In this post, students will learn about Frederick Douglass as more than an orator and activist. Though Douglass' persona was poised, dignified, and proper, he was also a fighter and an agitator. Written by Chris Wilson, Director of Daily Programs and the Program in African American Culture, this

In this post, students will learn about the spring and summer of 1961, when more than 400 Americans became Freedom Riders. They did so knowing full well that the simple act of violating long-held traditions of racial segregation and white supremacy would almost certainly lead to arrest

In this post, students will read a short biography of Samuel Morse, inventor of the telegraph. Even in his day, he was a controversial figure, but today he is remembered for his creativity—an artist who became interested in a novel technology and helped lay the foundation for a revolution in co

In this post, students will learn about the Greensboro Four, college freshmen who sat down at the whites-only Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina and asked to be served. Students will also learn why that lunch counter is currently on exhibit at the Museum. This post is

For a good part of the twentieth century, Harlem’s Apollo Theater was one of the most prestigious, important, and well-known venues for black entertainers. In this post, students will learn about the Schiffman family, who ran the Apollo from 1934 to 1976. In 1946, Frank Schiffman

In this post, students will read about the Scurlock Studio, a photographic business operated by an African American family in Washington, D.C., from 1911 to 1994. The Scurlocks maintained a long business relationship with Howard University as its official photographers. In the

In this blog post, students will learn some of the ways in which Americans learned about Mexico from some examples in the Archives Center's collections. In the years prior to World War II, most Americans had limited first-hand experience of Mexico. Mexico primarily was known as a place for Americ

In this post, students will learn about the work the Museum is doing to preserve the history from September 11, 2001. Students will hear an insider's perspective on the decision-making process, and discover what it's like to sort and collect important objects that will help tell the story for gen

In this post, students will learn about the concept of eco-cities (cities designed to be in balance with nature) and their impact on the sustainability movement. Written by Art Molella, Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Director of the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, thi

This post helps teachers understand how to both memorialize September 11 and contextualize the history of the day through five essential questions. Targeted toward secondary students, the questions can help teachers and students compare aspects of September 11 to other events in American his