African American History

This exhibit celebrates the achievements and contributions of Black Americans from before the formation of the United States to present times.

the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. It was established by Act of Congress in 2003, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans.

The Smithsonian has launched its Open Access Initiative. Images of objects from the NMAAHC collection are now available to view, download, and share through a CC0 license.​

The National Museum of African American History and Culture encourages media outlets to use images of the NMAAHC building and collection objects as part of their coverage of the Museum. In addition to images of the NMAAHC building, curated groups of imaged by exhibition, subjects, and people can be downloaded by clicking one of the links below. Included in each folder is a report with the caption and credit information for each image. When using an images of a collection object, please be sure to include the credit line anywhere the image is reproduced.

Explore, learn and engage with the National Museum of African American History and Culture through the numerous digital resources.