Exhibitions
ONLINE ONLY
Slavery & Freedom
Explore the history of slavery in the U.S. and the stories of African Americans whose struggles for freedom shaped the nation.
4 Parts
Five hundred years ago, a new form of slavery transformed Africa, Europe, and the Americas. For the first time, people saw other human beings as commodities—things to be bought, sold, and exploited to make enormous profits. This system changed the world. The United States was created in this context, forged by slavery as well as a radical new concept, freedom. This is a shared story, a shared past, told through the lives of African Americans who helped form the nation.
ONLINE ONLY
Making a Way Out of No Way
Through community institutions and activism, African Americans crafted possibilities in a world that denied them opportunities.
6 Themes
How do you make a way out of no way? For generations, African Americans worked collectively to survive and thrive in the midst of racial oppression. Through education, religious institutions, businesses, the press, and organizations, Black men and women created ways to serve and strengthen their communities. They established networks of mutual support, cultivated leadership, and improved social and economic opportunities. They also developed a tradition of activism that paved the way for broader social change.
ONLINE ONLY
Spirit in the Dark
Diverse aspects of the Black religious experience are revealed through photographs and stories of individuals featured in Ebony, Jet, and other Johnson Publishing Company publications.
3 Themes
Sometimes in the foreground, sometimes in the background, at times in the shadows—but always somewhere in the frame—religion is essential to the story of Black America. In the Black press, which has served as a primary chronicle of Black life, religion often finds reflection in the images, comments, stories, and lives of noteworthy individuals, including religious and political leaders, musicians, authors, athletes, activists, and educators. The photographs and stories in this exhibition, drawn from the Johnson Publishing Company archive, reflect diverse aspects of the Black religious experience and testify to the role religion has played in the struggle for human dignity and social equality.
ONLINE ONLY
Millie Christine
Millie Christine McCoy were conjoined twins born into slavery in Whiteville, North Carolina. Known as “The Carolina Twins” and the “Two-Headed Nightingale,” the enslaved twins were exhibited before the Civil War as circus and sideshow attractions in parts of the United States and Europe.
3 Themes
Millie Christine McCoy were conjoined twins born into slavery in Whiteville, North Carolina. Known as “The Carolina Twins” and the “Two-Headed Nightingale,” the enslaved twins were exhibited before the Civil War as circus and sideshow attractions in parts of the United States and Europe. This exhibition examines the complexities of freedom, profit, slavery, and family in the 19th century.
In this exhibit, we refer to the twins as Millie Christine, as they often identified themselves, and acknowledge them as two people.