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Posted by: Wendi Maloney
Author and journalist Michelle Farrell researched her latest work at the Library -- the Bermuda experiences of W.W. Denslow, the original illustrator of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." Denslow bought a small island there in the early 1900s using royalties from his works.
Posted in: Performing Arts, Researcher Stories, Theater
Posted by: Neely Tucker
My mother is 75. And that means a lot. It means she’s lived over 27,000 days, which is a whole bunch of days. It means she remembers when watching television was for fancy people—a luxury. Same as running water. And electricity. She remembers the civil rights movement, the March on Washington, the death of Dr. …
Posted in: National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, Writers
Posted by: Neely Tucker
The Library recently acquired courtroom artist Mary Chaney's sketches from the trials of Rodney King in Los Angeles from 1992-1994. The Black motorist was beaten viciously by white police officers after a high-speed chase in 1991. The acquittal of the officers in state court set off days of deadly riots and became a touchstone in American society.
Posted in: African American History, Civil Rights, Crime and Punishment, News
Posted by: Neely Tucker
The Library has acquired the Aramont Library, a stunning collection of more than 1,700 literary first editions, illustrated books, and an astonishing number livres artiste (books by artists) by some of the most important artists of the 20th century. The Library has been in private hands for more than 40 years and has never been seen before by the public.
Posted in: Books, Rare Book and Special Collections
Posted by: Neely Tucker
No discussion around Black History Month would be complete without exploring the significant contributions of Afro-Latinos to American culture and society. Roughly 25 percent of Hispanics in the United States identify as having Black heritage and the Library showcases many of their contributions.
Posted in: African American History, Hispanic Division
Posted by: Neely Tucker
The Library's newly digitized gallery of African American portraits from the late 19th and early 20th centuries showcases the lives, hopes and dreams of the famous and the forgotten of the era. Here are stories of Robert Church, Gertrude Mossell and William Pettigrew.
Posted in: African American History, Rare Book and Special Collections
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Danielle Allen, winner of the Library's 2020 Kluge Prize for Achievement in the Study of Humanity, will host a series of exciting conversations at the Library to explore the nation's civic life and ways that people from all political beliefs and social causes can build a stronger, more resilient country.
Posted in: Events, Kluge Center
Posted by: Neely Tucker
One hundred years ago today, on Feb. 15, 1921, over 70 women’s organizations gathered in the U.S. Capitol rotunda for the unveiling of the statue “Portrait Monument to Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.”
Posted in: History, Today in History, Women's History
Posted by: Neely Tucker
The Library marks Abraham Lincoln's birthday (Feb. 12) with a short video covering his first inauguration as president, including his handwritten copy of his inaugural address and the pearl necklace and bracelets that Mary Todd Lincoln wore to their inaugural ball.
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Today in History, Washington DC