Black History Month 2025
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.
In Slavery’s Wake: Making Black Freedom in the World
On view at National Museum of African American History and Culture through June 8, 2025, In Slavery’s Wake: Making Black Freedom in the World immerses visitors in the freedom-making practices of Black communities navigating both the histories and the legacies of racial slavery and colonialism.
Image-credit: Courtesy of the Smithsonian.
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: 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
Black History Month at the Smithsonian
Celebrate Black History Month with Smithsonian events, resources, exhibitions, and podcasts.
Image credit: Courtesy of the Smithsonian
Power & Light: Russell Lee's Coal Survey, at the National Archives Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery
Russell Lee’s 1946 coal survey photographs tell the story of laborers who helped build the nation, of a moment when the government took stock of their health and safety, and of a photographer who recognized their humanity.
“James Robert Howard has gotten his safety lamp at lamp house. Of the 232 employees at this mine, 60% are Negroes.” Russell Lee, Photographer. August 13, 1946. Series: Photographs of the Medical Survey of the Bituminous Coal Industry. National Archives ID: 540805
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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