This week, sixty years ago, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This act, signed into law on July 2, is the nation’s benchmark civil rights legislation and remains one of America's most significant legislative achievements. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The act … Continue reading Spotlight: Passage of The Civil Rights Act of 1964
In April 1968, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. traveled to Memphis, Tennessee to support sanitation workers that were on strike. It was in Memphis on April 3rd that King would give his final speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop." The next day, on the evening of April 4th while at the Lorraine Motel, King was … Continue reading April 1968 Washington, D.C. Riots
All this month, the National Park Service is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the completion and dedication of the Lincoln Memorial. Here at the National Archives, we hold literally thousands of records related to the iconic landmark, including several thousand that are digitized and available in the online Catalog. Photograph of the Abraham Lincoln Statue … Continue reading Lincoln Memorial Link Roundup
Washington, D.C. is no stranger to protests. Most are one-day affairs, consisting of a march or rally with some speakers and a musical guest or two. A handful, though, have been more long term, with protestors spending days or weeks camped out in our nation’s capital to fight for their cause. Two of the most … Continue reading Protest Camps in D.C.: The Poor People’s Campaign and the Bonus Army Marchers
The flag of the United States of America was adopted 240 years ago on June 14, 1777. Throughout our nation's history our flag has taken on many forms, growing with the country it so proudly represents. It has also taken on many affectionate monikers - the American Flag; the Stars and Stripes; Old Glory; the … Continue reading Spotlight: Flag Day
Photos for this blog post were selected and scanned with the assistance of Kaitlyn Crain Enriquez. The United States celebrates Black History Month in February. First established as Negro History Week by African-American historian Carter G. Woodson in 1926, Black History Month was formally designated by president Gerald Ford in 1976: "Freedom and the recognition of individual rights are … Continue reading Spotlight: Celebrating Black History Month
This year, Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on January 18, the anniversary of a march that Dr. King helped lead from Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church to the Selma Courthouse for the purpose of voter registration. The marchers were not allowed to register, but this was just one skirmish in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s … Continue reading From Selma to Montgomery: The Selma Voting Rights Movement
Today's post is from Criss Kovac. Criss is the supervisor of the Motion Picture Preservation Lab, which is responsible for performing conservation and preservation work on motion picture records held across the National Archives. Recently, she completed a digital restoration of The March (306.765). On August 10th, 1963 The U.S. Government, under the auspices of … Continue reading Making The March
