The National Museum of African American History and Culture mourns the passing of Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul. Her voice, one of the most captivating sounds of the twentieth and twenty-first century, was unrivaled and changed the landscape...Read More
The great operatic contralto Marian Anderson is most often recalled for her brave and stirring performance from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, after the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow her to sing from the stage...Read More
In July of 1963 in Americus, Georgia, fifteen girls were jailed for challenging segregation laws. Ages 12 to 15, these girls had marched from Friendship Baptist Church to the Martin Theater on Forsyth Street. Never formally charged, they were...Read More
“Watching Oprah: The Oprah Winfrey Show and American Culture,” opens June 8 at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, and continues through June 2019. Read More
Jazz evolved from ragtime, an American style of syncopated instrumental music. Jazz first materialized in New Orleans, and is often distinguished by African American musical innovation. Multiple styles of the genre exist today from the dance...Read More
