African American Museum
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National Museum of African American History and Culture photo archives bear witness to the black experience

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September 15, 2016 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
1905: Pictured, from left: Della F. Stevens (1876-1950), Charles T. Stevens (circa 1878-unknown), Eliza Bradshaw Stevens (circa 1857-1938), Eva E. Stevens (circa 1885-unknown), William A. Stevens (circa 1880-unknown), Florence E. Stevens (1894-1985) and Elsie J. Stevens (circa 1887-unknown). Henry Stevens Sr. (circa 1797-1908), born into slavery, hid his four children in Missouri caves during the Civil War. After Emancipation, Stevens became an independent farmer in Linn Creek, Mo., where the children and grandchildren in this photo thrived. (Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture)

The history of African Americans is one of dualities. It encompasses contempt and emulation, animosity and empathy, exclusion and embodiment, degradation and triumph.

During an interview in 1961, the prolific writer James Baldwin probably addressed the toll of this dilemma best when he said, “To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.” Yet, and largely despite an abundance of adversity, those who live the black experience continue to lace a fundamental thread throughout our social order.