Blue Star Turned to Gold: The Loss of Ens. Jesse L. Brown

Today’s post was written by Nathanial Patch, Subject Matter Expert for Navy Records and Reference Archivist at the National Archives in College Park. From Carrier to the Thick of the Fight Corsair Airplanes Aboard the USS Leyte (CV-32) in Korean Waters (NAID 178141084) On a cold and bleak day in December 1950 off the coast … Continue reading Blue Star Turned to Gold: The Loss of Ens. Jesse L. Brown

Jordan, looking to the side with hands coming together in front of her face

The Keynote Speaker – Congresswoman Barbara Jordan

This June, the National Archives Say it Loud! African American Employee Affinity Group, Houston Public Library's African American Library at the Gregory School, and the Houston Metropolitan Research Center (HMRC) teamed up to create an online exhibit celebrating one of the most eloquent and preeminent women to come out of the great state of Texas, … Continue reading The Keynote Speaker – Congresswoman Barbara Jordan

b&w photo of same man, combed hair and beard, facing forward, shirt on with right side exposed to show amputated arm

Beneath His Shirt Sleeves: Evidence of Injury

Tintype Images of Wounded Civil War Union Soldiers from Pension Application Files in the U.S. National Archives **Please note that the following post contains graphic images that may be disturbing to some readers.** This is an excerpt from two posts about personal tintype images of wounded soldiers in the Civil War Pension Application Files from … Continue reading Beneath His Shirt Sleeves: Evidence of Injury

view of Black students sitting closely together in crowded classroom

Equalization and its Role in Dismantling Racial Segregation in Virginia Public Schools

Today's post was written by Grace Schultz, archivist at the National Archives at Philadelphia. A companion lesson plan can be viewed in DocsTeach. The fight to desegregate schools started long before the Supreme Court’s decision in Oliver Brown, et al. v. Board of Education of Topeka, et al. (NAID 561058), and it continues today. As … Continue reading Equalization and its Role in Dismantling Racial Segregation in Virginia Public Schools

Ward standing, in military uniform

The Trials and Triumphs of Dr. Joseph H. Ward

Today's post was written by David R. Hardin, archivist at the National Archives at St. Louis Veteran's Administration Hospital, Tuskegee, AL (NAID 102252457) On February 12th, 1923, Veteran’s Hospital #91 opened in Tuskegee, Alabama. Initially the hospital’s focus was treating service-related respiratory and mental health issues of African American veterans. However, the hospital would grow … Continue reading The Trials and Triumphs of Dr. Joseph H. Ward

military band w/their instruments and Reese standing at the side, on the deck of a ship

James Reese Europe: America’s Jazz Ambassador

First Lieutenant James R. Europe and the 369th Infantry Regiment Band playing for patients in the American Red Cross Hospital No. 9, Paris, France, September 4, 1918. (NAID: 55200536 Local Identifier: 111-SC-20417) The musical career of American jazz bandleader, composer, and arranger James Reese Europe (1881-1919) was as influential and unique as it was tragically … Continue reading James Reese Europe: America’s Jazz Ambassador

3/4 quarter portrait of Nana in button down shirt

It’s All Relative: Locating Family in Federal Records and Genealogy Research Strategies

This blog is part of the #1950CensusCountdown. The 1950 Census will be released by the National Archives on April 1, 2022. The genealogy bug bit me about a decade ago while briefly cross-training with the Archives unit formerly known as the Research Support Services Branch at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. This branch had … Continue reading It’s All Relative: Locating Family in Federal Records and Genealogy Research Strategies

list of names and present duty of men. Duty written as "D.S. Bicycle Corps" for highlighted members

Iron Riders, The 25th Infantry Regiment Bicycle Corps, Part IV

This is the final post in a series about the 25th Infantry Regiment Bicycle Corps and their missions to test the effectiveness of bicycles for military use. Voyage to St. Louis (final leg), July 16-24, 1897, ~1900 miles (3058 km) For the 25th Infantry Regiment Bicycle Corps, the roads across Missouri were bad and hilly, and with … Continue reading Iron Riders, The 25th Infantry Regiment Bicycle Corps, Part IV

white doctor administers injection to a participant wearing a blue shirt w/sleeve rolled up looking at his arm

A Long Overdue Apology

“To the survivors, to the wives and family members, the children and the grandchildren, I say what you know: No power on Earth can give you back the lives lost, the pain suffered, the years of internal torment and anguish. What was done cannot be undone. But we can end the silence. We can stop … Continue reading A Long Overdue Apology

bicycle corps members on a main street in town, one leans on his bike looking into the camera, others stand in background. bikes are packed with frame and handlebar gear, rifles slung on backs

Iron Riders, The 25th Infantry Regiment Bicycle Corps, Part III

This is the third post in a series about the 25th Infantry Regiment Bicycle Corps and their missions to test the effectiveness of bicycles for military use. As noted previously, the Secretary of War on May 4 approved the long distance bicycle trip by the 25th Infantry Regiment. The following day, May 5, General Miles left Washington, … Continue reading Iron Riders, The 25th Infantry Regiment Bicycle Corps, Part III