Education and Learning

Desegregating the Schoolhouse Doors

Vivian Malone and James Hood calmly faced reporters as they prepared to integrate the University of Alabama in 1963, symbolizing the determination of Black youth in the face of those who were staunchly opposed to desegregation.

Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784). Portrait of American poet seated at a desk writing with a quill pen. Undated hand-tinted color engraving with an original caption which reads: "Phillis Wheatley, Negro servant to Mr. John Wheatley, of Boston."

Picturing Early Black Women Leaders

From Phillis Wheatley Peters to Ida B. Wells-Barnett, leading Black women activists defined their public images through their portraits to advance their ideas.