Black History Month 2024
February is Black History Month
The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society.
Cultural Expressions
Culture shapes lives. It’s in the food people eat, the languages they speak, the art they create, and many other ways they express themselves. These traditions reflect the history and creative spirit of African American and other cultures of the African diaspora. Cultural Expressions is a circular, experiential, introductory space to African American and African diaspora culture.
Image-credit: Alan Karchmer.
16 Black Artists to Know
Are you a fan of Glenn Ligon, Alma Thomas, or Gordon Parks? The National Gallery of Art paired eight Black artists you might know with eight others to discover.
Image Credit: Sam Gilliam, Wissahickon, 1975, color screenprint on wove paper, Gift of Funds from the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2023.22.17
Your Park Story: Black History and Heritage
More than 400 years of Black history and heritage are preserved in national parks and communities around the country. Discover stories shared by people who formed powerful connections with these places of history, nature, and enjoyment. Inspire others by sharing your “park story”!
Image credit: Girl takes photo in front of the “We Can Do It” sign at Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park (NPS)
I Dream a World: Selections from Brian Lanker’s Portraits of Remarkable Black Women
Beginning Feb. 10, 2023, the museum will present a second group of portraits from Brian Lanker’s 1989 book project “I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America.”
Image credit: “Althea Gibson” by Brian Lanker. Gelatin silver print, 1988. National Portrait Gallery. Partial gift of Lynda Lanker and museum purchase made possible with support from Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker, Agnes Gund, Kate Kelly and George Schweitzer, Lyndon J. Barrois Sr. and Janine Sherman Barrois, and Mark and Cindy Aron. © Brian Lanker Archive
For Teachers
Put the power of primary sources to work in the classroom. Browse ready-to-use lesson plans, student activities, collection guides and research aids.
Image credit: “Frederick Douglass appealing to President Lincoln and his cabinet to enlist Negroes,” mural by William Edouard Scott, at the Recorder of Deeds building, built in 1943. 515 D St., NW, Washington, D.C. (Library of Congress)
Veterans History
African Americans serving in the military service throughout U.S. history have often fought on two fronts. fighting the actual enemy and fighting a system of segregation and exclusion.
Image credit: Violet Hill Gordon, 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, Women's Army Corps (Library of Congress)
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