Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture

In the 1960s, “Black is Beautiful” became a rallying cry connecting people of African descent worldwide. The movement rejected Eurocentric beauty ideals and affirmed the diversity of natural beauty and features found in communities across the African diaspora. Black is Beautiful radically disavowed centuries of anti-Black racism and white supremacy and called for an embrace of African fashion and Afro hair styles. Importantly, the movement also sparked an interest in centering African histories and cultural beliefs in all facets of life, from education to art. Learn more in our new exhibition, “In Slavery's Wake: Making Black Freedom in the World” opening December 13, 2024. #InSlaverysWake #APeoplesJourney 📸 Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Courtesy of the Kwame Brathwaite Archive & Philip Martin Gallery, © Kwame Brathwaite.

Headwraps have centuries-old roots in Western Africa where they were worn as a practical form of protection against the sun and the wind, as well as a cultural symbol of beauty and identity. During the era of racial slavery, some slave societies required enslaved women to wear headwraps as punitive markers of racial hierarchy, separating people of color from Europeans. However, headwraps also served as a means of resistance—used by the enslaved to communicate with one another and express cultural heritage. Today, headwraps continue to be a symbol of pride for many Africans and people of African descent. Learn more in our new exhibition, “In Slavery's Wake: Making Black Freedom in the World” opening December 13, 2024. #InSlaverysWake #APeoplesJourney 📸 Alberto Henschel/Gilberto Ferrez Collection/Moreira Salles Institute Collection.

Mahalia Jackson was born #OnThisDay in 1911. Jackson sang what many called the soundtrack of the civil rights movement. Full of power and spiritual resolve, Jackson used her singing talent to inspire, nourish and strengthen the participants of the civil rights movement. As a child growing up in New Orleans, Jackson sang at church and as a teen traveled and performed with gospel composer Thomas A. Dorsey. For many, Mahalia Jackson's voice represented mystery and majesty. In describing the legendary gospel singer, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who chose her to sing at the March on Washington in 1963, said, "A voice like hers comes along once in a millennium." Jackson won 5 Grammy Awards, including Best Soul-Gospel Performance in 1976 for the song, “How I Got Over.” More on our Searchable Museum: https://s.si.edu/3SjWi6l #APeoplesJourney 📸 Photographs by Isaac Sutton. Johnson Publishing Company Archive. Courtesy J. Paul Getty Trust and Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

#OnThisDay in 1997, over a half million African American women gathered on the Ben Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia for the Million Woman March, which sought to inspire African American women across the nation to work for their own improvement as well as that of their communities. #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory 📸 1. Courtesy of TOM MIHALEK/AFP via Getty Images. 2. Courtesy of Jonathan Elderfield/Getty Images.

#OnThisDay, in 1964, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris was born. The Oakland, California native aspired from an early age to “look after and protect” others. She graduated from Howard University, a historically Black institution, and the University of California Hastings College of Law. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the first Greek-lettered sorority established by African American college women. In 2004, Vice President Harris was elected District Attorney of San Francisco and, in 2010, Attorney General of California, where she oversaw the largest state justice department in the country. Harris was the first Black woman to serve as California’s attorney general and the second Black woman to serve in the Senate. In July 2024, she began her bid for election as U.S. President—the highest office in the land. #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory 📸 Courtesy of Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images.

#OnThisDay in 1995, the Million Man March was held on and around the National Mall in Washington, DC. The organizing committee, composed of the National African American Leadership Summit, leading civil rights activists, the Nation of Islam, and local chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, invited prominent speakers to address the audience. Women, in conjunction with March leadership, organized a parallel event called the ‘Day of Absence’ that same day, in which all African Americans were encouraged to stay home from their typical work, school, and social engagements in order to attend teach-ins and worship services as a means of focusing on building the self-sufficiency of Black communities. #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory 📸 1. 2. 3. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Roderick Terry, © Roderick Terry.

Born #OnThisDay in 1948, André Leon Talley was the former creative director and editor-at-large for Vogue magazine and fashion journalist at Women’s Wear Daily. Throughout his career, Talley provided insight and excitement about the world of fashion. The graduate of North Carolina Central University came from a background rooted in Southern Blackness and rural beginnings to become an iconic name in fashion, styling, and creative direction. #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory 📸 Courtesy of Taylor Hill/Getty Images.

#OnThisDay in 1859, John Brown began his raid of the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Brown supported many enslaved African Americans’ desires to rise in armed rebellion against the injustice of enslavement. He openly advocated for the use of violence to end slavery as an institution. Though he was a white American, Brown lived in a Black community established by abolitionist Gerrit Smith. Brown became enraged by the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, which made it illegal to help runaways and required white citizens to assist in their capture. Brown’s 1859 rebellion was the actualization of fears that supporters of the Fugitive Slave Law had about white abolitionists helping coordinate slave rebellions. Several militias ended Brown's insurrection after just 36 hours. Of the 19 men who made up Brown’s forces, 10 were killed, 5 imprisoned, and the others fled. Four townspeople also died, and more than a dozen militiamen were wounded. Brown and his captured men were charged with treason, first-degree murder and "conspiring with Negroes to produce insurrection." All the charges carried the death penalty. Brown was executed by hanging on the morning of December 2, 1859. Learn more on our Searchable Museum: https://s.si.edu/45xYKc2 #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory 📸 Carte-de-visite of John Brown, ca. 1855. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Today’s the last chance to apply for our museum’s 🌸 Spring 2025 internship! Interns will have opportunities to work closely with museum professionals and scholars through a dynamic learning environment with access to supportive mentors.

#OnThisDay, George Floyd would have turned 51. Born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1973, Floyd played basketball and football at Jack Yates Senior High School. His talent earned him notoriety as a tight end, and he led the football team's 1992 Texas state championship. Floyd was later recruited to play basketball at South Florida State College in Avon Park, Florida. Floyd gained local notoriety by performing with popular Houston rapper DJ Screw and his Screwed Up Click under the name "Big Floyd." Floyd's deep baritone flow on songs like "Sittin' on Top of the World" and "Freestyle-Sugar Hill" helped popularize the slowed-down rapping style known as "chopped and screwed." A devoted Christian, Floyd worked alongside pastor Patrick "PT" Ngwolo, Resurrection Houston Church, to distribute Bibles, set up baptisms, and reach out to those living in Cuney Homes Housing Projects. Floyd worked several jobs — at a local Salvation Army shelter, as a truck driver, and as a nightclub bouncer. Described as a "shining light in the community," Floyd went out of his way to help others and encourage those in need. Stephanie Square, a neighborhood friend, told NPR, "He was always encouraging… he never stopped. All he did was encourage everyone and tell you words like, I'm so proud of you; you're going to make it; you're going to be an example to a lot of others. I think that's his legacy, and that's what we try to do - is to just continue to give back and do the same thing, encourage the younger ones." #SayHisName 📸 Courtesy of Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images.