Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture

🧵✨Join us for a quilting experience led by renowned quilt artist Torreah “Cookie” Washington! Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned stitcher, this workshop invites you to create a beautiful, functional quilted duffel bag rooted in the legacy of African American quilting traditions. Celebrate the artistry, resilience, and storytelling woven into quilting while enjoying the spirit of a modern-day quilt circle. As part of your experience, enjoy a highlight tour of our exhibition “In Slavery’s Wake.” Members of the exhibit team, including Exhibition Developer Johanna Obenda and Archaeologist Gabrielle Chantal Miller, will provide a brief highlight tour, reflecting on the resilience of the past while finding joy in the act of freedom making through textile art. Workshop Highlights: • Create a quilted duffel bag • Learn in community with fellow quilters • Explore the cultural significance of African American quilting What to Bring: • Personal sewing machine with zipper foot • Basic quilting tools (fabric, thread, pins, scissors, etc.) Full supply list included in event details. Class kit provided. Lunch included. Spaces are limited—secure your spot today! 🎟️ $75; Registration required: https://s.si.edu/4jmUkMu

Join us for a rich and flavorful evening celebrating the global legacy of African diasporic food traditions. Enjoy an engaging conversation with Joanne Hyppolite, NMAAHC Curator of the African Diaspora, and James Beard Award-winning chef and author Todd Richards as they explore the deep-rooted connections between food, culture, and history. Following the discussion, guests will experience a specially curated tasting inspired by the African diaspora—featuring dishes from the Caribbean, Brazil, Africa, and the United States. Plant-based options will be available. This event is presented in connection with our exhibition, “In Slavery’s Wake: Making Black Freedom in the World,” and celebrates the culinary traditions shaped by the Transatlantic slave trade. 👨🏽🍳 📚 Chef Todd Richards’ cookbook, “Roots, Heart, Soul,” will be available for purchase on-site, courtesy of Smithsonian Enterprises. $40; Pre-registration is required: https://s.si.edu/4lb01z5 #CulinaryCousins #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory

Considered by many to be the greatest gospel singer of all time, Mahalia Jackson has been described as spirit-filled and God-inspired. Overflowing with both mystery and majesty, Jackson’s sound captivated audiences and transported them like a force of nature into a space of holiness. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said: "A voice like hers comes along once in a millennium." Born in New Orleans on October 26, 1911, Jackson began singing in church as a child. It quickly became apparent that she had tremendous talent and possessed a voice that was rich, strong, and impressive. After moving to Chicago in 1927, word of her amazing voice began to spread — first in local churches, and soon in churches across America. By 1948, Jackson gained national notoriety with the release and success of the song, "Move on Up a Little Higher" for Apollo Records. She performed in the White House for President Eisenhower, sang at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy, and traveled with Dr. King throughout the South, singing powerful gospel hymns before many of his speeches, including, at his request, a spiritual just before his "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C., in 1963. She also performed before royalty, singing at London's Royal Albert Hall when her first European concert tour brought her to England in the mid-1950s. Mahalia Jackson passed away in 1972, just a few months after her 60th birthday. Both Chicago and New Orleans honored her, with tens of thousands silently filing past her casket in tribute. It is estimated as many as 6,000 people attended her funeral service in Chicago. Learn more: https://s.si.edu/4knM1BI #APeoplesJourney 📸 Photograph by Isaac Sutton. Johnson Publishing Company Archive. Courtesy J. Paul Getty Trust and Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

#OnThisDay in 1915, Billie Holiday was born. Holiday was one of the most influential and distinctive vocalists of the twentieth century. Although she had a relatively narrow vocal range, Holiday was a master of melodic improvisation and rhythmic timing who subtly transformed the songs she performed. She is best known for her relaxed interpretations of blues, like her 1939 composition “Fine and Mellow,” and standards from the Great American Songbook. #APeoplesGroove 📸 Billie Holiday, 1958. Photograph by Isaac Sutton. Johnson Publishing Company Archive. Courtesy J. Paul Getty Trust and Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

#OnThisDay, April 4, 1928, Dr. Maya Angelou was born. Author of "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" (1970), "Gather Together in My Name" (1974), "All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes" (1986), "A Song Flung Up to Heaven" (2002), and several other works spanning length and genre, Angelou, became one of the world’s most well-known poets. Angelou’s cosmopolitan career spanned five decades and included professional dancing (she trained with Martha Graham and performed with Alvin Ailey), scriptwriting, and acting. Her autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” influenced the start of the Black Women’s Literary Renaissance. Angelou was honored with numerous awards including a Spingarn Medal (1994) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2010). #APeoplesJourney 📸 Photographs by Moneta Sleet Jr. Johnson Publishing Company Archive. Courtesy J. Paul Getty Trust and Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Join us for a powerful program inspired by “In Slavery’s Wake: Making Black Freedom in the World”—an immersive exhibition that connects Black freedom-makers across time and around the globe through history, art, and media. The evening will begin in the Oprah Winfrey Theater, where curator Johanna Obenda will moderate a discussion with painter, illustrator, and educator Daniel Minter and filmmaker Tiffany McNeil, whose moving works are featured in the exhibition. Following the discussion, visitors are invited to explore the exhibition and the important role of art in freedom in our world through conversation, art activations, and more. Try your hand at woodblock printing using blocks designed by Daniel Minter. Join an art workshop inspired by Nyugen E. Smith’s freedom flags, led by multidisciplinary artist Maps Glover. $35.00 to attend. Registration required: https://s.si.edu/3Xx3vSg.

Today, we remember Richard D. Parsons. A founding member and co-chair of our museum’s advisory council, Parsons guided the creation of our museum with passion, wisdom, and unwavering commitment. Learn more about his life and legacy: https://s.si.edu/3RxxEx8. 📸 Michael R. Barnes/Smithsonian Institution

Celebrate #NationalPoetryMonth with Us! Join us for a virtual symposium exploring the global influence of Phillis Wheatley Peters (c. 1753-1784) —the first African American to publish a book of poetry. Enslaved as a child and later freed, Phillis Wheatley Peter’s groundbreaking “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral” (1773) paved the way for generations of Black poets and writers. Scholars will discuss her enduring literary legacy and unveil the museum’s newly acquired collection—the largest private archive of Phillis Wheatley Peters artifacts—including a rare, four-page manuscript of her poem “Ocean” written in her own hand. Free. Registration required: https://s.si.edu/43nKuW9 #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory

“Whatever future ministry I might have as a priest, it was given to me that day to be a symbol of healing. All the strands of my life had come together. Descendant of slave and of slave owner, I had already been called poet, lawyer, teacher, and friend." Pauli Murray, a Baltimore-born (Durham, North Carolina reared) lawyer, possessed an enviable measure of spiritual fortitude that upheld her activism. In 1973, at 62, Murray entered the General Theological Seminary to study for Holy Orders, and in 1977 was ordained as the first Black woman priest in the Episcopal church. Murray’s ordination was made all the more historic as it took place in the same church where her enslaved grandmother, Cornelia, was baptized in 1854. The Bible that Murray used for scriptural reading during her first eucharist belonged to her grandmother, Cornelia, while the lectern used to hold it, was dedicated to the memory of the woman who owned Cornelia, Mary Ruffin Smith. Learn more: https://s.si.edu/4knM1BI #APeoplesJourney 📸 Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Milton Williams Archives, © Milton Williams.

📖✨ Celebrate National Poetry Month with us! Join us for an afternoon of poetry, conversation, and literary insight as we highlight the recent release of “Magnitude and Bond: A Field Study on Black Literary Arts Organizations.” Hosted by Yahdon Israel, this program features readings by Lauren K. Alleyne and Taiwo, commentary from Lisa Willis (Co-Principal Investigator & Executive Director of Cave Canem), and a keynote from Jermain Fowler. Let’s honor the power of Black literary arts together! Free to attend. In-person and streaming. Registration required: https://s.si.edu/4laZxsL #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory #NationalPoetryMonth