Browse Projects

"To a Clergyman on the Death of his Lady" in Observations upon Negro-Slaver

Phillis Wheatley Peters (c. 1753 – 1784) was born in West Africa and captured by slave traders as a child, whereupon she was sold to John and Susanna Wheatley of Boston, Massachusetts. She was named after the slave ship on which she was transported to the Americas and the name of her enslavers, but her surname of Peters is that of the man she married in 1778—John Peters, a free man of color.

 The story of the discovery of her talent by the Wheatley family is oft told—they taught her to read and write, and by age fourteen, she had begun to write poetry that was soon published and circulated amongst the elites of late eighteenth century America and Great Britain. Her first and only volume of poetry, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773), was published in London with the assistance of wealthy abolitionists. Peters’ poetry brought her renown in abolitionist circles as proof of the humanity of those of African descent and the inhumanity of the institution of slavery.

 The Wheatleys manumitted Peters in 1773 under pressure from critics who saw the hypocrisy in praising Peters’ talent while keeping her enslaved. They died within a few years of this decision, and Peters soon met and married grocer John Peters. Her life afterwards was indicative of the troubled freedom of African Americans of the period, who were emancipated but not fully integrated into the promise of American citizenship. Peters was also affected by the loss of all three of her children—the birth of the last of whom caused her premature death at age 31 In 1784. Despite being feted as a prodigy while enslaved, the emancipated Peters struggled to find the support necessary for producing a second volume of poetry and her husband’s financial struggles forced her to find work as a scullery maid—the lowest position of domestic help. Posthumous publications of Peters’ poetry in various anthologies and periodicals solidified her image as a child poet for the benefit of abolitionist activism and African American cultural pride in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In the twenty-first century, the accumulation of this collection is a restoration of Peters the woman and the influence of her poetry and activism today.

Browse projects by National Museum of African American History and Culture

"To A Gentleman of the Navy" in Royal American Magazine

Phillis Wheatley Peters (c. 1753 – 1784) was born in West Africa and captured by slave traders as a child, whereupon she was sold to John and Susanna Wheatley of Boston, Massachusetts. She was named after the slave ship on which she was transported to the Americas and the name of her enslavers, but her surname of Peters is that of the man she married in 1778—John Peters, a free man of color.

 The story of the discovery of her talent by the Wheatley family is oft told—they taught her to read and write, and by age fourteen, she had begun to write poetry that was soon published and circulated amongst the elites of late eighteenth century America and Great Britain. Her first and only volume of poetry, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773), was published in London with the assistance of wealthy abolitionists. Peters’ poetry brought her renown in abolitionist circles as proof of the humanity of those of African descent and the inhumanity of the institution of slavery.

 The Wheatleys manumitted Peters in 1773 under pressure from critics who saw the hypocrisy in praising Peters’ talent while keeping her enslaved. They died within a few years of this decision, and Peters soon met and married grocer John Peters. Her life afterwards was indicative of the troubled freedom of African Americans of the period, who were emancipated but not fully integrated into the promise of American citizenship. Peters was also affected by the loss of all three of her children—the birth of the last of whom caused her premature death at age 31 In 1784. Despite being feted as a prodigy while enslaved, the emancipated Peters struggled to find the support necessary for producing a second volume of poetry and her husband’s financial struggles forced her to find work as a scullery maid—the lowest position of domestic help. Posthumous publications of Peters’ poetry in various anthologies and periodicals solidified her image as a child poet for the benefit of abolitionist activism and African American cultural pride in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In the twenty-first century, the accumulation of this collection is a restoration of Peters the woman and the influence of her poetry and activism today.

Browse projects by National Museum of African American History and Culture

"Twelve Years A Slave" by Solomon Northup

Solomon Northup (1808–1875), was born free in Saratoga Springs, New York around 1808. Northup was a farmer and professional violinist who traveled to Washington, D.C., in 1841 for a traveling musician’s job. While in Washington, he was kidnapped and sold into slavery. Northup was enslaved in several Louisiana plantations but was able to contact his family. His family enlisted the help of many, including the New York governor, to free Northup. At the time, New York State had a law in place that provided aid to New York citizens who had been kidnapped into slavery. After 12 years of enslavement, Northup was freed in January 1853. Later that year, Northup wrote and published his memoir, Twelve Years A Slave. Northup was more fortunate than many to gain his freedom and became active in the abolition movement and aided in the efforts of the Underground Railroad. This copy is a first edition, noted as the Seventeenth Thousand published copy in 1853. Help us transcribe this rare example of a firsthand account of an enslaved man that gripped the nation and became a rallying call for abolition.

Browse projects by National Museum of African American History and Culture

"We Fought together for Freedom" sketch

Issues with race and racial equity have a long history in the United States (US) and so do interracial organizations forming to combat discriminatory practices and demand social justice for all Americans. The story of the Institute on Race Relations, founded by Tomlinson D. Todd (1910 – 1987), is an example of a substantive but understudied history of collaborative anti-racist activism in the District of Columbia. The organization’s aim was to combat segregation and discrimination in the Nation’s Capital through activism and the “Americans All” radio program. Help us transcribe these records, and discover how this interracial organization addressed segregation and worked to end discriminatory practices in Washington, DC.

Browse projects by Anacostia Community Museum Archives

"When Malindy Sings" by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar was a renowned poet, author, and playwright. “When Malindy Sings” is a collection of Dunbar’s poems first published in 1896. The title poem, inspired by Dunbar’s mother’s love of hymns and spirituals, became one of his most famous works. In addition to Dunbar’s poetry, this second edition of the book, published in 1903, also features photographs from the Hampton Institute Camera Club. Help us transcribe Dunbar’s book of poetry that draws influence from his family’s path from slavery to freedom.

Browse projects by National Museum of African American History and Culture

"Where is the world is..?" Set 10

Come help us improve our digital records for the United States National Herbarium (US)! Please join us in our effort to transcribe the locality information for our difficult to decipher US Specimens. The records in this project are special cases in which the locality information requires some detective work. We'd like to ask for your help in digging a little deeper to find the Country and Territory/State/Province for each of these specimens sheets labels; see special instructions and examples here . Please contact Sylvia Orli, Department of Botany, for any questions or comments about the transcriptions. Note: Do not erase notes from other volunteers or staff; rather, leave existing comments and add your own.

Browse projects by NMNH - Department of Botany

“The Girl Graduate – Her Own Book”

Transcribe “The Girl Graduate – Her Own Book” and help us to learn more about Marjorie P. Collins. Collins assembled this scrapbook commemorating her time at Prairie View College (now Prairie View A&M University) in Prairie View, Texas. In 1925, Collins graduated from Prairie View and was elected to become a teacher at the Almeda Road Junior High School, in Houston, Texas. She also worked closely with the National Council of Negro Women. Beyond those facts, we know very little about Collins. With your help, perhaps we can discover more about Collins within in the 190 pages of newspaper clippings, photographs, hand-written entries, printed programs, ribbons, and correspondence relating to her life.

Browse projects by National Museum of African American History and Culture

#1757-#1975, Mary Agnes Chase expedition to Brazil, 1924-1925

Islands, Aqueducts, Bamboo, and Oxen – what will you discover through the annotated photographs of Mary Agnes Chase's expedition to Brazil in 1924-1925? Help us transcribe the set to learn more.

Browse projects by Smithsonian Institution Archives

115th Anniversary of the First African Baptist Church and the 8th Anniversary of our Pastor Rev. Y. B. Williams and the Dedicati

The First African Baptist Church, Richmond, was founded in 1841 in Richmond, Virginia. After the Civil War, the church became one of the largest in America. This pamphlet honors the dedication of a new church building and helps to celebrate 115 years of the church’s founding. Learn about the history of one of the oldest African American churches in America by transcribing this anniversary program.

Browse projects by National Museum of African American History and Culture

1897 Mining Journal, Vulcan and Buck Mountain Collieries

Have you ever wondered what it was like to run at a coal mine? This 1897 journal will give you a firsthand view of what coal mining was like at the end of the nineteenth century. Kept by an unnamed clerk or manager, the journal's entries provide a daily record of the events in and around two Pennsylvania anthracite collieries, the Buck Mountain Colliery (operational from about 1884 to 1930) and the Vulcan Colliery (operational from about 1883 to 1913). (A "colliery" refers to a coal mine and all of the equipment and facilities that surround it).

Browse projects by National Museum of American History

1921 Booker T. Washington High School Yearbook

Tulsa’s Booker T. Washington High School was founded in 1913. Located in the Greenwood neighborhood, the school served Tulsa’s African American population until it was desegregated in 1973. The school escaped destruction during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and was used by the American Red Cross as the headquarters for relief activities in the aftermath of the Massacre. Help us transcribe these records to learn more about the resiliency of the Black community in Tulsa in the decades following the 1921 Race Massacre.

Browse projects by National Museum of African American History and Culture

1928 European Travel Diary of Marion Spencer Hall

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to travel across Europe in the early 20th century? You can travel with Marion Spencer Hall, daughter of Joseph Underwood Hall, as she writes about her journey in her 1928 diary, by helping us transcribe this journal.

Browse projects by Archives Center - NMAH