Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture

Thirty years ago today, Essence Communications Inc. Magazine projected the cultural vibrancy of their award-winning periodical onto the stage with the inaugural Essence Festival of Culture. The four-day music festival brought together a diverse roster of genres and the most celebrated artists in African American music who performed on a mainstage, as well as smaller standing-room only stages throughout each day. Like the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival (Black Woodstock), the Essence Festival of Culture also used the festival to promote personal and community well-being, racial uplift, social justice, and financial literacy. The original celebration, held over the July 4th holiday weekend in 1994, grew out of a 25th anniversary commemoration of the magazine and featured iconic performers including Gladys Knight and Luther Vandross. Promising a celebration of pure Black joy, Vice President of the Essence Festival of Culture Hakeem Holmes, said, “For three decades, the Essence Festival of Culture has blossomed into a pillar of our culture. It spans generations and echoes life stages, growing at the vibrant intersection of art, culture, freedom, and justice. As the festival approaches its 30-year milestone, we are excited to welcome and celebrate with all our closest family and friends around the world.” 📸 Courtesy of Essence/Getty

“The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence bequeathed by your fathers is shared by you, not by me...This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn...What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July?” - Frederick Douglass, 1852 In July of 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered his evocative Independence Day speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Learn more: https://s.si.edu/3iwpkv6 #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory 📸 1. No. 44, Weighing Cotton, ca. 1895. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman and Sandra Lindley. 2. Ambrotype of Frederick Douglass, 1855-1865. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

📕 Meet author & Visual Afrofuturism artist, Tim Fielder during a book signing for “The Graphic History of Hip Hop,” his first in a series of graphic novels which blends music, art and history through the lens of Afrofuturist art. The series is a collaboration between Fielder and preeminent historian of Afrofuturism, Walter Greason. Free. Learn more: https://s.si.edu/3WaQnC5

Students in grades 7 to 9, join author and illustrator Tim Fielder Tim Fielder to learn and practice how to become a historian through graphic art and comics. Learn the process that historians do to investigate history. Then, use the stories and objects in our special exhibition “Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures,” to find sources and inspiration for your graphic art. Lastly, discuss how to interpret history through graphic art and comics. Free. Registration required: https://s.si.edu/3XHh4PU   

Join us and special guest Tim Fielder as we learn and practice how to become a historian through graphic art and comics. Free. More Info: https://s.si.edu/3XHh4PU 

📅 This month, join us for a special event celebrating James Baldwin’s 100th birthday! Also, enjoy a book signing and meet-and-greet, drawing session and more with author and Afrofuturist illustrator Tim Fielder. Discover more about our July events: https://s.si.edu/3XHh4PU #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory

Civil rights activist Medgar W. Evers was born #OnThisDay in 1925 in Decatur, Mississippi. In 1954, he became the NAACP’s first field secretary in the state. His main duties were recruiting new members and investigating incidents of racial violence. He also led voter registration drives and mass protests, organized boycotts, fought segregation, and helped James Meredith integrate the University of Mississippi. Evers was key in collecting witnesses and evidence in the Emmett Till murder case, bringing it to the attention of the nation. In 1963, he was assassinated in his driveway by white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith. In 1994, during a 3rd trial, De La Beckwith was convicted of killing Evers and was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Evers. #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory 📸 1. and 3. Photograph by Francis H. Mitchell. 2. Photograph by David Jackson. Johnson Publishing Company Archive. Courtesy J. Paul Getty Trust and Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

#OnThisDay, 60 years ago, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law. The law gave the federal government a new role in desegregating schools and other public facilities. It also restricted the use of literacy tests for voter registration and created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to oversee race and sex discrimination in employment. #ANationsStory #APeoplesJourney 📸 NMAAHC

Happy birthday, Carl Lewis! Born #OnThisDay in 1961, Lewis won a staggering ten #Olympic medals – nine of them gold – in track and field events while competing in four Olympic Games between 1984-1996. A dominant sprinter, Lewis won gold in 1984 in the 100 and 200-meter dash events and anchored the U.S. men’s 4x100 relay team to a world record. In 1988, Lewis repeated as the gold medalist in the 100-meter dash and won silver at 200-meters. In 1992, Lewis would again anchor the 4x100 team to a gold medal and another world record. Lewis was an even more dominant long jumper. He won four consecutive Olympic gold medals in 1984, ’88, ’92 and ’96. #GameChangers 📸 1. Photograph by Vandell Cobb. 2. Photograph by James L. Mitchell. Johnson Publishing Company Archive. Courtesy J. Paul Getty Trust and Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

#OnThisDay in 1917, actress and singer Lena Horne was born in Brooklyn, New York. Horne started her career at the famed Harlem Cotton Club and became a noted entertainer with a career lasting over 70 years. In 2022 the Brooks Atkinson Theater in New York City was renamed "The Lena Horne Theater" — making it the first Broadway venue named after an African American woman performer. She appeared in film, on television, and performed more than 300 times on Broadway. Horne was also a Civil Rights activist who refused to perform in front of segregated audiences and attended the March on Washington in 1963. In 1989, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Grammys. #APeoplesGroove #BlackMusicMonth 📸 Photograph by Moneta Sleet Jr. Johnson Publishing Company Archive. Courtesy J. Paul Getty Trust and Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.