Topic: African American History Month

Known as "the Jewel of Central Avenue," the Dunbar Hotel holds a special place in Los Angeles history as the first hotel built expressly by and for Black people. While the hotel is most famous for…

As soon as the Rumford Fair Housing Act went into effect on September 20, 1963, both the law and the State Fair Employment Practices Commission, SFEPC, the agency tasked with enforcing it, came under…

The fight for racial equality has been fought on many fronts: education, public transportation, and accommodations. But one of the most contentious and, in many ways, still unresolved is the fight to…

David Greenberg is a former editor of The New Republic and a current professor of history, journalism, and media studies at Rutgers University. His byline has appeared in The New York Times…

Ideally situated in the Baldwin Hills with panoramic views of downtown Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Mountains, View Park boasts a distinctive mix of Spanish, colonial, Tudor, and ranch-style homes…

"Art is humanity’s greatest tool for insight."Many things get lost in time. The power that book artists’ wield is their ability to conjure up the lost. And at their disposal are an array of techniques…

World War One broke out in Europe in 1914 following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. The United States remained officially neutral and stayed out of…

Music legends don’t start out that way. First, they are children with a love for music and the motivation to learn, even if they face seemingly impossible odds along the way. Below are seven…

In honor of World Poetry Day, I would like to bring attention to, of course, a poet, Margaret Walker but also a sculptor and artist, Elizabeth Catlett, and a book that features the two women’s…

Browse the HistoryMakers digital archive for interviews with fascinating individuals who have made significant contributions to life in the United States. HistoryMakers is the nation’s largest African…

Los Angeles Public Library has the second largest collection of Green Books, and we were honored to speak to Candacy Taylor, author of Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel…

The current building of the Exposition Park - Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Regional Library is an LEED Gold Certified (environmentally sustainable design) structure built in 2008. Renamed in 1973, the…

Julia Perry (1924-1979) was an American composer of African descent who had remarkable success in Europe and the U.S. in the 1950s and 1960s. She made an international impression with her Stabat Mater…

John Lewis was born in Troy, Alabama, the third oldest son of ten children. His father was a tenant farmer, while his mother earned extra money doing housework for other families. Lewis grew up in a…