NARA at ASALH’s Centennial

On September 25, 2015, archivists and archives specialists from the National Archives at College Park, Maryland and at Washington, D. C. participated in the 100th meeting of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). In the past, NARA employees shared information on records relating to the black experience that are … Continue reading NARA at ASALH’s Centennial

60th Anniversary of the Death of Emmett Louis Till

Today’s blog was written by Dr. Tina Ligon, archivist at the National Archives at College Park and Mary Kate Eckles, summer intern at NARA and senior at St. John’s College Sixty years ago, Emmett Louis Till was kidnapped and murdered in Mississippi for violating southern customs. His death was one of the sparks that led … Continue reading 60th Anniversary of the Death of Emmett Louis Till

10th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

Today’s Record of the Week was contributed by Dr. Tina L. Ligon, Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland Hurricane Katrina formed on August 23, 2005, over the Bahamas in the Caribbean. It was the 11th tropical depression and the 5th named hurricane of the season. Within five days of formation, this tropical … Continue reading 10th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

DOJ Litigation Case File on the Watts Riot (August 11-17, 1965)

Today’s blog was written by Dr. Tina L. Ligon, Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland During the World War II years, thousands of southern African Americans relocated to the West Coast in search of employment in the defense industries and to escape the Jim Crow South. Many of the migrants made the … Continue reading DOJ Litigation Case File on the Watts Riot (August 11-17, 1965)

50th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

This blog post was written by Dr. Tina L. Ligon, Supervisory Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland     On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act. This act helped disenfranchised African Americans to register to vote and gave the federal government power to oversee … Continue reading 50th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Record of the Week: Selma, Edmund Pettus Bridge FBI Case File

Today's post was written by Netisha Currie, Archives Specialist at the National Archives in College Park. This weekend the 87th annual Academy Awards will air, and many of the Best Picture nominees' subjects are culled from historical events or people. Selma (directed by Ava DuVernay) is a dramatization of the events that happened around the Selma to Montgomery … Continue reading Record of the Week: Selma, Edmund Pettus Bridge FBI Case File

Three Civil Rights Workers

Today’s blog was written by Damon Turner, summer intern at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland and doctoral student at Morgan State University Freedom Summer or the Mississippi Summer Project was a time of great intrigue and courage.  Black and White Americans who witnessed the horrors of Jim Crow, attempted to change America for … Continue reading Three Civil Rights Workers

Descendants of Solomon Northup Walk in His Path

Today’s blog is written by Vera J. Williams, IT Specialist in the BP Project Assistance Division at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland On January 15, 2014, the 85th birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., a family member, Clayton Adams and I walked in the path of our Great-Great-Great Grandfather Solomon Northup - the … Continue reading Descendants of Solomon Northup Walk in His Path