Duke Ellington Museum Studies

08/30/2026

By Matthew Aucoin

08/26/2026

08/24/2026

John Glenn refused to fly until one woman checked the computer's math by hand.

Her name was Katherine Johnson. NASA had electronic machines by 1962, and nobody fully trusted them. Glenn's instruction was blunt: get the girl to run the numbers. If she says they're good, I'm ready to go.

She ran them. He flew.

Johnson's trajectory work carried Alan Shepard into space, put Glenn in orbit, and helped bring Apollo 11 back from the Moon.

She did it while working in a segregated building, using a segregated bathroom, at an agency that called her a computer instead of a mathematician.

She died in 2020, aged 101. Obama had already handed her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Pencil beat processor.

08/23/2026

Art Education is one of the important elements of preserving humanity

08/20/2026

Students getting good grades doesn't mean they've learned. Get parents to understand this, and help their students learn.

08/18/2026

151 years ago today, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was born in London, a gifted composer whose music crossed borders, challenged prejudice and opened new possibilities for classical music. Of English and Sierra Leonean heritage, he grew up to become one of Britain’s most important Black composers of the early 20th century.

His music drew on European classical traditions while embracing African and African-American melodies, spirituals and themes. Works such as Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast, The African Suite and Twenty-Four Negro Melodies revealed a powerful musical identity rooted in heritage, imagination and pride.

Coleridge-Taylor was more than a remarkable composer: he was also a passionate advocate for racial equality and Pan-African solidarity. Although he died at only 37, his music and ideals continue to challenge concert halls to listen more broadly , and to recognise the voices that helped shape classical music.

08/18/2026

The one and only, Kenneth Victor Young! First Black Smithsonian exhibition designer, Washington Color School painter, and Museum Studies inaugural faculty member.

08/15/2026

Well, it wasn't much here, but...

08/15/2026

𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗮 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝗝𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗻 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗣𝗔 𝗦𝗹𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀

The collection includes 24 narratives collected and edited by Margaret Jordan Johnson as part of the WPA Slave Narratives project. Most of the individuals interviewed were living in Augusta, Georgia, at the time of the interviews.

Some of Johnson’s copies differ from the published WPA narratives, including variations in annotations and editorial treatment. These differences may help researchers examine not only the experiences documented in the interviews, but also how the narratives were recorded, edited, and presented.

The collection also includes two newspaper clippings about Johnson and the WPA Slave Narratives project.

The collection is open for research at the Georgia Archives. Researchers are encouraged to submit a request through Ask an Archivist before visiting so staff can confirm the materials and provide any additional guidance.

Collection Identifier: 2027-0002M
Learn more about the collection and its contents through the finding aid: https://georgiaarchives.as.atlas-sys.com/repositories/3/archival_objects/886746.