Resistance

Explore Our Online Exhibits

Joshua Glover Plaque
Some Exhibits to Come – Three Centuries Of Enslavement
Harriet Tubman, "The Conductor," with fugitive slaves in Underground Railroad station
Bibliography – Three Centuries of Enslavement
Slave Auction Poster
A 1859 Slave Auction in Savannah, as Reported by the New York Tribune
slaves in cotton field
How Slavery Became the Law of the Land “For Blacks Only”
FredDouglass w:firewks
Frederick Douglass: “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro”
The Scourged Back: This slave named Gordon ran for 80 miles to join the Union Forces in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in March 1863. This famous photo of the welts on his badly "scourged back" was taken while he was being fitted for a uniform.
The Scourged Back: How Runaway Slave and Soldier Private Gordon Changed History
"Contrabands": During the Civil War, thousands of slaves escaped their owners in the South by getting to Union Army camps. Thus freed, many continued on to settle in the North.
The Freedmen of Wisconsin
This woodcut, published in 1831 with a story about the Southampton Rebellion, was titled "Horrific Massacre in Virginia."
Nat Turner’s Rebellion: Horrific or Heroic?
Map of the world showing which countries that traffic in humans to the U.S.; map shows how individual countries comply with anti-trafficking laws. The Kansas City Star 2009<p> With BC-TRAFFICKING:KC, Kansas City Star by Mark Morris<p> 02000000; 08000000; 09000000; CLJ; HUM; krtcrime crime; krtfeatures features; krthumaninterest human interest; krtlabor labor; krtnational national; krtworld world; LAB; krt; mctgraphic; 02001000; 02001007; 02011000; CRI; international law; kidnapping kidnaping kidnap; krtlaw law; 04018000; FIN; ODD; african american african-american black; hispanic; krtdiversity diversity; woman women; youth; eames; human; map; morris; prostitution; slave; slavery; smuggle; smuggled; smuggling; trafficking; victim; kc contributed; 2009; krt2009
Traces of the Trade: The North’s Complicity in Slavery
A man stands in front of the Djingareyber mosque on February 4, 2016 in Timbuktu, central Mali. Mali's fabled city of Timbuktu on February 4 celebrated the recovery of its historic mausoleums, destroyed during an Islamist takeover of northern Mali in 2012 and rebuilt thanks to UN cultural agency UNESCO. TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY SEBASTIEN RIEUSSEC / AFP / SÉBASTIEN RIEUSSEC
African Peoples Before Captivity
Shackles from Slave Ship Henrietta Marie
Kidnapped: The Middle Passage

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"Resistance" is one of America's Black Holocaust Museum's four themes, which serve as pillars in our virtual museum.

People of African descent in this country have been targets of injustice for five hundred years, but they have not been simply victims. At America's Black Holocaust Virtual Museum, we remember the many ways that black people and freedom-loving white people have resisted injustice, even when doing so threatened their lives and liberty.

However, resistance can also take on a negative format when those people who have benefitted from systemic racism oppose changes that would benefit the Black community or other people of color. We are currently in the midst of cultural and political resistance that threatens equality and progress.

Many events and breaking news articles continue to showcase this theme as Black Americans break stereotypes and barriers to success.

Finding Myself Inspired by a Modern Day Teenage Activist

August 23, 2023
Memorial Bench & Sign

After 144 years of silent indifference, seven African American men lynched in October 1878 are officially recognized with a memorial bench and sign in Mt. Vernon, Indiana. Thanks to Sophie Kloppenburg, a true inspiration, we will never forget.

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Portraiture of Resistance

February 6, 2023
Dr. James Cameron

Resist! Exhibit features the artistic portraits of prominent resistance leaders. Poetry creatively walks the audience through the exhibit and our historical journey towards a more just and balanced world.

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Founding the New Free Black Community

August 3, 2020

Millions of freed Black Americans built their own communities across the South post-Civil War. They worked to establish a life of freedom and prosperity for themselves and future generations. Schooling, church, and family were important pillars of community-building. They meant to enjoy their freedom to live with family, unite in marriage, raise children, worship in the open, and educate the next generation.

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Stories Behind the Postcards: Paintings and Collages of Jennifer Scott

August 12, 2019
The Brother

This series of six paintings and three collages is the response of Chicago artist Jennifer Scott to souvenir lynching postcards. She thought about what she did not see in the postcards: the family members left behind to take down the victim, to mourn and bury the remains-if there was enough to bury.

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The Freedom-Lovers’ Roll Call Wall

July 9, 2019

ABHM calls on people everywhere to work for liberty and justice for all. Stand with us by signing our Freedom Lovers’ Pledge. Let others know of your commitment by putting your name (and photo if you’re willing) alongside other Freedom Lovers on our Roll Call Wall. Thank you!

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The Double Struggles of June Jordan, Poet and Social Activist

August 29, 2017

Do you know June Jordan? If not, you should! In this exhibit you can read and hear the powerful poems of this amazing Jamaican-American activist, feminist, and mother.

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After 100 Years Of Challenges, The 1st Nat’l Black History Museum Is Here

September 24, 2016

Black history has finally taking its rightful place within the Smithsonian Institution with the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s grand opening in September 2016. Discover the 100-year history of the project, take a virtual tour, watch the full dedication ceremony and video interviews.

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Traces of the Trade: The North’s Complicity in Slavery

August 14, 2015

Learn about the significant complicity of the northern states in the slave trade and slaveholding in the history of slavery in the United States. Many northern industries and business were dependent on slave labor in both the North and South. Northern consumers were dependent on the products of this slave labor for food, clothing, and amenities like rum and sugar.

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By Us, For Us: The Crucial Role of the Black Press

August 8, 2015

This exhibit gives a short history of the black press, some of the important journalist involved, and the vital role it has played in advancing the ideals of American democracy and supporting African American identity and culture.

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Bayard Rustin: Unsung Architect of the Civil Rights Movement

July 23, 2015

Why haven’t more people heard about Bayard Rustin? Rustin organized sit-ins and freedom rides some twenty years before the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. He was the person who convinced Dr. King to use nonviolence in the Montgomery bus boycott, and he organized King’s 1963 March on Washington. Learn why Bayard Rustin remains an unsung hero despite his groundbreaking work over a long lifetime.

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