Today's blog was written by Dr. Tina L. Ligon, Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland The movie Selma, directed by Ava DuVernay and released in January 2015, brought to life the struggle for voting rights in America. This Academy Award nominated film, which starred David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Tom Wilkinson, Lorraine Toussaint, … Continue reading FBI Case File #44-28492: Bloody Sunday
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
Malcolm X (May 19, 1925–February 21, 1965), Black Muslim minister and prominent figure in the Nation of Islam (NOI), advocated for black self-determination and racial pride. In the mid-1960s, he broke with the NOI and began to support the efforts of the civil rights movement. Malcolm X was assassinated while addressing the Organization of Afro-American … Continue reading Record of the Week: Malcolm X Protests at DOJ
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”)
This February, the Rediscovering Black History blog is kicking off a new feature - the Record of the Week. Every Thursday during Black History Month there will be a post highlighting one of the records from the National Archives' vast holdings. The Inspection Roll of Negroes (NAID 5890797), more commonly referred to as the Book … Continue reading Record of the Week: The Book of Negroes
Today's blog was written by Patrice Brown, Archivist (Special Assistant) in the Evaluation and Special Projects Division, National Declassification Center at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland There has been increased interest in the employees of the Panama Canal since I posted several blogs in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the construction of … Continue reading Part I: How to use Panama Canal Personnel Records at the National Archives: My Grandfather worked on the Panama Canal
Written by Dr. Tina L. Ligon, Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland As a part of the Great Society, President Lyndon B. Johnson created the model cities program in 1966. This program provided federal funding to community leaders in urban areas with the intent on developing affordable housing, establishing alternative forms of … Continue reading Soul City, North Carolina!
Written by Kevin L. Bradley, Archives Technician in the Motion Picture, Sound, and Video Division at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland The National Archives holds thousands of photographs illustrating the various activities of servicemen and women in all branches of the Armed Forces. The photographs are able to give visuals of the bravery and … Continue reading Captain Frederick C. Branch: The First African American Commissioned Officer in the USMC
Written by Linda Barnickel, independent archivist and freelance writer It’s easy for us today to think that enslaved people during the Civil War era were held in bondage, and then all of a sudden, were not. Whether they ran away or remained on the plantation until Union troops invaded the area, it’s easy to think … Continue reading The Chaos of Emancipation
Written by Netisha Currie and Tina Ligon, National Archives at College Park “My greatest work comes in the community” ~ Marion Barry Today is the annual Turkey Giveaway - a local tradition of Southeast Washington, DC in which former mayor Marion Barry would give out turkeys and vegetables to less fortunate residents so that they … Continue reading Mayor for Life
