Explore 387 Black history Collections - Atlas Obscura
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Allensworth
Earlimart, California

Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park

A ghost town originally established and governed solely by Black Americans seeking a place of their own, free from discrimination.
An undated photograph of Aldridge as Othello (cropped).
culture

The 19th-Century African-American Actor Who Conquered Europe

And why you might never have heard of Ira Aldridge.
Natasha Frost August 7, 2017
Charity Adams Earley, one of many black American women who served in WWII.
video

A Look Back at the Desegregation of the U.S. Military

On July 26, 1948, black leaders convinced President Truman to address discrimination in the armed services.
Michael Waters July 26, 2017
Permanently Closed
Crownsville State Hospital
Crownsville, Maryland

Crownsville Hospital Center

This former asylum for Black Americans is haunted by its history of violence and racism.
Major Taylor races Léon Hourlier in France in 1909.
statues

The Enduring Legacy of the Worcester Whirlwind

Cyclist Marshall W. "Major" Taylor was the first internationally famous African-American athlete.
Cara Giaimo June 26, 2017
Rosewood marker
Cedar Key, Florida

Site of the Rosewood Massacre

A thriving Black community was destroyed by an angry white mob at this site in 1923.
Bessie Stringfield, "The Motorcycle Queen of Miami."
kickass women

Bessie Stringfield, the Black Motorcycle Queen of the 1930s

She owned 27 Harleys and rode them all over the United States, before settling in Miami.
Natalie Zarrelli May 18, 2017
The inscription roughly translated reads: 'Knight of St. George, a pupil of La Bössiere's father, both in London and in Paris, the reputation of the greatest practitioner of fencing was equally appreciated as a musician.'
music

The 'Black Mozart' Was So Much More

Between composing concertos, Joseph Bologne fenced and fought in the army.
Andrea Valentino April 12, 2017
Chicago policeman Renault Robinson in 1970.
museums

Records Reveal Hidden History Between Black Chicago Residents and Police

Newly released documents from the Afro-American Patrolmen's League show what it was like in the '70s.
Tatiana Walk-Morris April 5, 2017
Bessie Coleman and her biplane in 1922.
aviation

Meet Bessie Coleman, the First Black Woman to Get a Pilot's License

The fearless aviator was determined to fly.
Natalie Zarrelli March 1, 2017
The District Six museum.
Cape Town, South Africa

District Six Museum

A sobering account of the vibrant multicultural neighborhood that was destroyed under apartheid.
Olympic Black Power statue
San Jose, California

Olympic Black Power Statue

A statue commemorate Tommie Smith and John Carlos's brave protest at the 1968 Olympics, a watershed moment for civil rights.
Martin Luther King with President Lyndon Johnson in 1966.
history

Peek Inside the 1977 Report Detailing FBI Misconduct While Surveilling Martin Luther King Jr.

A review of the Bureau’s assassination investigation uncovered the extent of an illegal counterintelligence program.
JPat Brown January 18, 2017
slavery

Central Park Was Once Seneca Village, Home to a Thriving Free Black Community

A graphic history of the community displaced for the vast public park in 1857.
Lucas Adams December 5, 2016
Permanently Closed
Rosa Parks angel on the Montgomery bus
Beloit, Wisconsin

Angel Museum

The world’s largest collection of angel figurines includes 600 black angels donated by Oprah Winfrey.
Permanently Closed
Meyers Ace Hardware.
Chicago, Illinois

Meyers Ace Hardware

An unassuming store hides relics of its former life as the jazz club that hosted some of the best black performers of the 1920s and '30s.
Permanently Closed
Indianapolis, Indiana

Museum of Psychphonics

A modern-day wunderkammer dedicated to Indianapolis history, Afrofuturism, and musical vibrations.
Hollie Tatnell's grave.
Hearne, Texas

Grave in the Road

This one-woman cemetery was a small civil rights victory.