Strange-but-true stories in the struggle for equality
For 18 months in the late 1940s, some of the nation’s most important historical documents toured the country in a traveling museum called the Freedom Train. The National Archives History Office has produced a new online exhibit on the Freedom Train, which is available in the Google Cultural Institute. Viewed by more than 3.5 million … Continue reading New Web Exhibit on the Freedom Train
Today’s post comes from Marisa Hawley, intern in the National Archives Strategy and Communications office. As part of the "six weeks of style" celebration to recognize the Foundation for the National Archives' partnership with DC Fashion Week, we are showcasing fashion-related records from our holdings. This week’s fashion theme is Get Your 1970s Groove On. After the ratification … Continue reading Failure of the Equal Rights Amendment: The Feminist Fight of the 1970s
Mark K. Updegrove is Director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas. The first time a sitting President came to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library was on May 21, 1971, when President Richard Nixon boarded Air Force One and journeyed to the campus of the University of Texas at Austin to … Continue reading Reflections on LBJ and Civil Rights
Throughout the month of April, the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library will be exhibiting four cornerstone documents of civil rights. The “Cornerstones of Civil Rights” exhibit will run from April 1 through 30. The exhibit will feature two documents signed by President Abraham Lincoln: an authorized, printed edition of the Emancipation Proclamation; and a copy of the Senate resolution … Continue reading Celebrating a commitment to civil rights at the Johnson Presidential Library
Happy Women's History Month! Today's blog post comes from Kristina Jarosik, education specialist at the National Archives at Chicago. Recently, two powerful women in the Silicon Valley, (Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook and author of Lean In: Women Work and the Will to Lead and Marissa Meyer, CEO of Yahoo) provided the media and the public the … Continue reading They “Leaned In” and took action in federal courts
This past summer, Vera Williams attended her annual family reunion and Solomon Northup Day. The day honors her great-great-great grandfather, Solomon Northup, a free black man who was kidnapped and forced into slavery in 1841. When Northup escaped, he wrote a book about his experiences and—most shockingly for that era—took his kidnappers to trial. The … Continue reading Celebrating the life of an ancestor who was a “12 Years A Slave”
Today is the last day to vote! Do you want the Americans with Disabilities Act to be displayed first in the new “Records of Rights” gallery? Vote now! Today's guest post was written by Amber Powell, archivist at the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library. At the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (known … Continue reading Records of Right Vote: Americans with Disabilities Act
Cast your vote for the Immigration Act to be displayed first in the new “Records of Rights” gallery. Polls close on November 15! On November 13, 1954, Ellis Island closed. More than 20 million immigrants had been processed through the island station since its opening in 1892. But immigration was still limited. From 1924 until … Continue reading Records of Rights Vote: The Immigration Act
Cast your vote for the 26th Amendment to be displayed first in the new “Records of Rights” gallery. Polls close on November 15! Congress can move quickly. The 26th Amendment was ratified in 100 days, faster than any other amendment. In April 1970, Congress controversially lowered the voting age to 18 as part of legislation to … Continue reading Records of Rights Vote: “Old Enough to Fight, Old Enough to Vote”
Now is your chance to ask Steven Spielberg a question on Twitter using the hashtag #askspielberg! Over the next few weeks, Ken Burns will handpick several tweets and share the questions with the movie director. Spielberg will answer the questions at the at the Foundation for the National Archives 2013 Gala and Records of Achievement Award … Continue reading Free Film Festival in honor of Steven Spielberg
