A Vibrant Mural Celebrating Josephine Baker’s ‘Two Loves’—‘My Country and Paris’—Has Been Unveiled in France
The colorful street art, which features a quote from one of her songs, honors the iconic singer, dancer and civil rights activist’s enduring legacy
Why 18th-Century Americans Were Just as Obsessed With Their Genealogy as We Are Today
People living in British America and later the nascent United States recorded their family histories in needlework samplers, notebooks and newspapers
How Underwater Archaeology Brings Secrets to the Surface, From Lost Shipwrecks to Submerged Cities
An immersive new exhibition at the Intrepid Museum in New York City spotlights the science and technology behind the discipline
How Women in New Jersey Gained—and Lost—the Right to Vote More Than a Century Before the 19th Amendment Granted Suffrage Nationwide
Vague phrasing in the state’s Revolutionary-era Constitution enfranchised women who met specific property requirements. A 1790 law explicitly allowed female suffrage, but this privilege was revoked in 1807
A New Biography Offers the Most Intimate Portrait Yet of One of the 20th Century’s Greatest Authors
Research into James Baldwin’s archives reveals incisive details about the writer’s personal relationships, both platonic and romantic, with other men
These Daring Revolutionary-Era Artists Promoted the Patriot Cause From the Heart of Enemy Territory
A new book explores how painters, sculptors and writers, especially women and people of color, used their craft to advocate for American independence while living in George III’s capital city
When ‘The Wiz’ Debuted on Broadway 50 Years Ago, It Sparked a Brand New Day for Audiences
How the remarkable musical transformed a beloved folk tale into a celebratory vision for the future of Black America
See the Artworks That Explore the Forgotten History of Harriet Tubman’s Civil War Triumphs
Tubman’s 1863 raid, which destroyed seven plantations along the Combahee River in South Carolina and freed 756 enslaved laborers, is now the subject of an exhibition in Charleston
Archaeologists Unearth Artifacts From One of the Nation’s Oldest Schools for Black Children
News of the discoveries comes amid the opening of the Williamsburg Bray School building, which educated hundreds of free and enslaved Black children between 1760 and 1774
Untold Stories of American History
Tattered Pages Discovered in Storage Reveal an Enslaved Man’s Daring Bid for Freedom—and His Second Life at Sea
Historians are investigating the haunting handwritten manuscript, which chronicles Thomas White’s escape from slavery in Maryland and adventures around the world nearly 200 years ago
See the Birthplace of Juneteenth in These Atmospheric Photos of Galveston, Texas
A photographer’s journey to the Gulf Coast city yields 16 images that reveal how its natural beauty melds with its momentous role in Black history
Meet the Defiant Loyalists Who Paid Dearly for Choosing the Wrong Side in the American Revolution
American colonists who aligned with the British lost their lands, their reputations and sometimes even their lives
The D.C. Street Where Pioneering Abstract Artist Alma Thomas Lived for 70 Years Has Been Renamed in Her Honor
Thomas worked as an art teacher at the city’s public schools for 35 years before dedicating herself to painting full-time when she was in her 60s
These Trailblazing Black Paramedics Are the Reason You Don’t Have to Ride a Hearse or a Police Van to the Hospital
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Freedom House Ambulance Service set the standard for emergency medical care, laying the groundwork for the services available today
The Last Operating Woolworth’s Lunch Counter Will Be Up and Running Once Again in California
A neighborhood icon, the Bakersfield luncheonette will mix modern design touches with classic decor
Three Formerly Enslaved Artists Created Beautiful Pottery 150 Years Ago, and Now Their Wares Are Coveted Around the World
The stunning vessels from the H. Wilson & Company were forgotten for generations, only to gain new appreciation for the craftsmanship that went into them
The Real History of the Complex Relationship Between Chinese and Black Americans in the Mississippi Delta
The remarkable success of the movie “Sinners” has sparked a renewed interest in how the two communities wrestled with life under Jim Crow
Amaze Yourself With the Unbelievable Story of Bessie Coleman, the Black Aviator Who Wowed the Nation With Her High-Flying Achievements
Long before the Tuskegee Airmen, Coleman inspired a generation of pilots to take to the skies
Trailblazing Filmmaker Ava DuVernay Receives the Smithsonian’s Great Americans Medal
DuVernay is the first director, writer and producer to earn the honor, which recognizes “lifetime contributions embodying American ideas and ideals”
Locals Thought These Shipwrecks Had Belonged to Pirates. They Turned Out to Be 300-Year-Old Danish Slave Ships
The two vessels had been trafficking hundreds of enslaved Africans when a navigational error led them astray. They sank off the coast of Costa Rica in the 18th century
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