, a historically Black University in Jackson, Mississippi. In 1961, he was accepted to the University of Mississippi, but the school soon retracted its offer when the registrar discovered that he was Black.

Meredith filed a lawsuit against the University citing the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education ruling as cause. He won the case with the help of activist Medgar Evers and other civil rights leaders, who provided legal assistance. Meredith was eventually accepted to the University but faced organized racist resistance to his enrollment.

His time at the University was marked by isolation, leading him to dub himself as “the most segregated Negro in America.” He faced ostracism from his peers, and some students even formed the Rebel Resistance group, which, in collaboration with the Citizens’ Council, urged fellow students to avoid any interaction with Meredith.

In 1963, Meredith graduated with a bachelor's in political science and later wrote about his experiences at the university in a memoir titled “Three Years in Mississippi.”

📸 Photograph shows James Meredith walking to class accompanied by U.S. marshals. Photo by Marion S. Trikosko. Integration at Ole Mississippi University / MST. Oxford Mississippi, 1962. Courtesy of the Library of Congress, 2003688159

09/30/2023

🎉 Our museum welcomed its 10 millionth in-person visitor today!

This milestone takes place almost one week after the 7th anniversary of our grand opening on Sept. 24, 2016. Our museum actively collects items related to African American life, history, and culture and currently has a permanent collection of more than 42,000 items, with nearly half of them available for study online. Learn more: https://s.si.edu/3PXWbLS

09/29/2023

In the event of a government shutdown on Oct. 1, Smithsonian museums, research centers and the National Zoo will remain OPEN through at least Oct. 7. The Smithsonian can use prior-year funds still available to us to remain open. Visit si.edu for updates.

Official website of the Smithsonian, the world's largest museum and research complex, with 19 museums, 9 research centers, and affiliates around the world.

09/29/2023

in 1910, The National Urban League was founded. The organization was created by sociologist George E. Haynes and others responding to the massive influx of Black migrants from the South seeking employment and better living conditions in Northern urban areas. Its primary aim was to “promote and to do constructive and preventive social work for improving the social and economic conditions of Negroes in urban centers.”

The National Urban League performed field studies to assess the quality of Black life and utilized their data to develop community uplift programs. During the 1920s, the Urban League’s programming — like its national industrial program — trained Black industrial firm workers. In 1920 alone, more than 16,000 African Americans sought the assistance of the Urban League’s New York branch to develop job skills and secure employment.

The Urban League’s motto, “Not Alms, but Opportunity,” incorporated a belief in self-sufficiency through vocational training.

📸 Former National Urban League director Vernon Jordan is pictured in 1980. Photograph by Moneta Sleet Jr. Johnson Publishing Company Archive. Courtesy J. Paul Getty Trust and Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

09/28/2023

For many students attending Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) across the country, fashion represents their personal racial pride, creativity, and identities as future leaders.

Blazers, letterman sweaters, long dresses, knitted sweaters and skirt sets were popular at these academic institutions for decades. This genre of professional and leisure attire demonstrated to others that students were avant-garde thinkers. This aesthetic remained the fashion standard for generations – even during economic downturns like the Great Depression.

By the 1970s much of the social activism and protests impacted the dress styles of students – with many HBCU students donning more relaxed and comfortable clothing, like denim jeans and t-shirts. Popular culture, including musicians, actors, and film stars also influenced shifts in styles on HBCU campuses.

🎥 African American students walk around the Tuskegee University campus in 1970. Courtesy of Hearst Newsreel/Getty Images

09/26/2023

Born in 1931 in Sugar Hill, Harlem, New York, Pearl Bowser pursued an education at Brooklyn College, majoring in biology. She furthered her studies at New York University, where she obtained a certificate in photography. In 1955, she married LeRoy Bowser. By the mid-1960s, both were deeply involved in the Civil Rights Movement. She was an indispensable part of New York’s Black film culture during the ’60s and ’70s, serving as a collaborator, producer, editor and promoter.

Bowser’s archival endeavors spanned a vast spectrum, from mainstream movies to lesser-known documentaries and TV clips. She co-founded Chamba Educational Film Services (later renamed as African Diaspora Images) with St. Clair Bourne, celebrating African American directors. Her archives offer a colorful depiction of Brooklyn, spotlighting talents like Kathleen Collins, William Greaves and Bowser herself. In 2012, Bowser’s rich collection found a home at our museum. Her 16 mm films, videos, oral histories, photography and ephemera stands as a testament to African American cinema’s profound heritage and Bowser’s unwavering commitment to preserving it. Read our full statement on the death of Pearl Bowser: https://s.si.edu/3PU0NTu

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) mourns the passing of Pearl Bowser, who was an indispensable part of New York’s Black film culture during the ’60s and ’70s, serving as a collaborator, producer, editor and promoter.

09/26/2023

Born Serena Williams is one of the most decorated tennis players in American history. Her father, Richard Williams, a former sharecropper from Louisiana determined to see his two youngest daughters succeed, used books and videos to instruct Serena and Venus on how to play tennis. Serena began practicing at 3 years old on a court near her home in Compton, California.

Serena became a professional tennis player in 1995 and won the French Open, the U.S. Open, and Wimbledon in 2002, defeating her sister in the finals of each tournament. In 2008, she won the U.S. Open and teamed with Venus to capture a second women’s doubles Olympic gold medal at the Beijing Games. Williams is also the only professional tennis player to accomplish a Career Golden Slam in singles & doubles.

📸 Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Platon, @ Platon

09/26/2023

Our museum has acquired the largest private collection of items to bring new context and perspective to the life and literary impact of poet Phillis Wheatley Peters (c.1753–1784), including one of the few manuscripts written in the poet’s hand. Born in West Africa and captured by slave traders as a child, Wheatley Peters became the first African American to publish a book of poetry with the 1773 release of her “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral” in London. A rare and exciting highlight of this acquisition is a 4-page autograph manuscript of a previously unpublished poem, “Ocean,” written in ink by Wheatley Peters own hand, the only copy that exists today. The poem was likely composed on her return voyage to America from England in September 1773.

Learn more and view highlights from the collection: https://s.si.edu/3PAj0nG


📸 1. and 2. (detail and full view) Ocean, Manuscript poem by Phillis Wheatley, 1773. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

09/25/2023

Tennis player and professional golfer Althea Gibson was the first African American woman to compete at the highest levels of both sports. Her accomplishments broke race, gender, and class barriers.

Gibson was a dynamic tennis player who hit powerful groundstrokes and was unafraid to charge the net. Because of Gibson’s race and style of play, critics erroneously accused her of lacking femininity.

Gibson made her debut at the U.S. Open in 1950, at a time when tennis was largely segregated. During the 1950s, Gibson won 56 singles and doubles titles, including 11 major titles. Gibson was the first African American to win a Grand Slam tennis event. Gibson also won the French Open in 1956, and Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 1957 and 1958, respectively.

In total, she won 5 Grand Slam singles tournaments. In 1967 she became the first African American woman to compete on the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour. After her career ended, Gibson remained active in her community. She became the country’s first woman state athletic commissioner, for New Jersey, in 1976.

📸 Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Don Felder and Family

09/25/2023

Author, feminist, critic, activist and scholar bell hooks was born in 1952.

Born Gloria Jean Watkins to working-class parents in 1952, hooks grew up in the segregated city of Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Her interest in poetry began at a young age as she recited the likes of Gwendolyn Brooks, Langston Hughes and Elizabeth Barrett Browning for her church community.

hooks received her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and was only 19 when she began working on the draft for her first book, “Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism.”

She would eventually publish more than 40 books and receive the National Book Award for Fiction and the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. In her book, “Remembered Rapture: The Writer at Work,” hooks writes, “Writing is my passion. It is a way to experience the ecstatic. The root understanding of the word ecstasy— 'to stand outside'—comes to me in those moments when I am immersed so deeply in the act of thinking and writing that everything else, even flesh, falls away.” Her most notable works, including, “Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom” and “All About Love: New Visions”, influenced generations of feminists, educators and artists to approach their work with love and purposefulness.

Her published works were diverse and ranged from scholarly books to films to children’s books and more. hooks, who passed away in 2021 is remembered as a force in feminist theory and in cultural criticism and continues to inspire a multitude of Black and women writers.



📸 Courtesy of Anthony Barboza/Getty Images

09/24/2023

in 2016, our museum first opened its doors to the public. Today, we commemorate 7 years as the nation’s largest and most comprehensive cultural destination devoted exclusively to exploring, documenting and showcasing the African American story and its impact not only on America but also the world.

We are grateful to every single visitor, volunteer, donor, contributor, builder, advocate, fellow, intern, community member, researcher, staffer and countless others who have made the pilgrimage to learn, invest and share in this constantly evolving story, preserving it for generations far beyond what we can imagine. This moment is only possible through your contributions and commitment.


📸 Rob Stewart/NMAAHC

09/23/2023

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1863, the year of the Emancipation Proclamation, Mary Eliza Church Terrell grew up to be an influential figure in a changing America. She was the daughter of affluent African American parents, both of whom had been previously enslaved. Terrell was a renowned educator and speaker who campaigned fearlessly for women’s suffrage and equality for African Americans.

In 1909, she served as one of the charter members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). As an active member of the National Association of Women’s Suffrage Act (NAWSA), she worked with the organization’s founder, Susan B. Anthony. Terrell was invited to deliver two speeches on the challenges faced by women, and particularly women of color in America, at the International Congress of Women in Berlin in 1904. She was the only woman of African descent invited to speak at the conference.

She held firm to the idea of racial uplift—the belief that African American could help end racial discrimination by advancing themselves through education, work, and activism. Her words "lifting as we climb" became the motto of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW), the organization that she cofounded in 1896. Explore her life and activism: https://s.si.edu/46mrPbu

📸 1. and 2. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Ray and Jean Langston in memory of Mary Church and Robert Terrell

09/22/2023

The year 2023 marks the 160th anniversary of one of the most important documents in the nation’s history, the Emancipation Proclamation. Following the success of the Union Army at Antietam, on Sept. 22, 1862, Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. Under his wartime authority as Commander-in-Chief, he ordered that, as of Jan. 1, 1863, all enslaved individuals in all areas still in rebellion against the United States “henceforward shall be free.”

The Executive Order issued by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War provided freedom to enslaved Black people in the rebelling states. Though slavery continued to legally exist in the nation, in slave-holding states that had not left the union, the Emancipation Proclamation marked a major turning point in the hard fought battle to end slavery nationwide. Explore more on our website: https://s.si.edu/48o0OpI


📸 Courtesy of Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, 2003671404

09/21/2023

Applications are now open for our 🌸 Spring 2024 internships!

Interns will have opportunities to work closely with museum professionals and scholars through a dynamic learning environment with access to supportive mentors.

Virtual, hybrid and onsite opportunities are available in departments across our museum like advancement, curatorial, digital strategy and engagement, media and more! Apply today: s.si.edu/3EGIgDG

09/21/2023

in 1866, the Buffalo Soldiers, an all-African American military regiment was formed in Fort Leavenworth, KS.

The heroism of the soldiers has been celebrated by filmmakers, musicians, military reenactors, descendants and more who strive to preserve their legacy. Their heritage is complicated, however.

While they were considered by the general American public as unworthy and unqualified for the military due to their race — tragically, their service to America came at the expense of Native Americans whom they fought. Read more: https://s.si.edu/3Ut6MPp

📸 Buffalo soldiers of the 25th Infantry, Ft. Keogh, Montana, 1890. Courtesy of Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

09/20/2023

“Across this country, young Black men and women have been infected with a fever of affirmation. They are saying, ‘We are Black and beautiful.’” - Hoyt Fuller

Our museum is a public institution open to all, where anyone is welcome to participate, collaborate, and learn more about African American history and culture.



📸 1. Photo: on Instagram 2. Photo: on Instagram 3. Photo: on Instagram 4. Photo: on Instagram 5. Photo: on Instagram

09/19/2023

"Join voices in protest to social injustice."

This earring was worn by Janet Jackson on the cover of her 4th studio album, "Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814." While not particularly flashy or the most expensive piece of jewelry she ever wore, it is undeniably the most recognizable.

Janet Jackson, the youngest member of the Jackson family, started performing professionally at a young age. Even though she was a member of a famous family, she still had to do chores around the house. Jackson cared for the family's many animals and needed a key to unlock their cages. Since she didn't use a keychain, she kept the key on her hoop earring so she wouldn't lose it.

When Jackson released "Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814" on this day in 1989, the key earring had become her signature. On the cover, she is wearing a military-style uniform and hat, and this key earring is prominently visible, hanging from her right ear. Jackson wore this earring throughout the next year of public appearances, award shows, and the incredibly successful Rhythm Nation World Tour 1990. The earring is a connection to her childhood and perhaps a representation of her finally unlocking the many facets of her creativity and personal agency.

"Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814" marked Jackson's growth since the coming-of-age era of "Control" and cemented her status as a cultural and musical icon for people worldwide. The album merges themes of Black womanhood, social justice, and love with Afrofuturistic sounds and visuals. It has sold an estimated 12 million copies worldwide, and it is the only album in history to produce No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in three separate calendar years ("Miss You Much" in 1989, both "Escapade" and "Black Cat" in 1990, and "Love Will Never Do Without You" in 1991). "1814" references the year "The Star-Spangled Banner" was composed, signaling a new anthem for a new "rhythm nation."

Learn more about this earring in our new book, "Musical Crossroads: Stories Behind the Objects of African American Music," and see other stories about Janet Jackson in our exhibition, "Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures."

📸 1. Hoop and key earring worn by Janet Jackson. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture 2. Janet Jackson performs during the "Rhythm Nation 1814" Tour at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on August 28, 1990 in Uniondale, New York. Courtesy of Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

09/19/2023

in 1963, Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Incorporated, was founded. The fraternity originated on the campus of Morgan State College (now Morgan State University), with 12 founding members. Founded just 4 days after the horrific bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama that claimed the lives of 4 little Black girls, Iota represented the enthusiasm of the burgeoning Black liberation movement.

They established their purpose as: “The development and perpetuation of Scholarship, Leadership, Citizenship, Fidelity, and Brotherhood among Men.” The founders, Albert Hicks, Lonnie Spruill, Jr., Charles Briscoe, Frank Coakley, John Slade, Barron Willis, Webster Lewis, Charles Brown, Louis Hudnell, Charles Gregory, Elias Dorsey, Jr., and Michael Williams were mostly non-traditional students: married men with families, full-time workers, military service veterans, and were 3-to-5 years older than many other students. The Fraternity was legally incorporated on November 1, 1968, as a National Fraternity under the laws of the State of Maryland. Their colors are Charcoal Brown and Gilded Gold.

Today, Iota Phi Theta consists of over 300 chapters located in 40 states and countries such as Japan, Korea, and the Bahamas and includes such distinguished members as T.C. Carson, Kendrick Jevan Dean, former congressman Bobby Rush, Elvin Hayes and Spencer Christian. Their motto is: "Building a Tradition, Not Resting Upon One!"

📸 Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.

09/18/2023

"I like to make them pretty," - Mae Reeves, legendary African American milliner

Throughout history Black Americans have expressed their culture, style and identities through clothing, jewelry, and accessories. African American fashion has always fused innovation with style — whether “dressed to the nines” in Mae Reeves hats and Stacy Adams shoes for special occasions, stitching Black Power uniforms out of denim jackets, or repurposing mainstream couture with Dapper Dan to magnify the messages of hip-hop — fashion has long held meaning and power. This has been especially true for Black women, who have historically contended with stereotypes and assumptions about their womanhood and sexuality.

Historians, like Tiffany Gill, note that against the social unrest of the Jim Crow era, fashion helped shape and define African American culture by highlighting Black women’s personhood, respectability, independence, and beauty.

“For Black women who grew up in the Jim Crow era, as my grandmother and my mother did, hats were a way for them to take ownership over their style, a way for them to assert that they mattered," said Gill, author of “Beauty Shop Politics: African American Women's Activism in the Beauty Industry.”


📸 Photograph of Mae Reeves and a group of women standing on stairs. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from Mae Reeves and her children, Donna Limerick and William Mincey, Jr.

09/17/2023

in 1787, the United States Constitution was signed. State taxes and Congressional representatives were determined by the number of people in each state.

The "Three-Fifths Clause" counted every enslaved person as 3/5ths of a free citizen. This allowed the Southern states to maintain their political power at the national level by increasing the number of their representatives in the House and the number of electoral college votes for the presidency. The clause remained in effect until the passage of the 13th, 14th, & 15th Amendments— which ensured equality for newly freed people.

Learn more in our award-winning Searchable Museum: https://s.si.edu/3RRuB1p

📸 Cassina Point plantation of James Hopkinson on Edisto Island, South Carolina, 1862. Courtesy of Library of Congress, 2015650290

09/16/2023

in 1889, Claude Albert Barnett, nicknamed “The Father of the Black Press,” was born. Barnett grew up in Chicago and later graduated from Tuskegee Institute in 1904. After graduation, Barnett became a postal worker, a job which sparked his interest in publications, advertisements, and the news. Barnett, along with several partners, started the Kashmir Chemical Company, which was a cosmetics business where Barnett worked as the advertising manager.

After realizing that the Black newspapers where he placed his ads needed better media coverage, Barnett founded the Associated Negro Press (ANP) in 1919. Its mission was to provide Black Americans with a reliable stream of news, especially news from inside their communities. He assembled a group of Black reporters called ‘stringers’ who provided stories and allowed Barnett to charge newspaper publishers for the latest scoop.

The success of the ANP catapulted Barnett’s career and reputation, allowing him to serve as a consultant to the United States Department of Agriculture during the 1930s. He subsequently received numerous awards including; an honorary doctorate from Tuskegee University, the Chevalier Order of Honor and Merit from Paul Eugene Magloire, President of Haiti, and the honorary title Commander of the Order of Star of Africa from Liberian President William V. S. Tubman.

🎥 One Tenth of a Nation. The Press. Ruby Dandridge, Kwame Nkrumah, Alice Allison Dunnigan. 1953. Courtesy of Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division.

09/15/2023

in 1963, a bomb planted by the Ku Klux Klan ripped through the 16th Street Baptist Church, in Birmingham, Alabama, killing 4 little girls—11-year-old Carol Denise McNair, and 14-year-olds Carole Robertson, Cynthia Diane Wesley and Addie Mae Collins—and injuring several others.

This atrocity marked the third bombing in 11 days in Birmingham, Alabama, following the federal court order integrating Alabama schools. Shards from the church's stained-glass window are on display in our exhibition "Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation" as a reminder of this tragic incident.

Racially motivated attacks on Black people, their homes and their churches grew so common that the city was referred to as “Bombingham.” African American civil rights activists made Birmingham a focal point of their desegregation campaign.

Learn more: s.si.edu/3iz7qHs

📸 1.2.3.4. Courtesy of Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 5. Stained glass rosette shard from the 16th Street Baptist Church. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Family of Rev. Norman C. "Jim" Jimerson and Melva Brooks Jimerson 6. The damaged interior of the church is shown in the immediate aftermath of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. Courtesy of Tom Self/Birmingham News, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

09/14/2023

in 1921, attorney and civil rights activist Constance Baker Motley was born in New Haven, Connecticut. She was the 9th of 12 children born to immigrant parents from the Caribbean Island, Nevis.

Motley graduated from New York University in 1943 and attended Columbia Law School. She was the first Black female attorney to work for the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund (LDF), as well as the first Black woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court. She would become a key architect of the fight for desegregation in the South. From 1945 to 1964, Motley worked on all major school desegregation cases brought by LDF. She wrote the original complaint in Brown v. Board of Education and crafted litigation that integrated several universities, including James Meredith’s entrance into the University of Mississippi, which effectively integrated the public university.

Motley, however, claimed her greatest professional achievement was the reinstatement of 1,100 Black children in Birmingham who had been expelled from school for taking part in public demonstrations in 1963. Baker is celebrated as a lawyer “who took no prisoners,” and who won pivotal cases related to the rights of citizens to counsel, due process, and equality. She was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal in 2001.

📸 World Telegram & Sun Photo by Fred Palumbo. New York, 1965. Courtesy of Library of Congress, 2011645202.