Born in 1731 to freed slaves on a farm in Baltimore, Maryland, Benjamin Banneker was obsessed with math and science. And his appetite for knowledge only grew as he taught himself astronomy, mathematics, engineering, and the study of the natural world. As an adult, he used astronomy to accurately predict lunar and solar events, like the solar eclipse of 1789, and used his scientific expertise to pioneer new agricultural methods on his family’s tobacco farm.
In 1792, Banneker began publishing almanacs. He was among the first Americans, and the first African-American, to publish almanacs. These provided detailed annual information on moon and sun cycles, weather forecasts, and planting and tidal time tables.
Banneker sent a handwritten copy of his first almanac to Virginia’s Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. This was a decade before Jefferson became president. Jefferson read the almanac and wrote back in praise of Banneker’s work.
Banneker included a letter imploring Jefferson to “embrace every opportunity to eradicate that train of absurd and false ideas and opinions” that caused prejudice against black people. The letter also denounced the Bill of Rights as disingenuous. Banneker questioned the rationale of the imperialistic position taken by the Founding Fathers, especially in light of their rebellion against the tyranny imposed on them by England as settlers seeking a better life in America.
Banneker’s correspondence with the future president is now considered to be one of the first documented examples of a civil rights protest letter in America. For the rest of his life, Banneker fought for this cause, sharing his opposition to slavery through his writing.
Banneker, in his debut almanac of 1792 , was the first to recommend the establishment of a U.S. Department of Peace. It wasn’t until nearly two hundred years later that the U.S. Institute of Peace was established by Congressional authorization in 1984. The organization acknowledges Banneker for his role as the pioneering agent of this idea and states:
The first formal proposal for the establishment of an official U.S. government peace institution dates to 1792. The product of efforts by architect and publisher Benjamin Banneker and physician and educator Dr. Benjamin Rush. The proposal called for establishing a “Peace Office” on equal footing with the War Department – noting the importance to the welfare of the United States of “an office for promoting and preserving perpetual peace in our country.
This month is Black History Month, or National African American History Month, an annual celebration of achievements by black Americans and a time for recognizing the central role of African Americans in U.S. history.
Today we are honoring Benjamin Banneker, a true renaissance man, who authored almanacs and worked as a surveyor, naturalist, and farmer. His correspondence with the Thomas Jefferson is now considered to be one of the first documented examples of a civil rights protest letter in America.
Photo: 19th Century woodcut depiction of the Southampton Insurrection.
On August 21, 1831,Nat Turner, the notorious insurrectionist, began his rebellion. Slave rebellions carried bloody consequences. Rebels were executed. Family, friends, and neighbors might be beaten and killed. In some cases, slaveholders placed the bloodied and dismembered bodies in public view to remind passersby of slavery’s awful power. Nevertheless, against terrible odds, enslaved people rebelled.
Turner was born into slavery on October 2nd, 1800 in Southampton County, Virginia. Even as a child, Turner was an intellectual who’d often describe events that happened before his birth. He was viewed as a prophet and grew up to be a religious man often taking to prayer and fasting rather than “mixing in society.” At the age of 21, he ran away but returned thirty days later after being told in a vision to return to the service of his earthly master. By May 12th, 1828, Turner had received other visions that told him that he was chosen by God to deliver his people from slavery. He was relocated multiple times as a result of his former masters’ deaths, until he came to the home of Joseph Travis in 1830. Travis was the new stepfather of his young master, Putnum Moore. After a year at Travis’s estate, Turner witnessed a solar eclipse which he took as a sign to begin planning his rebellion. He told four other men of his plans; Henry, Hark, Nelson, and Sam; they set the date for July 4th. However, Turner became ill and the rebellion was postponed.
Photo: Nat Turner was holding this Bible when he was captured two months after the rebellion. Turner worked both as an enslaved field hand and as a minister. A man of remarkable intellect, he was widely respected by black and white people in Southampton County, Virginia. He used his talents as a speaker and his mobility as a preacher to organize the slave revolt. This Bible was donated to the museum by descendants of Lavinia Francis, a slaveholder who survived the rebellion. Collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, gift of Maurice A. Person and Noah and Brooke Porter.
Their final sign showed itself on August 12th — an atmospheric disturbance that left the sun a bluish green color. They decided to strike at two in the morning on August 21st. The revolt began with the murder of Travis’s entire household. It ended with the deaths of about 55 white people slayed in their paths and the addition of 40 enslaved allies to their force. The next day, Turner and his allies were moving onward to the next town of Jerusalem. By this time, whites had gotten word of the rebellion and were ready to confront Turner. Out of fear, the rebels disbanded and soon Turner’s men were captured in their attempt to attack another house. Turner himself went into hiding for months but was apprehended on October 30th. He was executed on November 11th, 1831 and his corpse was brutalized.
As a consequence of the rebellion, almost 200 enslaved people, many who were innocent, were killed at the hands of angry white mobsters. Others were tried and executed on accusations of participating in the revolt. Slaveholders were reimbursed for their dead property and slave codes were strengthened. Moreover, the rebellion solidified people’s views and positions on slavery from the blatant show of vexation towards it.
By Kyra, Social Media Intern, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Photo: Slave ships on the ocean. Wood engraving by Smyth.
In the Fall of 1841, 128 enslaved African Americans won their freedom aboard “The Creole” slave brig sailing from Richmond, Va. to New Orleans, La. One most the successful slave rebellions in U.S. History, Madison Washington and 18 other enslaved men took over “The Creole” from slave traders, passengers, and a 10 person crew.
Photo: Shackles, Gift from the Liljenquist Family Collection.
Demanding freedom, the enslaved had their captors sail them to Nassau in the British West Indies, where slavery was abolished. While most of the enslaved people on board gained immediate freedom, Washington and his collaborators were seized under charges of mutiny to answer for the slave trader killed in the revolt. The charges were ultimately dropped. It was decided that the African Americans on board “The Creole” were illegally enslaved and had the right to use force to gain their freedom.
In the late 1800s and well into the 1900s, racist images were common on everyday items such as toys, salt-and-pepper shakers, advertisements, and household figurines. The images served a common purpose–to justify the mistreatment of African Americans and the logic of segregation. They depicted African Americans as slow-witted, lazy, and untrustworthy, but still lovable and childlike souls who simply needed the oversight of white people to ensure they did no harm to themselves or others. The pervasiveness of stereotypical images like these made the civil rights efforts of African Americans even more difficult. If white people accepted these stereotypes, it became that much easier to deny African Americans the full rights of citizenship.
Learn more about the history of African American tropes. Blackface: The Birth of an American Stereotype: s.si.edu/2ih4txi
Did you know that Chuck D, the frontman of iconic rap group Public Enemy, trained as a graphic designer? Also known as Carlton Ridenhour (b. 1960), Chuck D graduated in 1984 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Adelphi University in New York.
What is now Public Enemy’s instantly recognizable logo was designed by hand by Chuck D in 1986, the year the group was founded. He notes that at the time, there were “no computer[s] or Photoshop” to build designs – only the essentials, like magic markers, white-out, and Exacto knives.
Sketch of the Public Enemy logo, Chuck D (American, b. 1960), October 3, 2015, ink on paper. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture, Gift of Chuck D of Public Enemy.
The ink on paper drawing in our collection reflects the sketch-like quality that Chuck D’s early mock-up of the Public Enemy logo must have had. The emcee specifically created this drawing for display in our Musical Crossroads exhibition. While completing the sketch, he explained to Museum Specialist Timothy Anne Burnside that the central figure’s silhouette was sourced from a picture of E Love next to LL Cool J and the text was first laid out using a stencil.
While people sometimes interpret the figure as a state trooper because of his hat, he is actually a representation of an African American B-Boy. His hat references one worn by hip-hop group Run-D.M.C.
The target through which we view the figure is identifiable as the crosshairs of a gun sight. “The crosshairs logo symbolized the black man in America,” explains Chuck D. As the graphic emblem of the politically engaged Public Enemy, the logo blatantly portrays the violence suffered by African Americans at the hands of the police and the state – in the eighties and still today. It also calls attention to Public Enemy’s role as, in Chuck D’s words, the “black CNN,” addressing issues of racial inequality that were otherwise overlooked by mainstream media.
To reflect Public Enemy’s political bent in the group’s overall look, Chuck D drew inspiration from bands like the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, whose identities encompassed more than just their sound – but also their “sight” and “story.” From their logo to their album covers and uniforms, Public Enemy’s identifiable branding stems from Chuck D’s thoughtful initial design.
“When it came to be around that potential time of making logos, I wanted to make something that understood what a logo could do, you know? Look at the Rolling Stones. The tongue and the lips say it all without you looking at the font. I wanted to be able to make something that detaches. I don’t think there’s too many logos out there that don’t deal with a font, that you can detach and know what it is. Wu-Tang is still the W, but that kinda comes close. But Public Enemy… no font whatsoever. Circle with a man, you know what it is.” -Chuck D
We don’t often stop to consider the impact of design elements like logos on our daily lives. These graphics shape our perceptions and understanding of the world around us. For entities like Public Enemy, who take on a radical position, visual choices become tied to activist engagement.
If you were to design a logo for a band today, how would it reflect our current political reality?
Check out more Public Enemy objects in the collection here.
Written by Maeve Coudrelle, Ph.D. student in Art History at Temple University and Summer 2017 Smithsonian Latino Museum Studies Program Fellow.
“Hip-Hop helps us to understand the power of black music & the impact of African American culture on the world.” -Lonnie G. Bunch III, Founding Director
Hip Hop is the culture that redefined American music, that’s why we’ve partnered with Smithsonian Folkways to bring a piece of what the museum does straight into households around the nation and world. The Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap is box set including 9 CDs with approximately 130 tracks, and a 300-page, coffee-table book with essays and never-before-seen photographs and designs by Cey Adams, artist and founding creative director of Def Jam.
The Anthology captures the evolution of hip hop from its earliest days in the 70s up to artists of today. Through the chosen tracks, essays, and extensive liner notes, the Anthology reveals the many trends, social and political implications of this multifaceted genre, and its influence on popular culture.
#Onthisday in 1968, sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos clenched their fists in protest during the Mexico City Olympics. Their gesture attracted the attention of international audiences and gained support from around the world, however, Smith and Carlos were ostracized at home. Peter Norman, the Australian silver medalist, also joined the protest in solidarity by wearing an Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR) badge on his uniform.
During the medal ceremony for the 200-meter sprint, Smith and Carlos dressed in black socks and no shoes as a symbol for African American Poverty, a black glove symbolizing unity and strength, and a scarf and beads in honor of lynching victims. They bowed their heads and raised their fists as the United States National Anthem played. Following the protest, the U.S. Olympic Committee suspended the two athletes. #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory
American Graduate Day returns for its sixth year airing on PBS stations Saturday, October 14, 2017, from 2pm-6pm ET and live on Facebook.
Hosted by Soledad O'Brien, this live national, multi-platform broadcast event focuses on the individuals and organizations working in communities across the country to keep students on the path to graduation and career success.
In partnership with families and educators, the National Museum of African American History and Culture is in a unique position to support the youngest members of our society. Utilizing age-appropriate programming for children; resources for adults at the museum and online; professional development opportunities for educators; and research-based publications; the early childhood education initiative supports understanding and development of each child’s healthy racial identity, their joy in human diversity and inclusion, their sense of justice, and their capacity to act for their own and others’ fair treatment.
Tune in to watch Anna Hindley explore why positive identity development is important for young children: bit.ly/2x0uAhw #AmGrad
Through art + justice the museum provides a rare creative outlet where audiences can interact with professional artists, experience expert techniques in a variety of art practices, and explore motivations for creating art. Art projects are designed to accommodate all skill levels. Audiences can take home their creations.
art + justice is a platform for adults to explore the intersection of tactile art-making, thoughtful reflection, and personal enrichment. Through artist-led guided projects audiences unlock their creative potential within themselves, while also enjoying the opportunity to exchange ideas with community towards social justice. art + justice is a hands-on maker space that stimulates creative agency, while providing the mental and emotional space to work through complicated issues around race, gender, identity, and social cohesion.
Artist + Art Project: Washington, DC textile and mixed media artist, Amber Robles-Gordon leads a beginner’s-level art lesson creating “Talking Sticks” – a symbol used in many indigenous cultures to designate the authority to speak within a group setting. This symbolic art-making lesson reflects on the long history of community activism with the African American community and beyond and encourages dialogue while providing space for personal reflection and introspection.
How can history museums include stories about hip-hop? Should they? What does it mean for hip-hop to be at the Smithsonian? Hip-hop is featured in multiple exhibitions in the NMAAHC, and this October, we aim to illuminate a few of those stories. Join Museum Specialist Timothy Anne Burnside on a Hip-Hop tour of the Museum on October 17th, 2017 from 9 am - 11 am. You’ll visit our “Beyond 1968,” “More Than A Picture,” “The Power of Place,” “Cultural Expressions,” and “Musical Crossroads” exhibitions. Timothy will showcase select objects related to hip-hop, share stories about how and why these objects came to the museum, and illustrate their significance within historical and contemporary narratives about African American music and culture. #HipHopHistory
To engage audiences beyond the walls of the museum, we are hosting a tweetup! A group of social media users and history fans will be selected to attend the event as they share their experiences online for our digital audiences.
Register your interest in attending the social by Monday, October 9, 2017. Even if you are not selected for this social, you can follow online and participate in the online discussion it generates.
