Strange-but-true stories in the struggle for equality
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
Cast your vote now for the 14th Amendment to be displayed first in the new Rubenstein Gallery. Today’s post comes from Jessie Kratz, the Historian of the National Archives. Why should the 14th Amendment be ranked first on any list of most important documents? A constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship for all, Federal protection of … Continue reading Records of Rights Vote: The 14th Amendment
Cast your vote for Executive Order 9981 to be displayed first in the new "Records of Rights" gallery. Polls close on November 15! Today’s post comes from Tammy Williams, archivist at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library President Harry S. Truman spent his entire young adulthood in Missouri, a border state during the Civil War. … Continue reading Executive Order 9981: Equality in the military
This post comes to us from summer intern Hannah Fenster. When Edith Lee-Payne stepped into the lobby of the National Archives last week, she came from a morning full of press interviews and national monument visits. But the whirlwind of her recent rise to fame slowed when she entered the Rotunda to view a photograph … Continue reading Edith Lee-Payne: Accidental civil rights icon
In commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Liberties Act, the original Executive Order 9066 as well as the 1988 law are on display in the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, from June 16 to August 19, 2013. Today's blog post comes from curator Bruce Bustard. “Here we admit a … Continue reading On display: Executive Order 9066 and the Civil Liberties Act of 1988
The 19th Amendment is on display from March 1 to March 8 at the National Archives Building in honor of the 100th anniversary of the 1913 woman's suffrage parade in Washington, DC. We will also be screening the 2004 film "Iron-Jawed Angels" at noon on March 2. Today's guest post is from curator Bruce Bustard. … Continue reading The 19th Amendment on display at the National Archives
This self portrait, with carefully groomed mustache in the center, is a glamorous photo of a hardworking, groundbreaking photographer. James Stephen "Steve" Wright was from a working-class family in Washington, DC. By the 1940s he was head of photographic operations for the Federal Works Agency. But like many young black men at the time, he … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Portrait of the Artist with a Mustache
