The National Museum of African American History and Culture is committed to studying and documenting African American religious life—past and present. Over the past ten years, the Museum has acquired over 1,093 religion objects that are now part of its national collection. Objects associated with Muslims are an integral part of this material culture.

Through their achievements in the dramatic arts, African American women have broken barriers, enriched American culture, and inspired audiences around the world.

Explore the family history of Pauli Murray, a pioneering lawyer, priest, and writer who published a major African American genealogy. Her book, "Proud Shoes: The Story of an American Family," published 20 years before "Roots", showcases the racial and social dynamics between the union of a free black family from the north and a mixed-race family of the south.

Pauli Murray was first in her class at Howard University Law school and the only woman. She is the first African American to earn a J.S.D. from Yale Law School and a co-founder of the National Organization for Women. In 1977, Murray became the first African American woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest.

Strongly inspired by the memory of her father, William H. Murray, a teacher and poet, and by noted 19th-century poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, Murray found the time and resources to write and publish.

Pauli Murray's personal writings about her gender identity and sexuality have been a recent topic of study. Researchers have discovered that Murray may have identified as a transgendered man, but did not have the information or acceptance available during her lifetime to describe it.

Despite the national fervor inspired by his death it took 15 years of persistence by civil rights activists a holiday created in remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to be approved by the federal government and an additional 17 years for it to be recognized in all 50 states.

During the segregation era, discriminatory laws and practices made traveling by car a difficult and even dangerous experience for African Americans.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month (LGBT Pride Month) is celebrated each year in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan.

Before the 1970s, Aunt Jemima’s pancake box carried the stereotypical image of a black cook. Today, a new wave of African American chefs safeguard Southern foodways.