Harriet Tubman’s Hymn Book, c. 1876
Gospel Hymns No. 2, by P.P. Bliss and Ira D. Sankey, Harriet Tubman’s personal book of hymns.
Gift of Charles Blockson
Concourse 3: History Gallery "Slavery and Freedom"
Slave Cabin, c. early 1800s
A weatherboard-clad cabin used during slavery at Point of Pines Plantation on Edisto Island, S.C.
Gift of The Edisto Island Historic Preservation Society
Concourse 3: History Gallery "Slavery and Freedom"
Rosa Parks’ Dress, c. 1955
Dress that Rosa Parks was making shortly before she was arrested for not giving up her seat on a segregated bus.
Black Fashion Museum Collection. Gift of Joyce A. Bailey
Concourse 2: History Gallery "Era of Segregation"
Michael Jackson’s Fedora, c. 1992
Worn during Michael Jackson’s Victory Tour.
Fourth Floor: Culture Gallery "Musical Crossroads"
Tuskegee Airplane, Boeing-Stearman PT-13D Kaydet, c. 1944
A vintage, open-cockpit biplane that was used at Alabama’s renowned Tuskegee Institute to train African American pilots for Army Air Corps service during World War II.
Concourse 2: History Gallery "Era of Segregation"
Marian Anderson Ensemble, c. 1939
The orange silk jacket and black-velvet skirt worn during Marian Anderson’s Easter Sunday performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939.
Gift of Ginette DePreist in memory of James DePreist
Fourth Floor: Culture Gallery "Musical Crossroads"
Muhammad Ali Headgear, Fifth Street Gym, c. 1960s
It was in this gym and the surrounding neighborhood with its vibrant mix of racial, political and cultural identities, some have argued, that Cassius Clay took his first crucial steps to becoming Muhammad Ali.
Third Floor: Community Gallery "Sports Gallery"
Segregation-era Southern Railway car, No. 1200, c. 1920
A 44-seat segregated passenger car that serviced routes in Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida.
Gift of Pete Claussen and Gulf and Ohio Railways
Concourse 2: History Gallery "Era of Segregation"
Nat Turner’s Bible, 1830s
Bible owned by Nat Turner.
Gift of Maurice A. Person and Noah and Brooke Porter
Concourse 3: History Gallery "Slavery and Freedom"
Phillis Wheatley, Elizabeth Catlett, 1973
Bronze life-size bust of the 18th-century African American poet Phillis Wheatley. The bust is based on the frontispiece engraving in Wheatley’s book, Poems on Various Subjects (1773)
Fourth Floor: Culture Gallery "Visual Arts Gallery"
Chuck Berry’s Cadillac, c. 1973
The car is part of Berry’s personal fleet of Cadillacs and was driven during the filming of Hail! Hail! Rock ’n’ Roll, a 1987 documentary that chronicles two 1986 concerts.
Gift of Chuck Berry
Fourth Floor: Culture Gallery "Musical Crossroads"
Glass shards and shotgun shell from the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, 1963
A collection of glass shards and a shotgun shell collected from the gutter outside the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., after the bombing that killed four young girls.
Gift of Joan Mulholland
Concourse 2: History Gallery "Era of Segregation"
Louis Armstrong Selmer Trumpet, 1946
Brass-and-gold trumpet owned and played by Louis Armstrong. This one-of-a-kind trumpet was crafted by Henri Selmer specifically for Louis Armstrong in Paris after World War II, during the French recovery period.
Fourth Floor: Culture Gallery "Musical Crossroads"
American Beauty Dress (silk and satin), c. 1958–1960
This dress is one of many garments designed by the celebrated designer Ann Lowe.
Black Fashion Museum Collection. Gift of Joyce A. Bailey
Third Floor: Community Gallery "Making a Way Out of No Way"
Bill of Sale, Dec. 23, 1835
An official copy receipt for the sale of a Negro girl named Polly, 16 years of age, for $600. This bill of sale transferred ownership from Martin Bridgeman to Wm H. Mood (both from Jackson County, territory of Arkansas).
Gift of Candace Greene
Concourse 3: History Gallery "Slavery and Freedom"
Middle Passage Shackles (wrought iron), c. pre-1863
Ankle shackles of the type used to restrain enslaved people aboard ships crossing the Atlantic from Africa to the Americas during the Middle Passage
Concourse 3: History Gallery "Slavery and Freedom"
Hope School Artifacts, c. 1925–1954
One of more than 5,000 rural schools supported by the Julius Rosenwald Fund, the Hope School in Pomaria, S.C. Artifacts from the Hope School include its original sign, 10 desks and a wood-burning stove.
Gift of Ronald Hope
Third Floor: Community Gallery "Making a Way Out of No Way"
Gabby Douglas Olympic Items, c. 2003 and 2012
A leotard from Douglas’ first competitive season in 2003, which she also wore in the 2004 Virginia State Championships; the grip bag, wrist tape and uneven-bar grips she used at the 2012 London Olympics; the ticket to the Olympics used by Douglas’ mother, Natalie Hawkins; credentials used by Douglas to gain access to Olympic venues; and an autographed copy of her new book Grace, Gold & Glory: My Leap of Faith.
Gift of Gabrielle Douglas
Third Floor: Community Gallery "Sports Gallery"
Angola Prison Guard Tower, c. 1930–1940s
A 20-foot-tall tower used by prison guards to watch prisoners at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, one of the largest maximum-security prisons in the nation.
Gift of Louisiana State Penitentiary
Concourse 1: History Gallery "1968 and Beyond"
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SI-50B-2016
Fleur Paysour
202-633-4761
