"Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us," said Frederick Douglass in an 1852 speech, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" For an hour, he detailed the sins of slavery, which he had experienced personally, but his speech wasn't without hope.

By the time slavery was formally abolished in 1865, nearly 10 million Black people had been enslaved in the U.S. Close to six million of those people died as enslaved people—and nearly half of all enslaved children died before the age of one. Their lives are honored and

For over three centuries of slavery in the U.S., enslaved Black people were denied full autonomy over their own names. In the first census after Emancipation—the 1870 census—newly emancipated Black Americans were finally able to express their freedom by adopting surnames that

Freedom Monument Sculpture Park in Montgomery honors the millions of people who endured the brutality of slavery and still found ways to love, persevere, and create a more hopeful future for this country.

Thousands of visitors gathered at the Legacy Sites last week to celebrate Juneteenth. Many visitors found their family names on the National Monument to Freedom, which honors all those who endured slavery and their ancestors. [Photo by Andi Rice]

On #ChristmasEve in 1854, Harriet Tubman returned to Maryland’s Eastern Shore to emancipate her brothers Ben, Henry, and Robert from slavery. Learn more about Tubman and view her shawl & related objects in our Searchable Museum: s.si.edu/3mls0iH. #APeoplesJourney

#OnThisDay in 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the landmark Dred Scott v. Sandford case. Learn more: s.si.edu/373Fivr #APeoplesJourney

𝐒𝐤𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐥 #SIAC | #SIACWBB | #LeadersRiseHere

𝐒𝐤𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐑𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐫𝐮𝐧 #SIAC | #SIACMBB | #LeadersRiseHere

𝐖𝐢𝐧 & 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 ➡️ #SIAC | #SIACMBB | #LeadersRiseHere

Duchess Meghan is a mommy friend in my head. Lavender and gift bags and ballon arches, oh my!

#OnThisDay in 1933, Unita Blackwell, an outspoken critic of racial and economic inequality, was born. In 1976, Blackwell became the first Black female mayor elected in the state of Mississippi. #WomensHistoryMonth

Trump erased a DoD webpage on Jackie Robinson—the great American hero who challenged racial segregation in our military while serving as a second lieutenant in the Army before breaking MLB's color barrier.   That's no way to honor a brave American Veteran.

Activist Fannie Lou Hamer co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which challenged efforts to block Black participation in the voting process. Hamer registered residents of the Mississippi Delta who were denied access through literacy tests, fines, and intimidation.

Dorothy Irene Height was born in Richmond, Virginia #OnThisDay in 1912. She led the National Council of Negro Women from 1957 to 1998 and dedicated her life and career to fighting for women’s rights & racial justice. Learn more: s.si.edu/4bQ1lCJ #WomensHistoryMonth

#OnThisDay in 1944, Diana Ross was born. She began singing as a teen with The Supremes—the #1 all-women group in the country by 1965. In 1972, Ross received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her performance in "Lady Sings the Blues." #WomensHistoryMonth

I am proud to see so many strong Mississippi woman featured.

Jesus was not a white, American man. The U.S. flag is not a symbol for the Church or for Jesus. The National Anthem is not a holy hymn. Slavery was not a “necessary evil” to build empire and to “bring” Africans to Jesus. Jesus carried the Cross, not a gun.

We pay thee our homage today. Happy 144th Birthday! #SkegeeLove #TheTuskegeeWay #ThouPride

People conflate America's race-based institution with every other society's word for "slavery" because there is no single word for what America did. Chattel slavery wasn't new. But what's the ONLY property specifically protected by the Constitution?