Picturing Black History

Photographs and stories that changed the world

A collaboration of     and    

World War II

Leaning on a porch rail, waiting for their turn at morning exercises are (l-r): 2nd Lts. Joan L. Hamilton, Marjorie S. Mayers, Prudence L. Burnes, and Inez E. Holmes. All are military nurses training to be sent to advanced posts on the Southwest Pacific.

The Integration of the American Military

Hoping to court Black voters in the 1948 Presidential election, President Harry Truman issued Executive Order 9981, an act that significantly changed the armed forces and the Black experience in America.

Photograph of Class SE 43 K newly commissioned pilots (Tuskegee Airmen) at Tuskegee Army Flying School, in bomber jackets with a fighter airplane, Tuskegee, Alabama, 1942.

Outside the Frame

Without images of African Americans, depictions of important military moments are incomplete.

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© 2021–2024 This project is a collaboration of Getty Images and Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective.

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