NMAAHC Collections Search

Walking

Created by: Alston, Charles Henry, American, 1907 - 1977

Medium: oil paint and gesso on canvas
Dimensions: H x W: 48 3/8 x 64 3/4 x 1 1/4 in. (122.9 x 164.5 x 3.2 cm)

Type: oil paintings

Place depicted: Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date: 1958

Caption: Walking recalls the bus boycotts in the 1950s and anticipated the civil rights marches of the 1960s. The work not only depicts the spirit and conviction of the civil rights protests, it also references the significant role of women and youth in the movement.
Description: This colorful, modernist painting depicts women and a young girl walking in front of a long line of others. The figures move out of a shadowy background on the left, towards the light, emanating from the upper right corner. The line appears to be moving forwards, out of the picture plane. The women leading the line step forward strongly to the viewer's right; their leg movements are delineated by the columns of strongly contrasting light and shadow of their long skirts. The leading woman's face is upturned towards the light. Next to and slightly behind her a second female figure, with forward facing gaze, has her right arm around a much smaller female figure. This child figure moves with the line but turns her head to face the viewer, hands folded at the waist. Directly behind them is another female figure carrying a swathed infant. There are several isolated individuals outside the orderly grouping of the line. The line is the focus of their gaze; the nearest individual turns her back on the viewer as she focuses on the line.

Topic: African American; Activism; Art; Children; Civil Rights; Resistance; United States--History--1953-1961; Women

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Sydney Smith Gordon

Object number: 2007.2

Restrictions & Rights: © Charles Alston Estate

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Visual Arts
Exhibition: Visual Art and the American Experience
On View: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Culture/Fourth Floor, 4 052

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

The Boss

Created by: Polk, P. H., American, 1898 - 1984
Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women

Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
Dimensions: H x W: 10 x 8 in. (25.4 x 20.3 cm)

Type: gelatin silver prints; portraits

Place captured: Tuskegee, Macon County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date: 1932

Description: Silver gelatin photograh featuring an image of African American woman wearing headscarf with her hands placed on her hips.

Topic: African American; Agriculture; Photography; Women

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Delano A. Willis

Object number: 2009.30.1

Restrictions & Rights: © Tuskegee University Archives

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Media Arts-Photography

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

George Washington Carver in Laboratory

Created by: Polk, P. H., American, 1898 - 1984
Subject of: Carver, George Washington, American, 1860s - 1943

Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
Dimensions: H x W (Image and Sheet): 9 7/16 × 7 3/8 in. (24 × 18.7 cm)

Type: gelatin silver prints; portraits

Place captured: Tuskegee, Macon County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date: ca. 1930

Description: Silver gelatin photograh featuring an image of George Washington Carver shown in a laboratory wearing an apron and holding a beaker in his left hand.

Topic: African American; Education; Photography; Science

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Delano A. Willis

Object number: 2009.30.2

Restrictions & Rights: © Tuskegee University Archives

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Media Arts-Photography

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Booker T. Washington

Created by: Battey, C. M., American, 1873 - 1927
Subject of: Washington, Booker T., American, 1856 - 1915

Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
Dimensions: H x W: 9 1/4 x 6 3/4 in. (23.5 x 17.1 cm)

Type: gelatin silver prints; portraits

Place made: Tuskegee, Macon County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date: ca. 1908

Description: A black-and-white print of a bust-length portrait of Booker T. Washington, seated left.

Topic: African American; Education; Photography; Social reform

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number: 2009.37.2

Restrictions & Rights: © Tuskegee Archives

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Media Arts-Photography

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

W.E.B. Du Bois

Created by: Battey, C. M., American, 1873 - 1927
Subject of: W.E.B. Du Bois, American, 1868 - 1963

Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
Dimensions: H x W (Image and Sheet): 13 5/8 × 10 5/16 in. (34.6 × 26.2 cm)

Type: gelatin silver prints; portraits

Place depicted: Tuskegee, Macon County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date: 1918

Description: A black-and-white, bust-length portrait of W.E.B. Du Bois. Du Bois has a mustache and wears a bow tie.

Topic: African American; Civil Rights; Photography; Social reform

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number: 2009.37.3

Restrictions & Rights: © Tuskegee Archives

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Media Arts-Photography

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

The Sharecropper

Created by: Battey, C. M., American, 1873 - 1927

Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
Dimensions: H x W: 7 7/8 x 6 3/4 in. (20 x 17.1 cm); Sheet size: 17 x 13 15/16 in. (43.2 x 35.4 cm)

Type: gelatin silver prints; portraits

Place made: Tuskegee, Macon County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date: 1920

Description: A black-and-white image of an elderly man seated with a blanket draped over his legs. He is looking at this hands, which are holding something in front of him.

Topic: African American; Agriculture; Domestic life; Labor; Photography

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number: 2009.37.4

Restrictions & Rights: © Tuskegee Archives

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Media Arts-Photography

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Some Glimpses of Alabama State

Created by: Alabama State University, American, founded 1867

Medium: ink on paper
Dimensions: H x W: 9 x 6 in. (22.9 x 15.2 cm)

Type: yearbooks

Place made: Montgomery, Montgomery County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date: August 1937

Description: The yearbook for Alabama State's class of 1937. The yearbook consists of black ink on white paper, and is filled with black-and-white photographs. The yearbook has fifteen pages.
Transcription Center Status: Transcribed by digital volunteers

Topic: African American; Education

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number: 2010.54.6

Restrictions & Rights: public domain

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Documents and Published Materials-Published Works

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

The Negro Worker Vol. 4 No. 2

Published by: The Negro Worker, 1928 - 1937
Edited by: Woodson, Charles
Subject of: Communist International

Medium: ink on paper
Dimensions: H x W: 7 7/8 x 5 11/16 in. (20 x 14.5 cm)

Type: pamphlets

Place depicted: South Africa, Africa; Liberia, Africa; Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date: 1934

Description: A pamphlet with black print on green paper. On the center of the front cover there is a black and white photograph of workers in a confrontation with a police officer with following caption, "Negro workers in struggle with police in U.S.A." The interior consists of thirty-two pages of text and photographs. The back cover features a drawing of a man breaking a chain over a globe.

Topic: African American; International affairs; Labor; Mass media; Political organizations; Politics (Practical); United States--History--1933-1945

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the family of Dr. Maurice Jackson and Laura Ginsburg

Object number: 2010.55.35

Restrictions & Rights: No Known Copyright Restrictions

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Documents and Published Materials-Published Works; Memorabilia and Ephemera-Political and Activist Ephemera

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

The Negro Worker Vol. 2 No. 4

Published by: The Negro Worker, 1928 - 1937
Edited by: Padmore, George, Trinidadian, 1903 - 1959
Subject of: Communist International

Medium: ink on paper
Dimensions: H x W: 8 5/8 x 6 in. (21.9 x 15.2 cm)

Type: pamphlets

Place depicted: China, Asia; South Africa, Africa; Scottsboro, Jackson, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date: 1932

Description: A pamphlet of black print on yellowed paper. The front cover lists publication information and a list of the articles. The interior consists of thirty-two pages of text and photographs. The back of the pamphlet has an article titled [Solidarity Between Black and White Workers] and a photograph.

Topic: African American; International affairs; Justice; Labor; Mass media; Political organizations; Politics (Practical); United States--History--1919-1933; Violence

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the family of Dr. Maurice Jackson and Laura Ginsburg

Object number: 2010.55.37

Restrictions & Rights: No Known Copyright Restrictions

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Documents and Published Materials-Published Works; Memorabilia and Ephemera-Political and Activist Ephemera

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

They Shall Not Die!: Stop the Legal Lynching!: The Story of Scottsboro in Pictures

Published by: Workers Library Publishers, Inc., American, founded 1930
Written by: League of Struggle for Negro Rights, American, 1930 - 1935
Illustrated by: Refregier, Anton, Russian American, 1905 - 1979

Medium: ink on paper
Dimensions: H x W: 7 9/16 x 4 15/16 in. (19.2 x 12.6 cm)

Type: pamphlets

Place printed: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
Place depicted: Scottsboro, Jackson County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date: 1932

Description: A pamphlet printed on white paper in black ink with the words “They Shall Not Die! / Stop the Legal Lynching! / The Story of Scottsboro in Pictures” printed at the top. The image at center of the cover depicts a black man and a white man chopping down a tree labeled LYNCHING. The date, publisher and illustrator’s name are listed in the bottom left corner of the pamphlet.

Topic: African American; Civil Rights; Justice; Mass media; Politics (Practical)

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the family of Dr. Maurice Jackson and Laura Ginsburg

Object number: 2010.55.39

Restrictions & Rights: Unknown - Restrictions Possible

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Documents and Published Materials-Published Works; Memorabilia and Ephemera-Political and Activist Ephemera
Exhibition: Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation, 1876-1968
On View: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 2, C 2053

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Untitled

Created by: Dial, Thornton Sr., American, 1928 - 2016

Medium: cloth, rope, carpeting and paint on plywood
Dimensions: 45 x 45 x 1 1/2 in. (114.3 x 114.3 x 3.8 cm)

Type: assemblages (sculpture)

Place made: Bessemer, Jefferson County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date: 1990-1999

Description: This assemblage depicts a striped animal with a long tail. The creature's two front legs are splayed apart, with one stretched out in front and one extended underneath the stomach. The animal's tail is upraised as well as its head, on an elongated neck. Although the animal is viewed from the side, both eyes are on the same visual plane and are visible to the viewer. The animal is barely contained by the square plywood backing; the movement of the limbs is constrained by the borders of the work. The animal is covered in black and white stripes and is outlined in brown. Surrounding the animal is a field of shadowy greens, blacks and browns.

Topic: African American; Art; Race discrimination; Race relations

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Calynne and Lou Hill

Object number: 2010.64.1

Restrictions & Rights: ©1990s Thornton Dial, Sr.. Permission required for use.

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Visual Arts
Exhibition: Visual Art and the American Experience
On View: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Culture/Fourth Floor, 4 052

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Ten shards of stained glass

Created by: Unidentified
Subject of: 16th Street Baptist Church, American, founded 1873

Medium: stained glass
Dimensions: H x W: 3 5/8 x 1 1/4 in. (9.2 x 3.2 cm)

Type: sherds

Place collected: Birmingham, Jefferson, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date: September 1963

Caption: Just two weeks after the march, on September 15, 1963, white supremacists planted a bomb under the steps of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The explosion killed four young girls attending Sunday school. This terrorist act was a brutal reminder that the success of the march and the changes it represented would not go unchallenged. In the face of such violence, the determination to continue organizing intensified. These glass shards are from the church's stained-glass window.
Description: A collection of glass shards collected from the gutter outside the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, at the funeral of the four girls killed in the bombing.

Topic: African American; Civil Rights; Hate crimes; United States--History--1961-1969; Violence

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from the Trumpauer-Mulholland Collection

Object number: 2010.71.1.1-.10

Restrictions & Rights: No Known Copyright Restrictions

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Religious and Sacred Objects
Exhibition: Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation, 1876-1968
On View: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 2, C 2053

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Shotgun shell found outside the16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham

Created by: Unidentified
Subject of: 16th Street Baptist Church, American, founded 1873

Medium: metal, brass (alloy)
Dimensions: H x W x D: 2 11/16 × 1 × 7/8 in. (6.8 × 2.5 × 2.2 cm)

Type: shells (ammunition)

Place collected: Birmingham, Jefferson, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date: September 1963

Caption: Just two weeks after the march, on September 15, 1963, white supremacists planted a bomb under the steps of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The explosion killed four young girls attending Sunday school. This terrorist act was a brutal reminder that the success of the march and the changes it represented would not go unchallenged. In the face of such violence, the determination to continue organizing intensified. These glass shards are from the church's stained-glass window.
Description: A shotgun shell collected from the gutter outside the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, at the funeral of the four girls killed in the bombing. The shell has a blue/green-colored body with brass tip.

Topic: African American; Civil Rights; Hate crimes; United States--History--1961-1969; Violence

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from the Trumpauer-Mulholland Collection

Object number: 2010.71.1.11

Restrictions & Rights: No Known Copyright Restrictions

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Tools and Equipment-Weapons and ammunition

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Ticket stub for Washington, DC to Montgomery, AL for Selma-Montgomery March

Issued by: Southern Railway Company, American, 1894 - 1990
Used by: Mulholland, Joan Trumpauer, American, born 1941

Medium: ink on paper
Dimensions: H x W: 1 3/4 x 1 3/4 in. (4.4 x 4.4 cm)

Type: ticket stubs

Place depicted: Selma, Dallas County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America; Montgomery, Montgomery County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America; Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America

Date: March 1965

Description: A ticket stub for Washington, D.C. to Montgomery, Alabama. The ticket stub is yellowed paper with black ink and is stapled to a green slip of paper providing dates and context.

Topic: African American; Civil Rights; Local and regional; Transportation; United States--History--1961-1969

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from the Trumpauer-Mulholland Collection

Object number: 2010.71.14

Restrictions & Rights: No Known Copyright Restrictions

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Memorabilia and Ephemera-Political and Activist Ephemera
Exhibition: Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation, 1876-1968
On View: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 2, C 2053

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sign from a segregated bus station in Birmingham, Alabama

Created by: Unidentified

Medium: plywood and paint
Dimensions: 7 3/8 x 74 7/8 x 1/2 in. (18.7 x 190.2 x 1.3 cm)

Type: signs

Place used: Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date: ca.1957

Description: This bus station waiting room sign, circa 1957, is from the Birmingham AL, Greyhound Bus Station. It is a standard train or bus station sign from a southern state prior to 1964 restricting the seating of non-white passengers. The sign consists of a piece of plywood painted white with black stenciled text that reads: [ WAITING ROOM / (INTERSTATE AND WHITE INTRASTATE PASSENGERS) ]. The lower right hand corner of the sign has been splintered off.

Topic: African American; Civil Rights; Race relations; Segregation

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA in honor of Dr. James Farmer

Object number: 2011.130

Restrictions & Rights: No Known Copyright Restrictions

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Memorabilia and Ephemera-Advertisements
Exhibition: Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation, 1876-1968
On View: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 2, C 2053

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Coming Into Montgomery

Created by: Martin, Spider, American, 1939 - 2003
Subject of: Dr. King, Martin Luther Jr., American, 1929 - 1968; King, Coretta Scott, American, 1927 - 2006; Unidentified Man or Men; Unidentified Woman or Women

Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
Dimensions: H x W (Image): 8 1/2 x 13 1/2 in. (21.6 x 34.3 cm); H x W (Sheet): 11 x 14 in. (27.9 x 35.6 cm)

Type: gelatin silver prints

Place depicted: Montgomery, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date: 1965; printed 1995

Description: A black-and-white photograph of Martin Luther King, Jr. leading marchers into Montgomery, Alabama, during the "Selma to Montgomery" march.

Topic: African American; Civil Rights; Photography

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number: 2011.14.1

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Media Arts-Photography

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Courage

Created by: Martin, Spider, American, 1939 - 2003
Subject of: Letherer, Jim, American, 1933 - 2001; Unidentified Woman or Women

Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
Dimensions: H x W (Image): 13 5/8 x 8 1/16 in. (34.6 x 20.5 cm); H x W (Sheet): 14 x 11 in. (35.6 x 27.9 cm)

Type: gelatin silver prints

Place depicted: Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date: 1965; printed 1995

Description: A black-and-white photograph of a man with one leg marching in front of two American flags and a United Nations flag.

Topic: African American; Civil Rights; Photography

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number: 2011.14.10

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Media Arts-Photography

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Priest from Maine

Created by: Martin, Spider, American, 1939 - 2003
Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men

Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
Dimensions: H x W (Image): 13 9/16 x 8 5/8 in. (34.5 x 21.9 cm); H x W (Sheet): 14 x 11 in. (35.6 x 27.9 cm)

Type: gelatin silver prints

Place depicted: Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date: 1965; printed 1995

Description: A black-and-white photograph of a man sitting on grass. He rests his head on his crossed arms and rests his elbows on his knees. His shoes, socks, and umbrella sit next to him.

Topic: African American; Civil Rights; Photography

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number: 2011.14.11

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Media Arts-Photography

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Two Minute Warning

Created by: Martin, Spider, American, 1939 - 2003
Subject of: Lewis, John, American, born 1940; Williams, Hosea Lorenzo, American, 1926 - 2000; Turner, Albert, 1936 - 2000; Bob Mants, 1943 - 2011

Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
Dimensions: H x W (Image): 8 9/16 x 13 11/16 in. (21.7 x 34.8 cm); H x W (Sheet): 9 x 14 in. (22.9 x 35.6 cm)

Type: gelatin silver prints

Place depicted: Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date: 1965; printed 1995

Description: A black-and-white photograph of Alabama police officers approaching Civil Rights marchers. White onlookers can be seen in the background between the two groups. This photograph may be a prelude to 2011.14.5.

Topic: African American; Civil Rights; Photography

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number: 2011.14.12

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Media Arts-Photography

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Disgusting

Created by: Martin, Spider, American, 1939 - 2003
Subject of: Boynton Robinson, Amelia, American, born 1911; Lewis, John, American, born 1940; Unidentified Woman or Women

Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
Dimensions: H x W (Image): 13 5/8 x 10 9/16 in. (34.6 x 26.8 cm); H x W (Sheet): 14 x 11 in. (35.6 x 27.9 cm)

Type: gelatin silver prints

Place depicted: Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Date: 1965; printed 1995

Description: A black-and-white photograph of Amelia Boynton Robinson, who is weak from being attacked and gassed by Alabama State Troopers.

Topic: African American; Civil Rights; Photography; Violence

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number: 2011.14.13

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Media Arts-Photography

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

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