National Museum of African American History and Culture Booklet

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

The African American experience is the lens through which we understand what it is to be an American.

– Lonnie G. Bunch III Founding Director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture

A

frican Americans have survived slavery, fought for

their freedom in the Civil War, for the freedom of others in subsequent wars, and created lives of meaning for themselves, their families, and their country. Since its creation in 2003, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) has been collecting items—large and small—to tell the story of America through the African American lens. The museum’s eighth exhibition, Through the African American Lens: Selections from the Permanent Collection, presents examples of agency, resilience, faith, perseverance, and pride, and showcases stories of trailblazers, innovators, visionaries, and history makers who helped to shape this great nation.

In Through the African American Lens, the African American story is presented in three sections which reflect the thematic strands of the upcoming museum.

culture celebrate

the brilliant and improvisational creative expressions of African American expressions of life.

community explore

the spirit of African Americans as they created vibrant lives to support and nurture one another.

history investigate

what it means to be an American through the lens of the African American experience.

So far as the actual history of the American Negro is concerned…. it is an exciting story, a remarkable story. It is the story of slavery and freedom, humanity and inhumanity, democracy and its denial. It is tragedy and triumph, suffering and compassion, sadness and joy.

– John Hope Franklin Founding Chairman of the Scholarly Advisor Committee National Museum of African American History and Culture

unless otherwise noted, all objects and images are part of the collection of the national museum of african american history and culture

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time.

We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

We are the change that we seek.

– President Barack Obama 6

African Americans have long struggled against injustice and discrimination. Throughout this struggle they have demonstrated great courage and determination to change their circumstances whenever possible, through whatever means they had available. The ability to impact one’s condition or situation in life is a form of power called agency.

African Americans used their agency in small ways, such as working very slowly at tasks during slavery, and in large ways, such as organizing mass demonstrations for civil rights. Agency takes many forms depending on which action is possible in the given moment. Understanding agency, both by individuals and groups, gives us insight into the African American people and stories throughout history.

Through the African American Lens – Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

a lens into agency

Agency (n): the capacity, condition, or state of acting, or of exerting power The Hunted Slaves by Richard Ansdell (above) depicts an enslaved couple risking their lives in an attempt to escape bondage. The scene highlights the power that enslaved people took when they chose to change their circumstances by running away and also by taking a valiant stand when confronted with a possible return to enslavement.

A LENS INTO YOU How have you taken agency, or changed, a situation in your life? #MyLensStory Through the African American Lens – Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

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– W. E. B. Du Bois

Resilience (n): the ability to become strong, healthy, or successful again in the face of misfortune, setbacks, or other challenges The story of African Americans is one of resilience. The history of blacks in America chronicles a people who have refused to accept the tragedy and hardship of enslavement and the injustice of racial discrimination. Under the most challenging circumstances, African Americans have fought to lead productive lives, build vibrant communities, and shape a country that truly reflects the American ideals of freedom. In the face of centuries of oppression, generations of African Americans have created lives of meaning for themselves and their families. The Sugg family of Tuolumne County and Sonora, California, presents one such example. Against often insurmountable odds, the Sugg family thrived, and their story is a testament to the resilience and courage of African Americans.

In 1854, former slave, William Sugg purchased his freedom for one dollar and married his wife, Mary Snelling, a year later. Along with their eleven children, the Sugg’s were one of the gold country’s bedrock pioneer families. By 1850, the California census documented 962 black residents living in the newly free state. Although some African Americans in California were enslaved, many were free. Yet, despite California’s free borders, government oversight and fugitive slave laws meant that free and formerly enslaved African Americans lived under constant threat of arrest.

a lens into resilience

The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife, — this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. . . . He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American.

In 1857, the Sugg family built one of the first brick homes in the area, and members of the family occupied it for 125 years. The home served as a boardinghouse from the late 1880s until 1921. When the Suggs were not hosting guests, the musically talented family spent time at home playing instruments and listening to music in their front parlor.

A LENS INTO YOU What motivates you to be emotionally resilient? #MyLensStory 8

Through the African American Lens – Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Through the African American Lens – Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

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Having a belief in someone or something is a large part of any human culture. Powerful beliefs or faith can give people the strength to withstand adversity and difficulty in life.

African Americans used faith to survive enslavement, segregation, racial oppression, and economic hardships. Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and other faiths have given people of African descent, as well as Americans of diverse backgrounds, strength to withstand hardship.

2. a belief in the existence of God

Faith centers also served as sanctuaries where African Americans fostered and created community. Within their community of faith, African Americans could be themselves and control their situation.

Under enslavement, plantation life allowed few opportunities for the enslaved to gather beyond the gaze of slave owners and overseers. Away from their captors in brush arbors, secluded spaces among trees, those in bondage found opportunities for prayer, song, and escape from the relentless demands for their labor.

Prayer begins where human capacity ends.

– Marian Anderson

After slavery was abolished, the church served not just as a place for African Americans to practice their belief in God, but also as a safe haven to organize their strategic attacks on segregation. Gathering strength from the Christian message of faith, the congregants in the photograph (left) are also listening to an uplifting message of hope from Martin Luther King, Jr.

a lens into faith

Faith (n): 1. a strong belief or trust in someone or something;

A LENS INTO YOU In what do you have faith to help you deal with hardship? #MyLensStory 10

Through the African American Lens – Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Through the African American Lens – Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

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They’ll see how beautiful I am…

I, too, am America.

– Langston Hughes

Perseverance, standing strong in the face of adversity, has been a hallmark of the African American community.

Fighting against oppression, disenfranchisement (not having the right to vote), and racism, African Americans have continued to strive for the American Dream—the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Education has always been viewed as a powerful way to rise above the challenges. Obtaining education was so important that some enslaved would risk punishment in order to learn to read and write.

Even after emancipation, African Americans struggled to gain access to quality education. In many parts of the country, separate schools were established for black and white children. The schools for black children had inferior books, furniture, and learning supplies. Many communities, especially rural ones, did not even have a school building for the African American children. Leaders in the African American communities like Booker T. Washington worked with philanthropists such as Julius Rosenwald to raise money to create spaces for the public education of African American children. The school desks (above) represent the many ways in which the African American community pursued education even when faced with tremendous challenge.

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Perseverance (n): the ability to continue trying to do something even though it is difficult

Through the African American Lens – Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.

– George Washington Carver

a lens into perseverance

After almost a century of segregated schools, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the 1954 case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka that segregated schools were unconstitutional. The court case serves as a shining example of African Americans continuing to strive for opportunity and rights in spite of challenges. At the dining room table below, members of the Brown family and lawyers from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense Fund prepared their legal case. Their work represents the strength of perseverance in the African American community.

A LENS INTO YOU When confronted with injustice in your life, what strategies do you use to persist and move forward toward your goals? #MyLensStory Through the African American Lens – Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

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African Americans have a strong ownership of the American ideals of freedom, civil rights, and the “pursuit of happiness.”

Despite continued disenfranchisement and discriminatory practices imposed upon them, African Americans have fought in every American war; until the mid-twentieth century, they fought in a segregated military that did not treat them equally.

Pride (n): a feeling of self-respect and of the right to be respected by others If there is no struggle, there is no progress.

– Frederick Douglass 16

Through the African American Lens – Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

African Americans risked their lives in defense of American ideals because they took pride in the nation that they helped build. Simultaneously, the African American community saw military service as a means to gain full citizenship and rights. A man who had served in the military became a symbol of pride for his own family and also his community.

a lens into pride

Throughout history, Africans and African Americans have demonstrated a strong sense of pride in themselves, their ethnic origins, communities, and country.

For the many African American men and women who served in the U.S. military, pride in their achievements was emblematic of their heroism and commitment to the country. The soldiers featured here represent the thousands of African Americans who displayed an act of patriotism, which was for some the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.

A LENS INTO YOU How do you or your family display personal pride in your community? #MyLensStory Through the African American Lens – Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

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DID YOU KNOW ?

The angle of the corona slants skyward at seventeen degrees—almost the same angle of the nearby Washington Monument’s capstone.

a lens into the nmaahc building

THE PORCH As an architectural element, the porch has roots in African and African Diaspora communities. Designed as an extension of the building into the landscape, the museum’s covered porch creates a distinct space between the interior and exterior of the building. Drawing inspiration from the original function of porches on domestic structures, the museum’s porch will offer a shaded area where visitors are welcomed to convene.

THE CORONA The silhouette derived from the building’s inverted and stacked trapezoidal shape continues to highlight the museum’s connection to the African Diaspora. The museum’s corona shape is based on carved wood columns (right) like those created by Olowe of Ise, a Yoruba master carver in Nigeria.

Located on one of the most iconic spaces in America, the site of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) on the National Mall offers vistas that extend from the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. Capitol. Much like the exhibition, the location of the museum and the framed perspective visible from inside the building serve as reminders of the museum’s mission to present a view of America through the lens of African American history and culture.

The shape of the corona was also inspired by a photograph of a woman. In the photograph, she raises her hands in a gesture of praise, a celebration and expression of faith, hope, and resiliency.

At its best, architectural design has the ability to embody the ideals and spirit of a culture.

The architectural symbolism embedded in NMAAHC’s design reflects a deep connection to African heritage, and the diversity and richness of African American culture.

THE FILIGREE The bronze-colored latticework that wraps the exterior of the

The building’s design is based on three fundamental elements: the porch, the corona shape, and the bronze filigree that covers the form of the building.

building is inspired by the intricate ironwork of African American metalworkers in South Carolina and Louisiana. The openings of the filigree system are designed to help moderate light into the building.

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Through the African American Lens – Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Through the African American Lens – Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

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1927 Charles Lindbergh completes first transatlantic flight 1927 First motion picture with sound debuts 1929 Stock market crashes starting the Great Depression 1934 Dust Bowl begins

Pullman Porter Cap

1925

1925 Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters founded

School Desks from the Hope School

1925

1919 “Red Summer” of 1919 1920 First commercial radio broadcast 1920 Prohibition begins with 18th Amendment 1920 19th Amendment granting women’s suffrage ratified 1921 Tulsa race riot

French World War I Victory Medal

ca. 1918

1903 Wright brothers’ first successful flight 1908 First Ford Model T manufactured 1909 NAACP founded 1910 Jack Johnson and James Jeffries take on the Fight of the Century 1915 The Birth of a Nation film premieres 1915 The Great Migration of blacks to the North begins 1917–1918 U.S. involvement in World War I

Opera Coat

ca. 1900

1895 Booker T. Washington's Atlanta Compromise speech 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case decided

Photographic Postcard: Harriet Tubman

ca. 1890s

1865 13th Amendment abolishing slavery ratified 1866 Civil Rights Act of 1866 passed 1868 14th Amendment ensuring equal rights ratified 1869 Transcontinental railroad completed 1875 Civil Rights Act of 1875 passed 1876 Alexander Graham Bell patents telephone 1877 Reconstruction ends 1883 Civil Rights Cases legalize segregation 1883 Brooklyn Bridge opens 1885 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn published

George Thompson Garrison’s Sword

1863

1863 Emancipation Proclamation issued

The Hunted Slaves by Richard Ansdell

1862

1841 United States v. The Amistad decided 1850 Compromise of 1850 passed 1861–1865 U.S. Civil War

Servants at a Pump by Nicolino Calyo

ca. 1840

1480s Portuguese sailors sail down west coast of Africa 1565 St. Augustine, Florida, founded 1607 Jamestown, Virginia, founded 1619 First Africans arrive in Virginia 1730s Great Awakening spiritual revival 1773 Phillis Wheatley’s Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral is published 1775–1783 American Revolutionary War 1776 Declaration of Independence adopted 1780 Slavery abolished in Pennsylvania 1789 Bill of Rights adopted 1793 Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin 1793 Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 passed 1800 Washington, D.C., becomes U.S. capital 1803 Louisiana Territory purchased 1808 Transatlantic slave trade to United States ends 1820 Missouri Compromise passed 1831 Nat Turner’s Rebellion

LENS COLLECTION TIMELINE

Prayer Shawl

2010

Terrorists attack World Trade Center and the Pentagon 2001 Facebook is launched 2004 Barack Obama is elected president of the United States 2008

Charles Bolden Flight Suit

2000

Space shuttle Columbia launches on first mission 1981 MTV debuts 1981 The Cosby Show debuts 1984 Jesse Jackson runs for president 1984 First African American elected 1990 governor of a U.S. state (Virginia) Race riots in Los Angeles 1992

Musician James Brown’s Red Suit

1980

Microsoft is founded 1975 TV miniseries Roots airs 1977 Personal computer is introduced 1977

Jumpsuit from the Broadway musical, The Wiz

1975

Apollo 11 mission lands on the moon 1969 United States withdraws from Vietnam 1973

Musician James Brown’s Organ

1968

Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated 1968

American Soldiers in Vietnam

1967

Thurgood Marshall becomes first African 1967 American justice on U.S. Supreme Court

Ann Lowe Dress

1966

March on Washington 1963 The Beatles come to United States on first U.S. tour 1964 Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed 1964 U.S. involvement in Vietnam War escalates 1965

Althea Gibson Tennis Racket

1960

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case decided 1954 First national color television broadcast airs 1954 Modern Civil Rights Movement begins 1955 First McDonald’s restaurant opens 1955 Successful polio vaccine announced 1955 Emmett Till is abducted and killed in Mississippi 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott begins 1955 Soviet Union launches Sputnik satellite into orbit 1957 Civil Rights Act of 1957 passed 1957 Greensboro lunch counter sit-ins 1960

Dining Room Table

1954

African American Midwife

1953

Marian Anderson sings at Lincoln Memorial 1939 Executive Order 8802 ends racial 1941 discrimination in defense industry U.S. involvement in World War II 1941–1945 Executive Order 9981 desegregates U.S. Armed Forces 1948 Korean War 1950–1953 Comic strip Peanuts first appears in syndication 1950

Photographer Zack Brown shooting dapper men in Harlem

1937

Unless otherwise noted, all objects and images are part of the collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

All definitions are adapted from MerriamWebster Dictionary, Mobile Edition, 2015.

intro image montage

Alexander Alland, The Commandment Keepers: African-American Jewish Congregation in Harlem – Young Men in Prayer, 1940, © Alexander Alland, Jr

Hope School Sign, ca. 1925, Gift of the Hope School Community Center, Pomaria, South Carolina (graphic reproduction)

Photographer unknown, Cumberland Landing, Virginia, 1862 Library of Congress Portrait of Mahalia Jackson © Lloyd W. Yearwood

Dining Room Table Gift of Judge Paul L. Brady

Photographic Postcard of Harriet Tubman Gift of Charles Blockson

pride

James Edward Brown, Unidentified soldiers, ca. 1967–1969 Gift of James E. Brown

Photograph of Company K of 55th Regiment of Massachusetts, Readville, Massachusetts, just before deployment, 1863 Robert Scurlock, Tuskegee Airman of the 301st Fighter Squadron, 1944 Gift of the Scurlock Family

time-line

Servants at a Pump, ca. 1840 Nicolino Calyo (1799–1884), Oil on canvas The Hunted Slaves, 1862, Richard Ansdell (1815–1885), Oil on canvas Civil War Sword and Scabbard, Gifts of the Garrison Family in memory of George Thompson Garrison Photographic Postcard of Harriet Tubman and family, ca. 1890s Gift of Charles Blockson Opera Coat This exquisite opera coat (ca. 1900) was designed and worn by Louvenia Price (1857–1935) who had been enslaved.

French-Issued World War I Victory Medal Received by Lawrence McVey, ca. 1918.

Gift of Gina R. McVey, granddaughter School Desks from the Hope School, a Rosenwald School in Pomaria, South Carolina, founded in 1925, Gift of the Hope School Community Center, Pomaria, South Carolina

Back from Jim Crow Army and Navy on the home front Gift of Joe Schwartz and Family © Joe Schwartz

Photographer Zack Brown shooting dapper men in Harlem, 1937

By Eliot Elisofon, © Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin

Robert Galbraith, All My Babies: A Midwife’s Own Story, 1953 Gift of Robert Galbraith, photographer, © 1987

Photographer unknown, Hand-tinted portrait of Pauline C. Cookman in uniform, 1950

Views of Thomasville and Vicinity: 86 Picking Cotton, ca. 1895 Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman and Sandra Lindley

Cabinet card of Charles Young as a cadet at West Point

Photos of Midwife Maude Callen, by W. Eugene Smith, Life magazine, December 1951, Purchased with funds provided by The Philip and Edith Leonian Foundation © W. Eugene Smith - Time and Life Pictures/Getty Images

Spider Martin, Coming into Montgomery, 1965 © 1965 Spider Martin

agency

The Hunted Slaves, 1862, Richard Ansdell (1815–1885), Oil on canvas

resilience

Family Photographs Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library Yale Collection of Western Americana Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

faith

Lloyd W. Yearwood, Martin Luther King, Jr. at Convent Avenue Baptist Church, Harlem, New York, 1959 © Lloyd W. Yearwood Founder Wentworth Arthur Matthew with Torah Scroll, from the series, The Commandment Keepers: African American Jewish Congregation in Harlem, by Alexander Alland, 1940 © Alexander Alland, Jr. Lloyd W. Yearwood, Muslim Woman reading The Supreme Wisdom to young girls, date unknown © Lloyd W. Yearwood

Photograph of two American soldiers in Vietnam, ca 1967–1969 Gift of James E. Brown Present Arms – Colored Soldiers, ca. 1920

Tennis Racket used by Althea Gibson Gift of Donald Felder and Family

Midwife Susie Carey, Farmville, Virginia, date unknown Gift of Fannie Mae Carter Silver Lloyd W. Yearwood, Unicycle street ball, date unknown © Lloyd W. Yearwood

Unidentified soldiers, James Edward Brown, ca. 1967–1969 Gift of James E. Brown

Spider Martin, Coming Into Montgomery, 1965 © 1965 Spider Martin

James Brown’s Organ Hammond B-3 organ was owned by the “Godfather of Soul,” James Brown.

Ernest C. Withers, James Brown, Mid-South Coliseum, 1965 © Ernest C. Withers Trust Easter Sunday, Roxbury Gift of Beverly Conley Ernest C. Withers, Sanitation workers assemble in front of Clayton Temple for a Solidarity March, 1968 © Ernest C. Withers Trust Cumberland Landing, Virginia, 1862 Library of Congress Photographer unknown, Pullman Porter James Bryant, date unknown, Gift of Jackie Bryant Smith

The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) was created in 2003 by an Act of Congress, establishing it as part of the Smithsonian Institution. Scheduled for completion in 2016, NMAAHC broke ground in February 2012 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The 400,000-square-foot building will occupy a five-acre tract adjacent to the Washington Monument. The museum will serve as a cultural destination devoted exclusively to showcasing African American life, art, history, and culture. While construction is moving forward, the museum is hosting public programs, organizing exhibitions and producing books and recordings. Its newest publication, Double Exposure: Through the African American Lens, is the first in a series of four books showcasing NMAAHC’s photography collection. An array of interactive programs and educational resources is available on the museum’s website nmaahc.si.edu.

Dining Room Table Gift of Paul L. Brady

Ann Lowe Dress Ann Lowe was at the height of her career during the 1950s and ‘60s, averaging a thousand gowns a year.

Gifts of the Black Fashion Museum founded by Lois K. Alexander-Lane

center image spread

about the museum

Pullman Porter Cap

Portrait of Arthur Ashe © Lloyd W. Yearwood

Ernest C. Withers, James Brown, Mid-South Coliseum, 1965 © Ernest C. Withers Trust

The time line presented here further demonstrates the centrality of African American history and culture to the American story. It features key points in U.S. history as well as highlighted objects from the NMAAHC collection.

perseverance

School Desks from the Hope School, a Rosenwald School in Pomaria, South Carolina, founded in 1925, Gift of the Hope School Community Center, Pomaria, South Carolina

Eliot Elisofon, Photographer Zack Brown shooting dapper men in Harlem, 1937 © Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin

In Through the African American Lens: Selections from the Permanent Collection, objects and images related to African American history and culture are lenses into what it means to be an American.

Jason Miccolo Johnson, The Sanctuary Choir sings as converts are baptized after the morning worship service at Apostolic Church of God, Chicago, IL 2005 Gift of Jason Miccolo Johnson, © Jason Miccolo Johnson

Costume jumpsuit for the Wizard in The Wiz on Broadway Gift of the Black Fashion Museum founded by Lois K. Alexander-Lane Red Jumpsuit with Red Vest, worn by James Brown, ca. 1980–1985 Major General Charles F. Bolden Jr.’s Naval Aviator’s Nomex Flight Suit, 2000–2002 Gift of Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden Jr., USMC (Ret.) Prayer Shawl Gift of Rabbi Capers Funnye and the Beth Shalom B’nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation

All material, except where noted, is produced by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, 2015.

Design by: KTD Creative

[CRF/TSD]

Share your thoughts with us! Do you have stories of agency, resilience, faith, perseverance, or pride? Use #MyLensStory to broadcast your own family histories and to share images of special family objects. You can also share your favorite collection items from the exhibition.

#MyLensStory

@nmaahc

ON VIEW! THROUGH THE AFRICAN AMERICAN LENS: SELECTIONS FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. daily (closed Dec. 25) NMAAHC Gallery at the National Museum of American History 1400 Constitution Ave. NW (at 14th St.) Washington, DC