“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” ― Marcus Garvey Arthur Sr., Emma, and Arthur Outen Jr., Columbia, South Carolina, 1942 Children lined up outside the Nickelodeon Theater to see Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator. Among the anxious fans crowded into the segregated movie house was fourteen year old Arthur William Outen Jr. the third child and oldest son of Arthur and Emma Outen. Arthur Jr. was born October 29, 1925 and had two older sisters Eunice born in 1916 and Amelia born in 1921 and one younger brother Otis born in ..read more

Lincoln and Mexico Project Photo courtesy of Library of Congress Celebrating Black History Month is a great opportunity to honor African-American soldiers who served in wartime. One group that is sometimes overlooked is the original US Colored Troops formed during the Civil War, where they were an important part of success by Union Troops. Some historians have written about African-American soldiers during the Civil War, notably William A. Dobak in “Freedom by the Sword.” Historian and educator Michael Hogan is one of the few to document the role of the USCT in helping exiled Mexican Preside ..read more

“Hold it gently” my grandmother said as she handed me a sepia photo of a Black World War I soldier. This was my first memory of collecting military photographs. At only twelve years old I wanted to know more about this soldier and learn about his experiences during the Great War. To this day I am unable to find anything about that soldier nor how he was associated with my family. That lost connection inspired me to chronicle the lives and achievements of the Black people in my WWI collection. In 2019 a photo came up for auction that at first glance was generic. There were no people in the phot ..read more

Jubilo! The Emancipation Century This is a lie: This picture purports to show the 1st Louisiana Native Guards, a group of African American soldiers who served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. It’s been used in numerous places, including Youtube videos here and here. The photograph has been used by pro-Confederate supporters for its propaganda value: the “fact” that blacks fought in the Confederate armed forces is viewed as proof that the South was not fighting the Civil War to defend slavery, but rather, for their freedom or “states rights”… or something. THE HOAX The ..read more

Museum Questions Recently, five museum professionals took it upon themselves to conduct a survey of museums and the issue of paid vs unpaid educators. These intrepid professionals were Jeanne Hoel, The Museum of Contemporary Art, LA; Barbara Bassett, Philadelphia Museum of Art; Sheila McGuire, Minneapolis Institute of Arts; and April Oswald, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. Jeanne shared the findings from this study on December 10th, at a National Art Education Association Museum Education Division Peer 2 Peer Google Hangout dedicated to the topic of paid and unpaid museum t ..read more

Pieces of History Today’s blog post comes from archives specialist Jackie Budell. On May 22, 1863, the War Department issued General Orders 143, establishing a Bureau of Colored Troops in the Adjutant General’s Office to recruit and organize African American soldiers to fight for the Union Army. With this order, all African American regiments were designated as United States Colored Troops (USCT). Today marks the 150th anniversary of the USCT, and the National Archives is pleased to announce the completion of the USCT Service Records Digitization Project. In partnership with Fold3, the proje ..read more

Jubilo! The Emancipation Century Cropped photograph of Wisconsin Union soldiers who helped a runaway teenager from Kentucky escape to freedom in 1862. This is titled “Jesse L. Berch, quartermaster sergeant, 22 Wisconsin Regiment of Racine, Wis. [and] Frank M. Rockwell, postmaster 22 Wisconsin of Geneva, Wis.” in the Library of Congress photograph collection. Source: Library of Congress, Reproduction Number LC-DIG-ppmsca-10940 This Civil War era image depicts a self-liberated teenaged woman (AKA runaway slave) from Kentucky who was eventually escorted to freedom with the aid of Union soldier ..read more

On this day, December 2, in 1859 abolitionist John Brown was hanged just six weeks after a failed attempt to instigate a slave rebellion in Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia). On his way to the gallows Brown handed a letter to a guard that read, “I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land can never be purged away but with blood.” His death made him a martyr to the abolitionist movement and helped ignite the War of the Slaveholders Rebellion in 1861. Brown’s actions created a since of paranoia among white southerners that just two years later lead to seces ..read more

Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C.: The Lion of Anacostia Courtesy of Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum In recent years a team of meticulous researchers have determined Frederick Douglass was the most “photographed” person (American) of the 19th century. More than 160 known images exist in public and private collections on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean from daguerreotypes to carte-de-vistas either as the cynosure or with company, such as his grandson Joseph Douglass. Last week I took a tour of the Douglass-related holdings at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum. Item ..read more