Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture

📅 Celebrate Kwanzaa this month with a series of healing and uplifting events! Join renowned culinary historian Jessica B. Harris as she explores the rich culinary traditions tied to Kwanzaa. Plus, join us for “Unfinished Conversations,” a documentary companion to our upcoming exhibition, “In Slavery’s Wake: Making Black Freedom in the World,” opening on December 13. Explore all our December events: https://s.si.edu/417rwSC

#OnThisDay in 1955, civil rights activist Rosa Parks was arrested for "refusing to obey orders of a bus driver." When Parks refused to give up her bus seat, she set off a chain reaction in Montgomery, Alabama, that helped fuel the modern Civil Rights Movement. Her arrest sparked a bus boycott that lasted 381 days. Press coverage made the boycott and the issue of segregation national news stories. The struggle in Montgomery brought respect and national and international attention to Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., the spokesperson for the boycotters. Earlier that year, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin was arrested for defying segregated bus seating. Colvin was arrested in March of 1955 for the same form of civil disobedience, but the civil rights lawyers did not think hers would be the best test case. Congress gave Parks the title "First Lady of Civil Rights," and she received national recognition and acclaim for her lifelong advocacy work. Her awards include the NAACP's 1979 Spingarn Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Gold Medal. Posthumously, she became the first Black woman to have a statue in the United States Capitol's National Statuary Hall. Explore a hat that belonged to Parks and other objects related to civil rights activism in our online Searchable Museum: https://s.si.edu/3OqYaXK #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory 📸 Courtesy of Universal History Archive/Getty Images.

Born #OnThisDay in 1924, Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman elected to Congress and the first Black candidate from a major party to run for president of the United States. Chisholm carved out new roles for Black women in politics, proclaiming herself “unbought and unbossed” as she sought reforms to inequities based on race, gender, and class. Learn more about her life and legacy: https://s.si.edu/3Zr7eSN 📸 1. 2. 3. 6. Photographs by Maurice Sorrell. 4. 5. Photographs by Moneta Sleet Jr. Johnson Publishing Company Archive. Courtesy J. Paul Getty Trust and Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. 

This Friday, support our work to elevate Black history —the dreamers, pioneers, and artists on whose shoulders we stand. Give the gift of history this Black Friday to help create a more informed and equitable future in 2025 and beyond!  Your contributions to our museum will be matched, doubling the impact: https://s.si.edu/4eUR9cu.

🥬 How does your family cook their greens? Collard greens are often a staple at the dinner table in African American families. This stockpot was used to cook collard greens for over 20 years at the Florida Avenue Grill in Washington, D.C., one of the country's oldest African American-owned soul food restaurants. The various leafy greens in the cabbage family have grown across Africa, Europe, and North America for centuries. But greens flavored with ham hocks are part of a larger Black survival story. Enslaved African Americans stretched their allotments of food by growing greens and using scraps of meat to add flavor and nutrients. Often referred to as pot liquor (also "pot likker"), the broth created by the collards rich in Vitamins C, K, A, and iron – is used as a tonic by some elders today. This culinary tradition of 'making do' became a beloved staple in southern diets and traveled with migrating African Americans throughout the United States. #APeoplesJourney 📸 Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Imar and Tasha Hutchins, Florida Avenue Grill.

Potato salad is more than just a dish——it’s a tradition, a debate, and sometimes, a family legacy. At Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture's Sweet Home Café, a former senior cook created a classic Southern-style recipe featuring Yukon gold potatoes, sweet pickle relish, and mustard. #APeoplesJourney 

Macaroni and cheese has taken to the hearts and stomachs of generations in the United States and the Caribbean, where it is sometimes known by its British name, “macaroni pie.” #APeoplesJourney 

Often thought of as one of the few sweet treats of the Colonial era, sweet potatoes were used to make a bevy of foods including sweet potato biscuits, candied sweet potatoes, and the beloved sweet potato pie. #APeoplesJourney

#OnThisDay in 1911, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. It is the first African American fraternity founded at a historically Black university. #APeoplesJourney 📸 Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Margaret Falkener DeLorme, Waldo C. Falkener, Cameron S. Falkener and Gilbert E. DeLorme.

Today, we remember dancer-choreographer Judith Jamison. The Philadelphia native brought passion and power to the art of dance, first as a principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, which she joined in 1965, and later as their artistic director from 1989 to 2011. Jamison formed her own dance company, The Jamison Project, and fearlessly pushed the boundaries of expression through choreographed works, including “Forgotten Time” (1989) and “Love Stories” (2004). She earned numerous honors, including a Phoenix Award, Primetime Emmy, and induction into the Hall of Fame at the National Museum of Dance. In 2011, Jamison became the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Artistic Director Emerita. Her performances inspired audiences worldwide. Through movement, she affirmed the beauty of Black expression and embodied the cultural richness and vibrancy of the African American experience. 📸 Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, Inc., Photography by Jack Mitchell, © Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, Inc. and Smithsonian Institution. All rights reserved.