The first book devoted to the most important collection of objects and ephemera of African American life, bringing together centuries of Black experience, creativity, resistance, and joy.

Perhaps one of the most poignant and remarkable collections in the country, this volume brings together the key objects and artifacts that have defined the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Featuring essays by the museum’s founding curators and leadership, the book tells the stories of each of these objects and also offers a behind-the-scenes look at how this collection was built from the ground up.

The collection includes an extraordinarily wide-range of objects, from the historical to the topical: a protest placard carried at the 1963 March on Washington; a handmade tin wallet from 1852 that protected a formerly enslaved man’s “freedom papers”; the pail that Rev Dr Martin Luther King used to cool his feed during the Selma Civil Rights Marches; and some of Harriet Tubman’s personal effects including her personal hymnal and the shawl she was gifted by Queen Victoria, carefully preserved by Tubman’s heirs. The volume also includes Ebony magazine’s famous, wildly decorated test-kitchen, where Ebony magazine cooked up the flavors of Black America, and Tony Award–winning actor André De Shields’s rhinestone-studded white jumpsuit he wore in the original 1975 Broadway production of The Wiz.

With contributions from over 30 curators, scholars, and artists, the volume weaves personal narratives and historical insight, while showcasing stunning objects and artifacts, each with its own cultural resonance.

About The Author

Lonnie Bunch is the Director of the Smithsonian.

Michèle Gates Moresi is assistant director for collections at NMAAHC.

Mary Elliott, Ariana Curtis, Dwan Reece, and Paul Gardullo are curators at NMAAHC.