It’s Black History Month, and we are focusing on 28 seminal Black figures — one for each day of February — who don’t often make the history books. You may not know their names. But these courageous Black Americans made a huge impact. cnn.it/2L9fnrD

On display steps from my desk at the Smithsonian Castle is a vial from the 1954 trial of the polio vaccine. From the collection of our National Museum of American History, the story of the development of the vaccine is a good one. But I'm even more intrigued by the small pin beside it.

These baby orphans love to run 😍🐘🐘 • Little orphans Eddie and Pragan Nykato are being cared for at UWEC. Every day, they go on a run around the site and explore new areas 😃

In 1787 Madison saw it coming: “A minority may in an appeal to force, be an overmatch for the majority...more likely to join the standard of sedition." Especially "where slavery exists." He then reckoned "the honest but unenlightened" would become the "dupe of a favorite leader."

Labeled as a “race agitator” by the US government, Ida B. Wells used her talents as an educator and journalist to address racial injustice. Some of her letters to government officials regarding lynching have been digitized and are in our online Catalog. go.usa.gov/xsTBU

Three koalas, Burnadette, Bundy, and Beau, were released back into the wild in an Adelaide suburb, near a tree where they were rescued amid a bushfire in January. abcn.ws/37rJfr2

On March 3, 1913, more than 5,000 suffragists marched down Pennsylvania Avenue. But while they peacefully demonstrated for equal voting rights, they were met with mobs of violent men. #ThisDayInHistory

Finn is feeling a bit stiff on his Caturday debut. Let's hope he loosens up a bit...in the meantime, I'll grab some catnip. #Caturday

WHEN THE NEW BABY ARRIVED, THE HUMANS TOOK KENNEDY #106413 TO THE POUND TO DIE. 12 months old, intelligent, playful, trained, needs a loving family to teach her new skills. Instead she dies TUESDAY. Rescue pledges via Keith Olbermann's Dogs PLEASE RT KENNEDY! nycacc.app/#/browse/106413

A dropped match hit the floor of New York City's Triangle Shirtwaist Factory on March 25, 1911. Within minutes, the building was ablaze in one of the deadliest workplace accidents in American history. #ThisDayInHistory pbs.org/wgbh/americane…

Redlining map for Richmond, Virginia and Environs, #OTD in 1937. This map shows mortgage lending risk by neighborhood type. Maps like these were used to deny mortgages to many African Americans. catalog.archives.gov/id/85713737

Demonstration of Protest and Mourning for Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, #OTD in 1911 catalog.archives.gov/id/5730933 Suggested by U.S. National Archives staff member Shannon Kerner--thank you!

Feel Good Photo of the Day---this woman adopted this 20-year-old cat from a shelter because she didn't want him to spend the end of his life alone in a cage.

Announcing my next film, with Marco Williams, ‘TULSA BURNING: THE 1921 RACE MASSACRE’ executive produced by Russell Westbrook. Premiering on Sunday, May 30th at 8pm ET/PT on HISTORY. Tune in. #RememberTulsa

#OTD in 1866, the Memphis Massacre began. After an incident between white police officers and Black Union Army veterans, white mobs rampaged through Black neighborhoods. The massacre's horrors shocked the nation and helped Republicans convince Congress to pass the 14th Amendment.

Slavery Didn't End On Juneteenth. Here's What You Should Know About This Important Day npr.org/2021/06/17/100…

60 years ago, on October 6, 1961, President Kennedy encouraged Americans to build bomb shelters for protection from atomic fallout, a chilling reminder of Cold War tensions. #ThisDayInHistory politico.com/story/2017/10/…