Pages

Monday, February 8, 2021

Courage and lessons for Black History Month

Black History Month in 2021 comes after a year that brought new focus on racism and inequality in America. As we work toward a future that honors the dignity of all people, the Museum finds lessons and inspiration in the past. Read below about the courageous actions of Black people during World War II, as well as reminders from a civil rights icon and a Holocaust survivor about the importance of countering hatred in our own lives.

 

 

 

 

 

TUNE IN

Facebook Live | Acts of Resistance: Love Stories of the Holocaust

Join us Friday, February 12, at 9:30 a.m. ET for this discussion. You do not need a Facebook account to watch.

Remind me to watch >>

 

 

TUNE IN

Facebook Live | Fighting on Two Fronts: Black Americans Who Served

Join us Wednesday, February 24, at 9:30 a.m. ET for this discussion. You do not need a Facebook account to watch.

Remind me to watch >>

 


Photos: The late Georgia Congressman John Lewis, photographed in 2016 when he received the Elie Wiesel Award, the Museum’s highest honor. USHMM; Holocaust survivor and Museum volunteer Martin Weiss. USHMM; Portrait of Josephine Baker, 1949. Library of Congress; American John Woodruff receives a gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Bundesarchiv G00628; American Warren Capers was recommended for a Silver Star for his actions during the Allied invasion of France. National Archives; A slide of a biracial girl among her white classmates used by Dr. B. K. Schultz at the State Academy for Race and Health in Dresden, Germany, in 1936. Library of Congress; Wedding portrait of Hinda Chilewicz and Welek Luksenburg in the Weiden displaced persons camp, 1947. USHMM, courtesy of William and Helen Luksenburg; A Black soldier with the 12th Armored Division, Seventh US Army, stands guard over a group of German soldiers captured in the forest in April 1945. National Archives