Today's post was written by Billy R. Glasco, Jr., archivist at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. From the liberating poetry of Phyllis Wheatley to the heroism of Shirley Chisholm. From the fortitude of Ida B. Wells to the tenacity of Fannie Lou Hamer, Stacey Abrams, and other Black women who have fought on the … Continue reading Before Kamala: Black Women in Presidential Administrations
Today's post was written by Billy R. Glasco, Jr., archivist at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. On December 20, 1958, Bruce Carver Boynton, a black law student at Howard University was on his way home to Selma, Alabama via Trailways bus line for the Christmas Holidays. On his way home, Boynton bus stopped … Continue reading Bruce Boynton: The Original Freedom Rider
Today’s post was written by Jennifer Johnson, curator for Museum Programs at the National Archives in Kansas City. When the People of the United States adopted the Nineteenth Amendment and declared that neither the United States nor any State can deny or abridge the right to vote on account of sex, they clearly established as a … Continue reading After the 19th Amendment: Women in the US Virgin Islands Secure the Vote
Today's post was written by Billy R. Glasco, Jr., archivist at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum Louis E. Martin, Assistant to President Jimmy Carter (NAID 181236) On his 108th birthday, The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum highlights the life of African American journalist and political activist, Louis E. Martin. Although inconspicuous, Martin’s contributions … Continue reading Louis E. Martin: The Godfather of Black Politics
Today's post was written by Cara Moore Lebonick, reference archives specialist at the National Archives at St. Louis Disclaimer: Some of the partial records featured contain language that does not reflect modern accepted terminology. Please keep this possible sensitive language in mind when reviewing the records. Orders for Fannie Foote Y3c The United States entered … Continue reading Mustering Out: the Navy’s First Black Yeowomen
Today's post was written by Billy R. Glasco, Jr., archivist at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum The Selma Marches were a series of three marches that took place in 1965 between Selma and Montgomery, Alabama. These marches were organized to protest the blocking of Black Americans' right to vote by the systematic racist structure of … Continue reading Selma: The Marches that Changed America
Today's post was written by Joshua Schroeder, archives technician at the National Archives in College Park. The National Archives latest Black History portal delves into one of the most important threads of American history: securing the right to vote. Suffrage for Black Americans remains an important aspect of American history because voting is an essential … Continue reading Portal Spotlight: Voting Rights
Today's post was written by Alicia Henneberry, Archives Specialist at the National Archives at College Park, MD The Longstreet Rosenwald School, circa 2009 (NAID 73973387) Pictured above is the Longstreet School, a small, quaint structure sitting quietly off Louisiana Route 5 in DeSoto Parish, Louisiana. Despite its perfectly ordinary and unassuming appearance, this building represented … Continue reading A Community Enterprise: The Rosenwald Schools of the National Register for Historic Places
Today’s post comes from Ben Miller, an intern with the Exhibits team at the National Archives Museum. On August 31, 1852, Congress appropriated $100,000 to create the government hospital for the insane in Washington, DC. Soon known as St. Elizabeths, the hospital was meant to be a “model institution,” providing the highest quality mental health … Continue reading Treating Race at St. Elizabeths Hospital
In 1917, when the United States declared war on Germany and entered the Great War, African Americans were supportive. The patriotic spirit of the era encouraged Black men and women to enlist in the military, in order to fight for freedom and democracy. Although their patriotism was just as great as their white American counterparts, … Continue reading Portal Spotlight: World War I
