In 1987, Congress acknowledged the significance of photographs in our society by declaring May National Photo Month. The American Photographers Association and other groups hold activities, festivals, photo contests and exhibits through the month, and the celebrations have kept evolving into the digital age.

Looking at old photographs can transport us back in time and connect us with our own history, ancestry and legacy. They evoke memories and emotions that had been forgotten. Museum and archive collections preserve historic photos of iconic figures in both their professional accomplishments and their private moments, images that turn ordinary people into legends and reveal the human side of well-known ones. Photographs act as time machines.

They let us revisit moments like Neil Armstrong’s moonwalk, and they remind us of the injustices that persist, from war to imprisonment to illness, urging us to learn from our past and treat each other with compassion. Beyond personal use, people photograph to create an authentic record of history. National Photo Month celebrates exactly that role.