Jazz Appreciation Month, affectionately called JAM, swings into April with saxophones, trumpets and bass lines weaving through clubs and classrooms. Launched in 2001 by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, JAM was envisioned as a month-long celebration of the uniquely American art form that emerged from African American communities in New Orleans in the […]
April brings National Poetry Month, a time when verse takes center stage and lines of meter and metaphor flutter like spring blossoms. Launched in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, the celebration aims to highlight the art of poetry and its vital place in American culture. Inspired by Black History Month and Women’s History […]
When May arrives, Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month offers an invitation to wander through centuries of voyages, farm fields, city streets and family kitchens. In the 19th century, Chinese workers braved treacherous mountain passes and blistering Nevada deserts to lay tracks for the transcontinental railroad, their labor connecting coasts and changing American commerce. […]
Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) takes place in May, honoring a community whose story in North America spans more than three centuries. Jewish people arrived in what is now the United States as early as 1654, when a group of twenty-three Sephardic Jews fleeing the Portuguese Inquisition landed in New Amsterdam (present-day New York). Over […]
A Celebration Rooted in Resistance and Resilience Cinco de Mayo may arrive each year in a whirlwind of mariachi melodies, folklórico skirts, and platters of tacos and mole poblano, but beneath the festive surface lies a powerful historical story. In 1862, Mexico was weakened by years of internal conflict and drowning in foreign debt. When […]
Honoring Those Who Gave Everything Memorial Day, observed on the last Monday of May in the United States, is a national day of remembrance for the men and women who died while serving in the armed forces. It’s a day marked by quiet reflection, folded flags, and families visiting gravesides — a moment to pause […]
Caribbean American Heritage Month is filled with the hum of steel pans, the aroma of jerk seasoning and the rhythms of calypso and reggae. It honors the millions of people from islands like Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Barbados and the Dominican Republic who made their way to U.S. shores, bringing vibrant cultures and resilient […]
Pride Month in June is a celebration of LGBTQ+ identities and a commemoration of a pivotal uprising. In the early hours of June 28, 1969, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a bar in Greenwich Village that served as a refuge for gay, lesbian and transgender patrons. Police raids were routine, but that […]
Father’s Day was born from love and necessity. In December 1907, an explosion at the Monongah coal mine in West Virginia killed hundreds of men, leaving thousands of children fatherless. The following year, Grace Golden Clayton proposed a church service to honor those fathers. Around the same time, Sonora Smart Dodd, one of six children […]
Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19, commemorates a moment of delayed liberation and enduring hope. On that day in 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and issued General Order No. 3, announcing that all enslaved people were free in accordance with President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation issued two and a half years […]
Independence Day in the United States is more than fireworks and barbecues—it is a commemoration of a radical idea. In the summer of 1776, delegates from thirteen colonies gathered in Philadelphia to debate whether to sever ties with the British Crown. On July 2, the Continental Congress voted for independence; two days later, on July […]
On July 14 each year, the colors of the French tricolore ripple in summer breezes from Paris to New York. Bastille Day has become synonymous with freedom, fireworks and baguettes laden with cheese, yet its origins go back to a tumultuous moment in 1789 when Parisians stormed an ancient fortress-prison. The Bastille had long stood […]