Aerial Photograph of the March Reaching the Capitol Building

Selma: The Marches that Changed America

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

In the Long Tradition of Civil Rights: Tribute to C. T. Vivian and John Lewis

“It’s about life, and who you are as a human being. Today is a sad day in that we lost two of the most powerful activists we’ve ever had – C.T. Vivian and John Lewis. The impact they had on America is unbelievable…” ~Chris Paul On July 17, 2020, two icons of the Civil Rights … Continue reading In the Long Tradition of Civil Rights: Tribute to C. T. Vivian and John Lewis

“Turn this Town Out”: Stokely Carmichael, Black Power, and the March against Fear

Today’s blog was written by Dr. Tina L. Ligon, Supervisory Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland The March against Fear that took place in June 1966, is considered the last great march against racism of the 1960s Civil Rights era in the South. Participants of this march included the Southern Christian Leadership … Continue reading “Turn this Town Out”: Stokely Carmichael, Black Power, and the March against Fear

“When It Was So Rough that You Couldn’t Make It”: Voting Rights in the Early 1960s

Today’s blog was written by Stacey Chandler, Textual Reference Archivist at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Part I: Mapping the Barriers A basic law protecting the right to vote “without distinction of race, color, or previous condition of servitude” has been part of the American story for almost 150 years. The law evolved through the … Continue reading “When It Was So Rough that You Couldn’t Make It”: Voting Rights in the Early 1960s

Celebrating Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday and Legacy

Today’s blog was written by Alexis Hill, Assistant Registrar in the Exhibits Division at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. Today we celebrate the birthday and legacy of  Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, who used the philosophy of nonviolent … Continue reading Celebrating Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday and Legacy

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