Smithsonian

Jennifer Coolidge said it best. “You look like the Fourth of July.” 🎆 The #FourthOfJuly marks the anniversary of the day in 1776 when the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence. The founding document declared separation from Great Britain and outlined the ideals of the new nation—“life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 📷: Photo by Eric Long, 2010, @airandspacemuseum

“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Abolitionist Frederick Douglass praised the Declaration of Independence’s ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but emphasized they did not extend to all. In a speech on July 5, 1852, he stated, “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine, You may rejoice, I must mourn.” Douglass had a long career as an advocate for the abolition of slavery and universal suffrage. As a writer, he published three autobiographies and a novella, delivered thousands of speeches, and edited the longest continually running Black newspaper of the 19th century. Learn more about Douglass by experiencing the first joint acquisition between @AmericanArt and @SmithsonianNPG , “Lessons of the Hour” by Isaac Julien, on view through 2026. 📷: This 1856 photograph of Frederick Douglass is in the collection of our @SmithsonianNPG .

The Civil Rights Act turns 60 on July 2, 2024. This landmark legislation outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin. Where can you learn more about the history of civil rights and the pursuit of equality? Swipe to explore sites from @nationalparkservice and objects from @smithsonian ➡️ #CivicSeason is a new American tradition between Juneteenth and July 4, co-created by Gen Z and 500+ history museums and historic sites, to celebrate who we are as a nation, how we got here and where we want to go next. Get started at TheCivicSeason.com. Photo Credits: Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C., Warren K. Leffler, 1963. Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress. President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the 1964 Civil Rights Act as Martin Luther King, Jr., and others look on, Washington, D.C., July 2, 1964. Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum; photograph, Cecil Stoughton. Portrait of Emmett Till and Mamie Till Mobley, 1954. NAACP Records, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

“Lovely on a postage stamp? You’d look lovely on a postage stamp!” - Viscount Mabrey, “Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement” On this National Postage Stamp Day, let’s take a look at some of the many lovely faces which have graced U.S. stamps and are now in the collection of our @nationalpostalmuseum . 👑: Grace Kelly 🎙️: Billie Holiday 🏄: Duke Kahanamoku 🎤: Selena 🎬: James Dean Copyright United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.

Historically close friends ❤️ “Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris, 1900–1939,” which received funding from @smithsonianwomen , is on view at @smithsoniannpg .    #SmithsonianPride Credit: 🎨: “Natalie with Violin” by Alice Pike Barney. Smithsonian American Art Museum @americanart , Gift of Laura Dreyfus Barney and Natalie Clifford Barney in memory of their mother, Alice Pike Barney. | 📷: “Greek Dance, Neuilly, c. 1906. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Alice Pike Barney Papers, Accession 96-153 | 📷: “Josephine Baker” by Stanislaus Julian Walery, 1926. @smithsonianNPG | 🎨: “Josephine Baker est aux Folies-Bergère” by Michel Gyarmathy, 1936. Private collection. | 📷: “Sylvia Woodbridge Beach” by Berenice Abbott, 1928. © Berenice Abbott/Getty Images @smithsonianNPG | 🎨: “Sylvia Beach” by Paul-Emile Bécat, 1923. Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Visit the 2024 Smithsonian Folklife Festival (@smithsonianfolklife ) to enjoy free live music, artist demonstrations, hands-on activities, food and more! Indigenous peoples from across the Western Hemisphere will be sharing their cultures on the National Mall and at the National Museum of the American Indian (@smithsoniannmai ) from June 26-July 1.    ___  ¡Visite el Festival de las Tradiciones Populares 2024 de la Institución Smithsonian para disfrutar de música en vivo gratis, demostraciones de artistas, actividades prácticas, comida y más! Comunidades indígenas de todo el hemisferio occidental compartirán sus culturas en la Explanada Nacional y dentro del Museo Nacional del Indígena Americano del 26 de junio al 1 de julio.  #2024Folklife

Why does space matter to us here on Earth? Dr. Kimberly Arcand from our @NASAChandraXray explains how innovation in space technology can impact our daily lives—from mammograms to airport baggage checks! 📍: “Mark Bradford: Pickett’s Charge” exhibit at our @Hirshhorn

Activist and self-identified drag queen Marsha P. Johnson advocated for LGBTQ+ youth, queer people of color, and those living with HIV/AIDS. Though she is perhaps best known for her participation in the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, Johnson continued to fight for marginalized communities throughout her life. Along with trans activist Sylvia Rivera, she cofounded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) in 1970. The organization offered housing and support for queer youth in New York City. (Johnson referred to herself as a “transvestite.” The term transgender was widely used after her death in 1992.) In a 1992 interview, Johnson said, “I was no one, nobody, from Nowheresville, until I became a drag queen.” In this scene from our @nmaahc , Johnson is pictured celebrating New York City’s Pride Parade in 1982. #SmithsonianPride 📸: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Ron Simmons, detail © Ron Simmons

Fasten your seatbelts. We’re flying back to a time when women had to fight for their rights to work as flight attendants. Meet three groundbreakers who, through courage, solidarity, and resilience, paved the way for future generations of women in the sky. ✈️ Ellen Church became the first woman to work as a flight attendant when she convinced a Boeing Air Transport manager that passengers would feel safer with nurses on board in 1930. ✈️ Ruth Carol Taylor filed a complaint with a New York State commission after her application was rejected by Trans World Airlines (TWA) on the basis of race. She eventually accepted a role at Mohawk Airlines* in 1957 but was forced to vacate the position due to a policy that required flight attendants to remain unmarried. ✈️ Betty Green Bateman helped squash the no-marriage policy in 1965 when she won a landmark grievance against Braniff Airways, setting a precedent for other airlines to follow suit. In their pursuit of justice, these women have inspired future generations to stand up for a world where everyone, regardless of their background, can soar. Jet to the link in our bio to read more inspiring tales of resilience across the Smithsonian through our new web experience “Kaleidoscope: Patterns of Resilience.” 📷: Four United Airlines flights attendants on the wing of a Douglas DC-8, 1968, from our @airandspacemuseum

As the first nationally syndicated, openly gay political cartoonist, Danny Sotomayor advocated for LGBTQ+ communities in the 1980s and ‘90s. With a passionate personality, Sotomayor became one of the loudest activists in Chicago’s fight for equal healthcare for LGBTQ+ people, especially those affected by AIDS. Throughout his 13-year career, he created more than 200 cartoons underscoring government inaction around the AIDS health crisis. But, his advocacy went beyond the newspaper page. In the late ‘80s, he cofounded ACT-UP Chicago, an AIDS awareness activist group. Danny Sotomayor’s portrait by Rafael López is featured in our @USlatinomuseum ’s exhibition “¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States,” on view at @amhistorymuseum . — Considerado el primer caricaturista político abiertamente gay y con distribución a nivel nacional, Danny Sotomayor abogó por las comunidades LGBTQ+ en las décadas de 1980 y 1990. Con una personalidad apasionada, Sotomayor se convirtió en uno de los activistas más contundentes en la lucha de Chicago por la igualdad de atención médica para las personas LGBTQ+, especialmente las afectadas por el SIDA. A lo largo de sus 13 años de carrera, creó más de 200 caricaturas que se enfocaban en la falta de acción por parte del gobierno en torno a la crisis sanitaria del SIDA. Sin embargo, su labor fue más allá de las páginas del periódico. A finales de los 80, cofundó ACT-UP Chicago, un grupo activista de concientización sobre el SIDA. Ya puedes ver el retrato de Danny Sotomayor por Rafael López en la exposición del Museo Nacional del Latino Estadounidense “¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States” abierta al público en el Museo Nacional de Historia Americana. #SmithonianPride

Ice cream and popsicles on the longest day of the year? Say less! 🍦 Artist Jacob Lawrence created this aptly named painting “When It Is Warm the Parks Are Filled with People” in 1943. In a style he called “dynamic cubism,” Lawrence used bold, vibrant colors and geometric shapes to document the African American experience, especially in Harlem. This painting is currently on display in our @hirshhorn ’s full-floor exhibition “Revolutions: Art from the Hirshhorn Collection, 1860–1960.” Want to enjoy a long summer day with the Smithsonian? Join us on the National Mall for #SolsticeSaturday on June 22! Learn more in the link in bio. 📍 National Mall ☀️ access to museums all day and night (specific museum times will vary) 🎉 late night parties, a glow-in-the-dark arcade, and after hours in the museums! 🖼️: Jacob Lawrence, “When It Is Warm the Parks Are Filled with People,” 1943, detail, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

We remember dynamic baseball player Willie Mays, celebrated and respected for his skill in every facet of the sport. Known as the “Say Hey Kid” for his genial disposition, Mays was one of baseball history’s most charismatic players. In this photo from our @amhistorymuseum , he smiles with the “Queen of Jazz” Ella Fitzgerald, who was a lifelong baseball fan. At age 17, Mays joined the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues, the highest level of the segregated sport open to Black players in 1948. He signed with the Giants in 1950, only three years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier integrating the sport. When he returned to the field after serving in the Army during the Korean War, Mays helped the Giants clinch the 1954 World Series with an incredible over-the-shoulder catch and powerful throw to second. Known simply as “the Catch,” the play became one of baseball’s most memorable moments. “Willie Mays was one of the greatest baseball players ever to play the game,” said Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III. “Not only was he exceptionally skilled as a well-rounded athlete, but he exuded joy that was infectious. In a sport known as America’s pastime, Mays’ grace on and off the field, his ability to delight and entertain, and his exuberant love of the sport made a powerful impression on generations of casual observers and die-hard fans. We remember Mays as one of the greats.”