Museum News & Highlights

Pinback button memorial depicting Martin Luther King, Jr.ca. 1968.

Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life and Legacy

From in-person activities to online offerings, join our museum to commemorate King and the holiday surrounding his impact on the world.
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Ribbon Rack from U.S. Army Service Uniform Jacket Worn by Gen. Lloyd James Austin III

New on View in the Museum

Ribbon Rack from U.S. Army Service Uniform Jacket Worn by Gen. Lloyd James Austin III, the first African American secretary of defense, is on display in the “Double Victory” exhibition.
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large central vignette an African American family enjoy domestic tranquility around a "Union" stove while, immediately below, a baby symbolizing the New Year breaks the shackles of a kneeling slave. Scenes at left detail horrors associated with slavery–whipping, branding and the separation of families. At right, these are contrasted with future blessings–payment for work, public education, and enjoying one’s own home, goals that could only be realized if the Union won the war.

The Emancipation Proclamation: A Mighty Blow to Slavery

The year 2023 marks the 160th anniversary of one of the most important documents in the nation’s history, the Emancipation Proclamation.
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Image of Charlotte Lyons in the Ebony Test Kitchen, featured in the November 1992 issue of Ebony magazine. Lyons is shown leaning frontward over a counter

Iconic Ebony Test Kitchen Finds a Home at Our Museum

Built in 1972 as a prominent feature of the Johnson Publishing Co. building in Chicago, the Ebony Test Kitchen is where recipes were tested and prepared before they were published in Ebony magazine for home cooks around the country.
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Dr. N. Anthony Coles

Museum Announces New Council Chair

Dr. N. Anthony Coles will serve as Chair of the Advisory Council for the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
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Merchandise

“Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures” is Now Open

On view until March 24, 2024, the exhibition explores and reveals Afrofuturism’s historic and poignant engagement with African American history and popular culture.
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African American Flag, 1990, by David Hammons

David Hammons’ “African-American Flag” on View

One of the original five flags made in 1990 by Hammons, the artwork is currently on view in the museum’s “Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.” exhibition.
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What's Happening at the Museum

A look at all the upcoming programs and events

Martin Luther King addresses crowds during the March On Washington at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC, where he gave his 'I Have A Dream' speech.
5 Things to Know

Surprising Facts About Martin Luther King Jr.

Did you know that Martin Luther King Jr’s famous, “I Have a Dream” speech was partially improvised and that the iconic phrase was left out of the original draft? 

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Photographer Robert Houston at the "City of Hope" exhibition
City of Hope

Robert Houston’s Photographs of the Poor People’s Campaign

Take a look at the exhibition "City of Hope: Resurrection City & the 1968 Poor People's Campaign" with noted photographer Robert Houston. 

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