Re-post in Celebration of the Start of the 2016 Olympics Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Today's post was written by Ms. Netisha Currie, Archives Specialist at the National Archives in College Park The new biographical movie about Jesse Owens, Race, will be released in theaters this Friday, February 19th. The title has a double meaning … Continue reading Jesse Owens, American Hero
Today's post was written by Netisha Currie, Archives Specialist at the National Archives in College Park The new biographical movie about Jesse Owens, Race, will be released in theaters this Friday, February 19th. The title has a double meaning - alluding to Owens' historic record breaking feats he performed at the 1936 Berlin Olympics as well … Continue reading Jesse Owens, American Hero
"Honoring the sacrifices many have made for our country in the name of freedom and democracy is the very foundation of Veterans Day." ~ Congressman Charles B. Rangel In honor of Veterans Day, the Rediscovering Black History blog would like to commend those African Americans who served in the Armed Forces. The National Archives holds … Continue reading Remembering Those Who Served: A Tribute to Veterans
Today’s record was submitted by Kevin L. Bradley, Archives Technician in the Motion Picture, Sound, and Video Division at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland Why We Fight is a series of short films commissioned by the US government during World War II to convince Americans to fight and to support the war … Continue reading ROTW: “Teamwork”: African-American Soldiers during World War II
Today's blog was written by Dr. Tina L. Ligon, Archivist and Kevin Bradley, Archives Technician at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland In 1941, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) wrote a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt demanding that African Americans be used in roles other than messmen in … Continue reading USS Mason, USS PC-1264, and the African-American Crews during World War II
In Celebration of LGBT Pride Month The post was written by Dr. Tina Ligon, Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland Bayard Rustin was a believer in non-violence, a socialist, a civil rights organizer, and an openly gay black man. He was born on March 17, 1912 in West Chester, Pennsylvania and raised … Continue reading Record of the Week: Bayard Rustin, Civil Rights and Gay Rights Activist
This post was written by Netisha Currie, Archives Specialist at the National Archives at College Park Sometimes, instead of digging through boxes to find an interesting record, a record will find you. While walking through the offices of the Still Pictures branch in College Park, I saw an enlarged print on the wall of this … Continue reading Master Charles Michael Lee, A Patriot
This post was submitted by Ray Bottorff, Archivist at the National Archives at College Park. Ray is also a comic books enthusiast, so we present this record of the week in celebration of Awesome Con, happening this weekend in Washington, DC. From the series General Records, 1942–July 1943 (NAID 12126610) in RG 44 George J. … Continue reading Record of the Week: African-American Comics During World War II
Today's blog was written by Dr. Tina L. Ligon, Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland Most of the records that are held at the National Archives related to women in the US Navy, primarily focused on their involvement as WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). The few selected series contains photographs, … Continue reading Pictorial History of Black Women in the US Navy during World War II and Beyond
Today's post was written by Dr. Greg Bradsher and Dr. Sylvia Naylor, archivists at the National Archives in College Park. In April 1945 the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion received orders to move to the West Coast for a special assignment. Members of this all African American unit hoped to finally see combat during World War II in the … Continue reading Firefly Project and the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (“Smoke Jumpers”)
