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Explore ingenuity, creativity, and resilience through captivating exhibits, artifacts, and art at the nation’s first museum dedicated to African American history on a national scale. The museum holds the largest known collection of artifacts belonging to General Young from his military service and family life in Wilberforce.

Originally built in 1805 by Charles Marsh Sr., father of George Perkins Marsh, the federal-style brick house was sold to Frederick Billings in 1869. Billings renovated the home into a Queen Anne style mansion. In 1954, Billings' granddaughter, Mary French Rockefeller, inherited the home and estate with her husband, Laurance Rockefeller. In 1992, the couple donated the property to the National Park Service. Interior tours are available May-October.

Pine Lane Trailhead provides access to two of the longest trails that pass through the national park: the Buckeye and the Valley. This is a good starting point for hikers and runners who want to avoid the crowds and challenge themselves with hills.

His fame grew to the point that in 1899, the British Winston Churchill wrote to the American writer of the same name, praising his novel and promising to always use “Spencer” as his middle name to help prevent confusion going forward.

With the assassination of President William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th President of the United States (1901 - 09). He brought new excitement and power to the office, vigorously leading Congress and the American public toward progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy.

Interpretive signs introduce the idea of "wilderness". As you head to the western side of Jenny Lake, the developed front country area slips away into an undeveloped, primitive world.

Born to sharecroppers in the Mississippi Delta, Blackwell rose from humble beginnings to become one of many unsung Black female heroines of the modern Civil Rights Movement. Blackwell was an outspoken critic of racial and economic inequality and the first Black female mayor elected in the state of Mississippi. We honor her as an ancestor for reminding us of the power to change the circumstances we were born into.

Mrs. Recy Taylor was just 24 years old when she was brutally raped by six white men in Alabama. Upholding the Black woman's tradition of testimony and protest, Taylor actively participated in the pursuit to bring her attackers to justice. Though the men were acquitted in two separate trials, Taylor's courage speaks to the resolve of Black women to channel their pain and anger into political anger. We honor Taylor as an ancestor for teaching us a lesson on courage.

Before Shirley Graham married W.E.B. Du Bois in 1951, she had earned a national reputation as a playwright, composer, conductor, director, and author. Born to a A.M.E. minister and a European mother, Graham was raised to appreciate Black culture and music. From a young age, her parents instilled in her the importance of social justice and the uplift of the Black Community. For her lifelong dedication, we honor her as an ancestor.

There are people who give great speeches, and they there are those who perform them. Hallie Quinn Brown was one of the few who perform speeches. In her era, she was recognized as one of the greatest elocutionists across two continents, Europe and America. Though she rarely appears in history books, Brown’s legacy can be found in today’s speech-language pathologists and spoken word artists. She lectured widely on the cause of temperance, women’s suffrage, and civil rights. We

Eslanda Cardozo Goode Robeson was an author and anthropologist who wrote about African decolonization, African American civil rights, and international politics.

Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis and 2nd Earl Cornwallis, served as a British general during the American Revolution and notably surrendered his army to General Washington's Continental army and the allied French forces at Yorktown, Virginia in October 1781. This surrender effectively ended hostilities between British and American forces and led to peace negotiations, ending the war and recognizing American independence. Cornwallis later governed in India.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt has travelled across the country and been displayed in many prominent places, including here on the National Mall in front of the Washington Monument. This was the ‘Inaugural Display’, the result of cumulative efforts of thousands of volunteers and countless hours of work. It is a tragic memorial to thousands of lives lost, while also representing the enduring love of those who knew them best.

Reformer and writer Julia Ward Howe is most famous for writing the words to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" during the American Civil War and the "Mother's Day Proclamation" (1870). She advocated for the abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, and peace.

Henry Blake Fuller was a key figure in the Chicago Literary Renaissance, renowned for pioneering social realism in American literature. He is noted for being one of the first American novelists to explore homosexual themes. Fuller had a complicated love-hate relationship with Chicago. He frequently found solace at Indiana Dunes, which served as a retreat from urban life and a source for inspiration.

The James Merrill House in Stonington, Connecticut is nationally significant for its close, forty-one-year association with James Ingram Merrill (1926-95), one of his generation's most acclaimed poets---considered peerless among his contemporaries who were writing in meter and rhyme.

Since the 1970s, the Christopher Street Pier (Pier 45) has been a popular meeting place for drag queens, as well as gay people. The pier has been a popular social spot for decades, particularly for communities of color, despite pressure from residents and local authorities.

In 1921, Otero-Warren ran for federal office, campaigning to be the Republican Party nominee for New Mexico to the US House of Representatives. She won the nomination, but lost the election by less than nine percent. She remained politically and socially active, and served as the Chairman of New Mexico’s Board of Health; an executive board member of the American Red Cross; and director of an adult literacy program in New Mexico for the Works Projects Administration.

Rachel Louise Carson was a biologist, writer, and environmental activist. Most of Carson's writing expressed her love of nature and concern for future generations. With language that was both poetic and compelling, she inspired people to become interested in the natural world.