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Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory | Legal: si.edu/termsofuse
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Black soldiers have served in every war in the United States. In choosing to join the military, they sought to have their service understood by the nation as a demand for liberty and citizenship. African American men and women who enlisted in the military made their service useful not only for the good of their country, but to benefit both their personal lives and their communities. Today, we honor their sacrifice, and the sacrifice of those who still take the call to serve their country.
#VeteransDay #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory
📸 Sgt. Chris Davis and his son by Howard Morehead. Johnson Publishing Company Archive. Courtesy J. Paul Getty Trust and Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Made possible by the Ford Foundation, J. Paul Getty Trust, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon, and Smithsonian Institution.
01 Jan 1970
#OnThisDay in 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to Congress.
The Brooklyn, New York native represented New York’s 12th congressional district for seven terms from 1969 to 1983.
Follow the link in our bio to learn more about Shirley Chisholm on our Searchable Museum.
#APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory
📸 Photograph by Maurice Sorrell. Johnson Publishing Company Archive. J. Paul Getty Trust and Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Made possible by the Ford Foundation, J. Paul Getty Trust, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and Smithsonian Institution.
01 Jan 1970
#OnThisDay Barack Obama became the first Black president-elect of the United States and delivered his acceptance speech to a crowd of approximately 84,000 people in Chicago’s Grant Park, a speech that was viewed by over 38 million people worldwide.
#APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory
📸 1. Courtesy of Ralf-Finn Hestoft/Corbis via Getty Images. 2. Courtesy of Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.
04 Nov 2026
In 1924, Alma Thomas became the first fine arts graduate at Howard University, then undertook a decades-long career teaching in the District of Columbia Public Schools. Thomas’s early representational style evolved into bold, colorful abstraction inspired by nature starting in the 1950s and culminating when she committed herself full-time to her art practice after retiring from teaching in 1960.
A former realist painter, she did not begin working in her colorful abstracted mosaic style until 1964. That year, she suffered an attack of arthritis so severe she believed she would never paint again. Thomas eventually recovered and embarked on a journey to create an entirely new style of painting, something different from any she had ever seen. These new works, which she called Earth Paintings, were inspired by the tones and colors of flowers in bloom in early spring.
In 1972, Thomas became the first African American woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. In 2015, her work was the first by a Black woman to hang publicly in the White House.
Explore the first bloom of spring with Alma Thomas’s “Suddenly It’s Spring" (1970), now on view in our exhibition “Revelation: A Journey into Abstraction” in The Rhimes Family Foundation Visual Arts Gallery. Follow the link in our bio to learn more.
#APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory
📸 Alma Thomas, “Suddenly It’s Spring,” 1970. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Joan Willis Holton, © Charles Thomas Lewis.
28 Oct 2026
#OnThisDay in 1899, Dr. Jane McAllister was born. An educator and researcher, McAllister was the first African American woman to earn a doctorate in education from Teachers College at Columbia University. She also conducted research on Black schools in Louisiana and worked for the Rosenwald Fund. McAllister spearheaded the education program at Jackson College for Negro Teachers’ (now Jackson State University) and developed teacher training programs at Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute (now Virginia State University), Fisk University, Miner Teachers College (now University of the District of Columbia), Grambling State University, and Southern University.
Follow the link in our bio to learn more on our Searchable Museum.
#APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory
📸 Courtesy of Jackson State University via Getty Images.
01 Jan 1970
Historically Black Colleges and University (HBCUs) campuses have been forerunners in documenting, preserving, and exhibiting African American histories and traditions. Our newest traveling exhibition, “At the Vanguard: Making and Saving History at HBCUs,” illuminates that work and may be headed to a museum or university near you.
The exhibition kicked off its national tour at @NMAAHC before heading to Atlanta, Georgia, where it is currently on view at @CAUArtMuseum (on the campus of @CAU1988) through December 2026.
In this video, Jeanelle Hope, curator at @NMAAHC, speaks about the historical significance and legacy of “The Bather” to Clark Atlanta University’s history. And @sitesExhibitions head registrar, Elizabeth Wilson demonstrates how we safely packed beloved objects to get the exhibition ready to travel to Atlanta.
“At the Vanguard” will be traveling around the country through 2029. Tour stops include:
University Museum at Texas Southern University (@UMuseTxSu, @TexasSouthern)
Two Mississippi Museums in partnership with Jackson State University (@museumofmshistory, @mscivilrightsmuseum, @JacksonStateU)
Charlotte Museum of History (@CharlotteMuseumOfHistory)
Tuskegee University Legacy Museum (@TuskeegeeUniversity)
Florida A & M University (@FAMU_1887)
See our bio for a link to the full tour schedule.
“At the Vanguard” is a collaboration between the National Museum of African American History and Culture @NMAAHC and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service @sitesExhibitions. It is part of the HBCU History and Culture Access Consortium Initiative made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities and a bequest from Dr. Beryl Carter Rice.
22 Oct 2026
#OnThisDay in 1974, “The Wiz” opened at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland. When the show moved to Broadway in 1975, actor and singer André De Shields took the stage as the title character while wearing this cream-colored, rhinestone-studded jumpsuit.
“The Wiz” is a modern adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (1900) told within the context of the African American experience. When the show opened on Broadway, it had a rocky beginning. However, sales skyrocketed after a massive television ad campaign and a New York Amsterdam News editorial that urged Black theatergoers to see the show and spread the word. The production became a huge success, running for 1,672 performances and winning seven Tony Awards.
This was also De Shields’s first major role on Broadway. His characterization of the Wiz as a superhero is one of the most iconic performances in American theater. His conception of a superhero who relished his fabulousness and control over his domain was a transformative performance in 1975, during which Blackness and queerness were entirely on display, acknowledged, and celebrated as part of the natural order of life in Oz.
Follow the link in our bio to explore more of our museum’s treasures and stories in our new publication, “What a Dream Can Do.”
#APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory
📸 Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Black Fashion Museum founded by Lois K. Alexander-Lane.
21 Oct 2026
#OnThisDay in 1964, Kamala Harris was born in Oakland, California. She graduated from Howard University, a historically Black institution, and the University of California Hastings College of Law. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the first Greek-lettered sorority established by African American college women.
In 2004, Harris was elected District Attorney of San Francisco and, in 2010, Attorney General of California, where she oversaw the largest state justice department in the country. She was the first Black woman to serve as California’s attorney general and the second Black woman to serve in the Senate. On January 20, 2021, Kamala Harris became the first Black woman Vice President of the United States.
#APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory
📸 Courtesy of Mary F. Calvert/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images.
01 Jan 1970
George Washington Carver was a renowned botanist and inventor. Although he didn't invent peanut butter, his extensive research on the uses of peanuts earned him the nickname, "The Peanut Man."
His agricultural research sought to help Black farmers. While teaching at Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (now Tuskegee University), George Washington Carver discovered hundreds of uses for the peanut, including dyes and gasoline. He would spend nearly 47 years at the institution, teaching and mentoring students and conducting research and science experiments.
Follow the link in our bio to learn more on our Searchable Museum.
#APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory
📸 George Washington Carver, 1941. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
01 Jan 1970
Today, we remember Grammy-nominated R&B vocalist Freddie Jackson. Born Frederick Anthony Jackson in 1957 in Harlem, New York, he first trained as a gospel singer before joining choral groups and soul-funk acts such as the Laurence Jones Ensemble and Mystic Merlin. After embarking on a solo career, he signed with Capitol Records in 1984 and helped define the sound of contemporary R&B with his platinum-selling debut album "Rock Me Tonight" (1985). Chart-topping hits, including "Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times' Sake)" and "You Are My Lady," emphasized Jackson's rich, soul-stirring voice and deep warmth, establishing him as one of America's most beloved performers. "My music is for people who like to hold hands in concert," Jackson once proclaimed in an interview with The New York Times. "If people could diminish some of their hate, the chaos and trouble in life wouldn't be so strong."
Over a career spanning more than four decades, Jackson recorded 14 albums and continued to tour for devoted fans around the world. His body of work reflects universal themes of love, memory, vulnerability, and devotion. He leaves behind a lasting legacy in African American music and a discography that will continue to resonate with generations of listeners to come.
📸 Courtesy of Raymond Boyd/Getty Images.
01 Jan 1970
#OnThisDay in 1800, Nat Turner was born. As an enslaved person, Turner believed God called him to deliver his people from slavery. Turner used his talent as a preacher and radical orator to convince others to join his revolt. In 1831, he led a rebellion of enslaved people in Southampton County, Virginia, where he was born. The group of rebels marched throughout Southampton County, killing at least 55 people, including his master’s family, until authorities crushed the revolt.
Turner avoided capture for nearly two months before he was caught, tried in the Southampton County Court, and hanged on November 11, 1831. Turner’s revolt sent shockwaves throughout the South, as many began to fear the possibility of future slave revolts and violent rebellion. In retaliation, many state and local governments throughout the South passed laws restricting enslaved people’s lives in response to Nat Turner’s rebellion.
During the colonial period, anti-slavery practices, such as rebellions, abolitionist oration, metaphorical literature, and more, provided African Americans with the means to navigate oppression, emboldening them to create cultural heroes and figurative spaces of community and empowerment.
Follow the link in our bio to learn more on our Searchable Museum.
#APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory
📸 1. (detail) 2. 3. Bible belonging to Nat Turner. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Maurice A. Person and Noah and Brooke Porter.
02 Oct 2026
What a weekend! đź’ś
Thank you to everyone who joined us for “The Reunion” on the National Mall and at The Wharf as we celebrated the 10th anniversary of our museum.
From moments of reflection and conversation to music, dancing and commemoration, this weekend was a reminder of the community that has helped shape our museum over the last decade.
This museum belongs to all of us.
This milestone belongs to all of us.
Welcome home. Our Legacy Continues.
#NMAAHC10 #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory
30 Sep 2026
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