US history

Outside of Smithsonian museum of African American History and Culture

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC

Long 19th- 20th centuries / / , , ,

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC is an astonishing and powerful testimony to this country’s heritage. Showcasing the trajectory of African American history from the centuries of enslavement through the period of legalized apartheid and Jim Crow laws, the exhibits also portray the ways that Black Americans from

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The Dozens

The Dozens

Long 19th- 20th centuries / / ,

Here you see an album cover of musician and comedian “Speckled Red,” whose hit song “The Dirty Dozens” put samples of “the Dozens” to music, with a notable version published in 1929. But the tradition of the Dozens game goes back much further, echoing insult games that developed in western African countries like Ghana, and

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Typhoid Mary

Typhoid Mary

Long 19th- 20th centuries / / ,

Would you like some Typhoid with your omelette? The illustration of “Typhoid” Mary Mallon, throwing skulls like eggs into a frying pan, conveys the sentiments about her that many Americans felt in the early 20th century. She looked matronly and healthy, but was responsible for spreading the deadly disease to about 50 people, resulting in

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America’s First and Only Blood Libel

Long 19th- 20th centuries / / ,

This newspaper clip reflects a horrific story about the only anti-Semitic blood libel to occur in American history. Blood libels against Jews began in the Middle Ages. Totally unfounded in any degree of fact, they falsely accused people who were Jewish of killing Christian children and using their blood for Passover food rituals. The horror

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