The beginning of freedom
Union troops successfully occupied the area around Beaufort, South Carolina, in 1862. Two years later, in November 1864, this office for freedmen was photographed....
"The glorious voice"
By 1939, African-American singer Marian Anderson had toured Europe impressing crowds and composers alike. But in this country, she was banned from many concert halls...
The order of appearance for Thurgood Marshall
This is an order for the attorney Thurgood Marshall to appear before the United States Supreme Court in 1951 in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of...
The seat in question
This diagram shows where Rosa Parks was sitting when she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger. It was an exhibit in the Browder v. Gayle court case, which...
"they want to send their children to school"
Teachers reported to the Freedmen’s Bureau monthly listing information such as the number of students enrolled in their school, sources of financial support, and...
United at Last
While many slave couples formed lasting bonds during their enslavement, slave marriages had no legal foundation or protection. The abolishment of slavery not only...
West Virginia coal mining family
Documerica photographer Jack Corn took this photograph in April 1974, showing Martha Crider and her family on their way to a band concert at a local grade...