Current Exhibitions

My Visit

At the Vanguard

At the Vanguard weaves together stories of ingenuity, artistry and resistance—through collections from five Historically Black Colleges and Universities partners.

January 16, 2026 – July 19, 2026

African American History and Culture Museum
My Visit

Added to My Visit Removed from My Visit

Forces for Change: Mary McLeod Bethune and Black Women’s Activism Added

~~Forces for Change: Mary McLeod Bethune and Black Women’s Activism~~ Removed

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Forces for Change: Mary McLeod Bethune and Black Women’s Activism

Learn about renowned educator and reformer Mary McLeod Bethune and other Black women social change agents, past and present.

July 19, 2024 – Ongoing

African American History and Culture Museum
My Visit

Reclaiming My Time

Works by contemporary Black designers engage ideas about cultural heritage, bodies at rest, and histories of labor and leisure.

May 31, 2024 – January 2026

African American History and Culture Museum
My Visit

Added to My Visit Removed from My Visit

Spirit in the Dark: Religion in Black Music, Activism, and Popular Culture Added

~~Spirit in the Dark: Religion in Black Music, Activism, and Popular Culture~~ Removed

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Spirit in the Dark: Religion in Black Music, Activism, and Popular Culture

Spirit in the Dark examines Black religious life through a selection of photographs from the publisher of Ebony, Jet, and Negro Digest.

November 18, 2022 – April 2026

African American History and Culture Museum
My Visit

Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.

This exhibition explores how art depicts Black resistance, resilience, and protest.

September 10, 2021 – Ongoing

African American History and Culture Museum
My Visit

Taking the Stage

See how African Americans transformed the ways they are represented onstage by challenging racial discrimination and stereotypes.

September 24, 2016 – Permanent

African American History and Culture Museum
My Visit

Making a Way Out of No Way

Learn about the ways in which African Americans created possibilities in a world that denied them opportunities.

September 24, 2016 – Permanent

African American History and Culture Museum
My Visit

Added to My Visit Removed from My Visit

A Century in the Making: Building the National Museum of African American History and Culture Added

~~A Century in the Making: Building the National Museum of African American History and Culture~~ Removed

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A Century in the Making: Building the National Museum of African American History and Culture

This exhibit explores the journey toward fulfillment of the long-held dream of building the museum.

September 24, 2016 – Permanent

African American History and Culture Museum
My Visit

Explore More!

This interactive, multifaceted space is dedicated to helping visitors connect and engage with African American history and culture.

September 24, 2016 – Ongoing

African American History and Culture Museum
My Visit

Cultural Expressions

This exhibition serves as an introduction to the concept of African American and African diaspora culture.

September 24, 2016 – Permanent

African American History and Culture Museum
My Visit

Musical Crossroads

This exhibition tells the story of African American music from the arrival of the first Africans to today’s hip-hop.

September 24, 2016 – Permanent

African American History and Culture Museum
My Visit

Power of Place

Experience the broad diversity of African American life and regional cultures in communities that took root in different areas of the country.

September 24, 2016 – Permanent

African American History and Culture Museum
My Visit

Visual Art and the American Experience

This art exhibition illustrates the critical role that African American artists played in shaping the history of American art.

September 24, 2016 – Permanent

African American History and Culture Museum
My Visit

Sports: Leveling the Playing Field

Learn how African Americans have contributed to sports in American and how sports have helped people respond to injustice.

September 24, 2016 – Indefinitely

African American History and Culture Museum
My Visit

Double Victory: The African American Military Experience

Learn about the service and sacrifice of African American soldiers, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and sailors.

September 24, 2016 – Permanent

African American History and Culture Museum
My Visit

Slavery and Freedom

This exhibition explores the complex story of slavery and freedom, a story standing at the core of our national experience.

September 24, 2016 – Permanent

African American History and Culture Museum
My Visit

Added to My Visit Removed from My Visit

Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: Era of Segregation 1876-1968 Added

~~Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: Era of Segregation 1876-1968~~ Removed

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Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: Era of Segregation 1876-1968

This exhibition takes visitors from the end of Reconstruction through the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

September 24, 2016 – Permanent

African American History and Culture Museum
My Visit

A Changing America: 1968 and Beyond

This exhibition illustrates the impact of African Americans on life in the United States—social, economic, political, and cultural.

September 24, 2016 – Permanent

African American History and Culture Museum