Today's post was written by Christina Violeta Jones, Archivist with the Special Access and FOIA Program at the National Archives at College Park, MD "For those of us who write, it is necessary to scrutinize not only the truth of what we speak, but the truth of that language, by which we speak it." -Audre … Continue reading The FBI’s Brief Investigation on Audre Lorde
“We are born with freedom and hope, but often that's dashed because of our color. But in school, I'd already been taught that no one could tell me that you can't do something because you're black.” ~ Louis Gossett, Jr. On March 29, 2024, Louis Gossett, Jr. passed away at 87 years old. He was … Continue reading Tribute to Louis Gossett, Jr.
“I have created nothing really beautiful, really lasting, but if I can inspire one of these youngsters to develop the talent I know they possess, then my monument will be in their work.” ~ Augusta Savage Collection H: Photograph of Augusta Savage (NAID 559182) Augusta Christine Fells Savage was born on February 29, 1892, in … Continue reading Happy Birthday Augusta Savage!
Today's post was written by M. Marie Maxwell, archivist in the Special Access and FOIA Program at the National Archives in College Park. It's February, which means it is Black History Month. Do you know why we have a Black History Month? Because it started out as Negro History Week. And who started that? Dr. … Continue reading Carter G. Woodson The Father of Black History and Black History Month
“It is a peculiar sensation, this double consciousness… one ever feels his two-ness, an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two un-reconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.” ~ W. E. B. Du Bois RG 79 "W.E.B. Dubois photo from NAACP Collection" … Continue reading Happy Birthday Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois!
“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.” ~Frederick Douglass RG 79 "Fred. Douglass, lawyer, ca. 1865" Washington, DC SP Douglass, Frederick, National Historic … Continue reading Happy Birthday Frederick Douglass!
Today's post was written by Jack Del Nunzio, archivist in Digitization Archival Services at the National Archives at College Park. Content Warning: This post contains disturbing images and descriptions of anti-Black violence. Have you ever wondered about the origins of recreation facilities, public roads, school systems, utilities, and housing in your hometown? In all likelihood, … Continue reading “Envision the Razing of All These Structures”: Evidence of Forced Displacement and Dispossession
What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore— And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over— like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode? ~"Harlem" by Langston Hughes … Continue reading Happy Birthday Langston Hughes!
Cover photo: A Great Day in Hip Hop, Harlem, New York, by Gordon Parks, 1998 This year, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the birth of Hip Hop. Rap, a genre of popular music rooted in funk, disco, and soul that encompasses the cultures of Black and Brown people is one part of Hip Hop … Continue reading “To the Hip Hop and You don’t Stop”: A Tribute for the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop
Free Frank McWorter was an American frontiersman who found fortune, became the first African American to register a town, and spent his life liberating his family. He was born enslaved in 1777 in South Carolina. His mother, Juda had been kidnapped from West Africa and his father is thought to be her enslaver[1]. Frank moved … Continue reading Free Frank McWorter – Father of Freedom
