History

The construction of the Panama Canal is typically viewed as a marvel of American ingenuity. What is less visible, and less understood, is the project's dependence on the labor of Black migrant women. The Silver Women shifts the focus of this monumental...

Available for the first time since 1978, The Harlem Book of the Dead showcases James Van Der Zee's unflinching creative visionOriginally published in 1978, The Harlem Book of the Dead is a haunting and beautiful document of Black funerary traditions in...

Explores four centuries of colonization, land divisions, and urban development around this historic landmark neighborhood in West Harlem It was the neighborhood where Alexander Hamilton built his country home, George Gershwin wrote his first hit, a young...

Despite significant challenges and historical opposition, Black female teachers stood at the forefront of advocating for and providing education to Black students. Their dedication not only improved opportunities for Black communities but also influenced...

"Master of language" (The New York Times) John Edgar Wideman uses his unique generational position to explore what he calls the "slaveroad," offering "a fresh perspective of slavery's impact and a confirmation of Wideman's exalted status in American...

This tenth volume in the Double Exposure series presents a variety of powerful photographs that feature the American flag.This volume coincides with the 10th anniversary of the opening of the NMAAHC and celebrations surrounding the signing of the...

New York Times Book Review Top 100 Books of 2024 Explore the "comprehensive and compelling" (Jon Meacham) biography of civil rights leader John Lewis, celebrated as "the conscience of Congress," through a narrative that weaves together exclusive...

From the acclaimed author of The Fire Is upon Us, the dramatic untold story of Barry Goldwater and Martin Luther King Jr.'s decade-long clash over the meaning of freedom--and how their conflicting visions still divide American politics In the mid-1950s,...

An Escaped Slave who Fought for the Union and Whose Wartime Heroism was Finally Recognized with the Nation's Highest Honor for Military ValorIn 1862, Andrew "Andy" Jackson Smith, son of a white landowner and enslaved woman, es­caped to Union troops...

In the spring of 1969, hundreds of workers, all Black and mostly female, went on strike at Medical College Hospital and Charleston County Hospital to protest racial discrimination, low wages, and the marginalization of their dignity. The movement began...

Born to a formerly enslaved mother and a white planter father, P. B. S. Pinchback (1837-1921) became the first African American governor in the United States. His tenure as governor of Louisiana was brief--a mere thirty-five days--but he remains one of...

In the twentieth century, African Americans not only helped make popular music the soundtrack of the American experience, they advanced American music as one of the preeminent shapers of the world's popular culture. Vast numbers of black American...