History

The history collections of the NMAAHC show the breadth, depth and diversity of African American experiences in America. These objects, documents and images give us insight into the everyday lives of ordinary families. They document the accomplishments of well-known and relatively unknown individuals. They illustrate the activities of social organizations and political movements from the 17th century to the present.

Campaign banners supporting Barack Obama for president; a hat worn by a railway sleeping car porter; a pew from Chicago’s famed Quinn Chapel of the African Methodist Episcopal Church; a set of shackles worn by enslaved Africans as they were shipped to North America; a powder horn carried into battle by Prince Simbo, an African American from Connecticut who fought in the Revolutionary War . . . the list goes on and on.

The museum’s history collections will represent the home life, occupational and work experiences, political activities, religious convictions, social experiences and cultural expressions of African Americans across time and place.

Church Pew No. 58, c. 1891

Gift of Quinn Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Chicago, Illinois.

Named after Bishop William Paul Quinn who organized African Methodist Episcopal churches across the Midwest, Chicago’s Quinn Chapel originated in the 1840s. This pew dates from the time the current church building was constructed in 1891 at Wabash Avenue and 24th Street.

Shackles, probably West Africa, pre-1863

For three centuries slave ships transported millions of men, women and children from the coasts of Africa across the Atlantic to the Americas. These wrought iron shackles employ a simple but effective locking mechanism suggesting that they were made in West Africa for use on ships where enslaved individuals were made ready for transport on the frightening ocean journey known as the "Middle Passage."

Powder Horn, Prince Simbo, Glastonbury, CT, 1777

Image Courtesy of Mark Mitchell

Made from ox horns and used to hold black powder for use with flintlock rifles, powder horns were often inscribed and decorated. This one was owned by Prince Simbo, an African American man who fought on the Patriot side in the Revolutionary War.