Strange-but-true stories in the struggle for equality
70 years ago the Supreme Court issued its Brown v. the Board of Education ruling. Today’s post has been adapted from a piece by Daniel Holt, who served as the Director of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene from 1990 to 2008 and was a member of the Brown v. Board … Continue reading The Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education
March is Women’s History Month. Visit the National Archives website for resources and virtual events related to women’s history. When the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed, Title VII prohibited discrimination by certain employers on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. State and local governments, however, were exempt. The Civil Rights Act of … Continue reading The Federal Women’s Program
Today’s post comes from Alyssa Manfredi at the National Archives History Office. Robert “Bobby” Kennedy was a politician known as the father of modern American liberalism. As President John F. Kennedy’s younger brother, he used his position as a high-profile member of the Kennedy family to advocate for the civil rights movements of the 1960s. … Continue reading Robert F. Kennedy: Father of Modern American Liberalism
Today’s post, from Alyssa Manfredi in the National Archives History Office, is in celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month and looks at labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta. A co-founder of the Chicano movement, Dolores Huerta is an activist who continues to fight for the rights of laborers, women, and immigrants. She is … Continue reading Dolores Huerta: “Sí, se puede!”
The National Historic Landmarks Committee of the National Park System Advisory Board is considering the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, to be a National Historic Landmark. The study includes the history of the building as well as ways records housed in the National Archives Building have been used throughout history. Today’s post looks at … Continue reading The Importance of Records: Japanese American Incarceration During World War II
We're concluding Black History Month with a post on Marian Anderson from Adam Berenbak in the Center for Legislative Archives. For more information on resources related to African American History, visit the National Archives website. Petition from Omega Psi Phi, April 1939. (Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives) This petition was sent to the … Continue reading Marian Anderson’s 1939 Easter Concert
June is National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Pride Month, which honors the important contributions that LGBTQ+ Americans have made to U.S. history and culture. Visit the National Archives website for more information on our related holdings. Today’s post from Jennifer Halpern is the second in a two-part series looking at the immigration challenges … Continue reading Immigrating While Queer: Part II, The Fight Ahead
Today’s post comes from Rachel Bartgis, conservator technician at the National Archives at College Park, MD. Barbara Jordan, 10/18/1976. (LBJ Presidential Library, National Archives) Barbara Jordan (1936-1996) was a lawyer, teacher, civil rights leader, lawmaker, and first LGBTQ+ woman in Congress. Born in Houston, in Texas's historically Black Fifth Ward, Jordan was the great-granddaughter of … Continue reading LGBTQ+ History Month: Barbara Jordan
We’re wrapping up Black History Month with a post from Adam Berenbak, an archivist in the Center for Legislative Archives. Novelist, essayist, poet, and activist James Baldwin (1924–87) “created works of literary beauty and depth that will remain essential parts of the American canon.”[1] He was an openly gay, Black man living in the Civil … Continue reading James Baldwin and Freedom Summer
February is Black History Month. Visit our website for information on related resources and virtual events. Today’s post comes from Thomas Richardson, an archives technician at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO. Civil rights encompasses a broad range of activities that engage citizens of all backgrounds—the right to vote, to lawfully assemble, … Continue reading The Fight for the Right to Marry: The Loving v. Virginia Case
