Smithsonian Voices

From the Smithsonian Museums

A black-and-white photograph of an African American male porter holding a suitcase while a white woman steps up into a rail car.

The Railroad Workers Behind the Civil Rights Movement

Pullman porters did more than carry bags, they paved the way for higher education opportunities, the professional working class and the fight for equal rights.

A steam locomotive with smoke billowing

How a 1941 Steam Locomotive Became an Inspiration for a Blockbuster Movie

A boy in a long wool coat and hat holds a small case

A Teenager's Holocaust Diary Is Changing the Way We Interact With Online Exhibitions

Seven people- adults and children- interact with the Nation of Inventors exhibition gallery

What Patent Models Can Tell Us About American History

"The Old Drop-scene" displayed at the Aldrich House, Providence, present day

Digital Restoration Gives New Life to America’s Oldest Theater Curtain

A group of people sit in chairs at the History Center raising mini American flags during a Citizenship ceremony

The Time is Now for Tackling Historical Illiteracy and Creating a New Type of Civic Participation

A group of young people stand in front of a pollinator garden in Lowell, MA

Young People Are Stepping Up in Climate Conversations

Dream Action Oklahoma (DAOK) vigil at Scissortail Bridge in 2018. (DAOK)

History Hiding in Plain Sight

Darkfeather Ancheta, Eckos Chartraw-Ancheta, and Bibiana Ancheta, Tulalip, Washington. Darkfeather, is pictured with her sister Bibiana and nephew Eckos at the edge of Tulalip Bay. They are wearing traditional regalia prepared for their annual Canoe Journey. Every year, upwards of 100 U.S. tribes, Canadian First Nations and New Zealand canoe families will make “The Journey” by pulling their canoes to a host destination Tribe. Canoe families pull for weeks, and upon landing participate in several days and nights of “protocol”, a celebration sharing traditional knowledge, ancestral songs, and sacred dances. Photo by Matika Wilbur for Project 562. Courtesy of the Artist.

Beyond Stereotypes: Portraits and Stories of Native American Women

Cover of the autobiography of Beba Epstein written in the 1933-34 school year, with a picture of her. (Photo credit: YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. The Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania is the custodian of Beba Epstein’s autobiography, which was digitized with their consent as part of the Edward Blank YIVO Vilna Online Collections project)

How the Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Girl Inspired an Exhibition

Jessica Cox sitting in her Ercoupe. (Photo courtesy of Jessica Cox)

Jessica Cox Flies in the Face of Challenges

Marching for the Release of the Wilmington 10 (Cape Fear Museum of History and Science)

One Short March, One Long Journey

Group of red, yellow, orange, green peppers. (Biomuseo)

How A Plant from the Americas Conquered the World

Gallery view of the Heard Museum exhibition,

Reunited And It Feels So Good

Staff from the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative lead a workshop in Nebraska. (Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative)

How Unprecedented Flooding Brought a Community Together

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The Railroad Workers Behind the Civil Rights Movement

How a 1941 Steam Locomotive Became an Inspiration for a Blockbuster Movie

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