I've walked down a ramp leading to the turquoise water of the ocean in Mozambique. Enslaved people descended the steep path in chains to board ships, taking them away from all they loved. The ramp is far larger than you may picture; the slave trade was a high-volume business. The vastness and international nature of the trade are barriers to understanding it on a human level, to finding connection and healing.

I've better understood slavery's link to my life by following the story of one slave ship, a journey that recently came full circle for me.

Convened by the United Nations in 1975, a time of great division and global conflict, the World Conference on Women gathered in Mexico City for the first time. This poster for the groundbreaking conference is from our @amhistorymuseum. #IWD Helvi Sipilä, a Finnish leader and organizer of the conference, said governments had ignored the issues the conference would tackle because, as she told the New York Times, "they thought they were women's problems, which women themselves have to solve." #IWD

We cannot know American history without knowing Black history. That is the message of @ASALH, a community that welcomed me before anyone knew my name. Founded in 1915 by the father of Black History Month, Dr. Carter Woodson, ASALH's 2022 #BHM focus is Black Health and Wellness. Black Health and Wellness are timely topics that are also close to my heart. One of my daughters works in emergency medicine and often encourages people of color to consider medical professions. She sees how important it is to have role models who look like you.

I was weeping in the research room of the National Archives. I'd taken a pause from exhibition research to see if I could learn more about the earliest of my Bunch ancestors whose name I know: Candis Bunch.

#SmithsonianBHM #BHM Candis was an enslaved woman whose name I'd previously discovered attached to the marriage license for her son, my great grandfather Oscar Bunch. In a breakthrough at the Archives, I found mention of her death in 1870 as a 40-year-old freed woman in Wake County, North Carolina.

It's not often that you leave a museum exhibition with a dramatically new way of looking at the world. This #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth, I challenge you to explore @SmithsonianNMAI's digital exhibition "Americans" and see what it reveals to you. The first thing that struck me was how inundated we are with American Indian imagery, names, and stories in America. Jeep Cherokee, Tomahawk missile, street names, mascots. The exhibit asks: How is it that Indians can be so present and so absent in American life? #NDNsEverywhere

Congressman John Lewis was the conscience of a nation. He challenged the country to live up to its ideals and to extend the blessings of liberty to all. We at the Smithsonian send our heartfelt thoughts and condolences to his family. s.si.edu/2CJ9Svh His is an essential American story of strength, dignity, and courage. I am grateful to have known him and will continue to draw inspiration from his life and legacy. I'd like to share some of his story through @Smithsonian collections.

As the country's eyes turn to the memorial service for George Floyd today, my heart is heavy. I grieve for and extend my sympathies to George Floyd's family and community—and the far too many whose needless deaths were brought about by unjustified violence. I am reminded of the day I spent with Mrs. Mamie Till Mobley, mother of Emmett Till, a child who was brutally murdered in 1955 for allegedly teasing a white clerk.

This #BlackHistoryMonth, I invited you to join me at your computer screens to do something that sounds simple and maybe a bit dull if you aren't a 19th century historian like myself—to look at old documents and type the words you see. I'm thrilled that so many of you joined me. @TranscribeSI Maybe you captured a few words from an 1869 letter about a "Colored Orphans' Home" in the South. Or you typed an article from 1934 criticizing a D.C. ice cream parlor refusing to employ African American workers in an African American neighborhood. Your efforts make a difference.

In 2006, I got great news. I'd be able to keep my job. I'd only been director of @NMAAHC for seven months but I was prepared to walk away if the Smithsonian selected an off-the-National-Mall site for the museum. With our spot on the Mall secured, I couldn't stop smiling. Soon after the announcement of our location, people began to flood me with their opinions on what the museum should be. I heard from scholars, neighbors, politicians, educators, and more.

But it was someone I met in the Dallas airport whose thoughts stuck with me.

When Dr. Charles Blockson invited me to Philadelphia to see artifacts related to Harriet Tubman, I was doubtful that much material from her life had survived. But at least I'd get a Philly cheesesteak and have the opportunity to see Blockson, who I admire. #CreatingNMAAHC @NMAAHC When we met at Temple University, Dr. Blockson brought out a tiny box. It seemed too small to hold a legacy as important as Harriet Tubman's and I thought I'd wasted a trip. But then Blockson opened the box.