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African Americans - Legacy and Culture |
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Africans in America
To supplement the television series, Africans in America: America's Journey
Through Slavery, WGBH Interactive and PBS Online have created this site
detailing the history of U.S. slavery through four periods between 1450 and
1865. For each era, users can find a historical narrative, a rich resource
bank of annotated images, documents, stories, biographies, and commentaries,
and a teacher's guide.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/
AFRO-American Almanac
This site looks at both the history and cultural evolution of African
American society from the beginning of the slave trade to the present. To
better portray African American diversity, the Almanac uses various
presentation formats such as trivia games, folktales, biographies, books,
commentary, poetry, speeches, and historical documents and events. A
collection of links to other African American sites on education,
business/finance, general resources, history, and news is also available on
the Almanac.
http://www.toptags.com/aama/?req
AfriGeneas - African Ancestored Genealogy
AfriGeneas serves as a focal point for information about African ancestored
families and for pointers to genealogical sources worldwide. Available at
the site are a searchable database of African ancestored surnames and a link
directory of African ancestry resources by state. Other information includes
a "Slave Data Collection" of wills, inventories, Bible records, slave
manifests, and more as well as a moderated and screened mailing list on
African American genealogy.
http://www.msstate.edu/Archives/History/afrigen/
African American Odyssey
The Library of Congress has developed a supplementary site to their largest
black history exhibit, The African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full
Citizenship. Through nine chronological periods, the exhibit tells the story
of the African American quest for equality from the early national period to
the twentieth century. The materials on the site include text and images
from the books, government documents, manuscripts, maps, musical scores, and
plays of the exhibit.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/aohome.html
African American Perspectives
The Daniel A. P. Murray Pamphlet Collection at the Library of Congress
"presents a panoramic and eclectic review of African-American history and
culture" from 1818 to 1907. The 351 titles in the collection include
sermons, biographies, slave narratives, speeches by members of Congress,
legal documents, poetry, and playbills. Users can view the full text of
these documents and browse by subject or author. There is a timeline of
African American history as well as audio clips of readings from several
pamphlets in "The Progress of a People" section of the site.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/aap/aaphome.html
African American Phat Library
Scott W. Williams, a mathematics professor at SUNY at Buffalo, has an
excellent collection of pages dedicated to African American writers. He
presents biographical information on the authors, photos of the authors and
book covers, descriptions of some works, excerpts, and links to further
information. The writers covered include Maya Angelou, Amiri Baraka,
Gwendolyn Brooks, Jean Toomer, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Richard Wright,
and Langston Hughes.
http://www.math.buffalo.edu/~sww/Snally_Gaster.html
American Slave Narratives: An Online Anthology
From 1936 to 1938, over 2,300 former slaves from across the American South
were interviewed by writers and journalists for the Works Progress
Administration. These former slaves provided first-hand accounts of their
experiences on plantations, in cities, and on small farms. This Web site
from the University of Virginia provides an opportunity to read a sample of
these narratives and see some of the photographs taken at the time of the
interviews.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/wpa/wpahome.html
Barbara Jordan
Bonita Jackson's personal site includes this brief biography on Barbara
Jordan, the first African American congresswoman from the South. Jordan gave
the Democratic Convention keynote address in 1976 and her opening statement
to the House Judiciary Committee during impeachment proceedings of Richard
Nixon is a landmark.
http://www.beejae.com/bjordan.htm
Black History, American History
The Atlantic Monthly gives students the opportunity to look back at some of
the seminal essays by African Americans that have appeared in the magazine
over the years. Students can begin by reading an introductory article on the
significance of each of these essays to African American and U.S. history
and then proceed to full-text documents of the following works:
"Letter from a Birmingham Jail" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Reconstruction," by Frederick Douglass
"The Awakening of the Negro" and "The Case of the Negro" by Booker T.
Washington "Strivings of the Negro People," "A Negro Schoolmaster in the New South,"
and "The Training of Black Men" by W.E.B. Du Bois, and
Ralph McGill's account of his interview with W.E.B. Du Bois.
http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/flashbks/black/blahisin.htm
Black Resistance...Slavery in the U.S.
Enriching the historical record, this portion of the Afro-American Newspaper
site documents and traces the story of slavery and the injustices suffered
by those taken from their homeland. Topics include "Africa to America,"
"There were no docile slaves," and "Women resisted." In addition, there is a
chronology of major revolts and escapes.
http://www.afroam.org/history/slavery/index.html
Breaking Racial Barriers
In 1922, real estate developer William E. Harmon established the Harmon
Foundation in New York City to recognize African American achievements, not
only in the fine arts but also in business, education, farming, literature,
music, race relations, religious service, and science. The Smithsonian's
National Portrait Gallery now houses a collection from the Harmon
Foundation's 1944 exhibition, "Portraits of Outstanding Americans of Negro
Origin." This Web site contains the portraits and biographical information
on 20 of the featured African Americans, including George Washington Carver,
Marion Anderson, W.E.B. Du Bois, James Weldon Johnson, and Alain Locke.
http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/harmon/
Chapter 9: Harlem Renaissance, 1919-1937
Professor Paul Rebeun of CSU Stanislaus has put together what is perhaps one
of the most comprehensive sites historically and literally. Drawn from his
online textbook PAL: Perspectives in American Literature: A Research and
Reference Guide, this site features an introduction that reiterates more
succinctly and clearly than any other source the varied origins, successes
and failures, and consequences of this complicated era. It also provides
lists of primary works, selected bibliographies, study questions and related
links for many writers and activists, including Gwendolyn Bennet, Arna
Bontemps, Sterling A. Brown, Countee Cullen, W.E.B. DuBois, Jessie Redmon
Fauset, Rudolph Fischer, Marcus Garvey, Angela Weld Grimke, Langston Hughes,
Zora Neale Hurston, James Weldon Johnson, Nella Larsen, Alain Locke, Claude
McKay, Anna Spencer, Wallace Thurman, Jean Toomer, Carl Van Vechten, Eric
Walrond, Dorothy West, and Walter White.
http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap9/chap9.html
Christian Science Monitor's Black History Project
Articles on news, arts, books, and events in black communities worldwide are
offered through the "Black History Project" from the Christian Science
Monitor. Also available on this site are black history quizzes, audio clips
from interviews with African American authors, and feature sections on Rosa
Parks, Ray Charles, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Civil Rights movement.
http://www.csmonitor.com/atcsmonitor/specials/bhmonth/p-bhindex.html
Classical Music in Black & White
Based on a 1995 National Public Radio series, this site explores the
contributions of African Americans to classical music in the United States.
It eloquently shows that African Americans were instrumental in forming
every aspect of American music, not just jazz, blues, rock, and gospel.
Included on the site are transcripts from interviews with jazz artist Wynton
Marsalis, conductor James DePreist, conductor Henry Lewis, music history
scholar Dominique-Ren de Lerma, and vocal bass Simon Estes.
http://php.indiana.edu/~afamarch/home.html
Colonial North America: 1492-1763
To learn how colonial North American society developed up to the Seven
Years/French and Indian War, students can go to this site from the Applied
History Research Group of the Department of History at the University of
Calgary. The introductory chapter outlines the history of the three main
groups, indigenous Americans, Europeans, and Africans, before they made
contact in North America and the Caribbean. Discussion topics include the
biological isolation of indigenous American populations, the social,
political and economic conditions of Western Europe and West Africa,
Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, early slavery, and the Atlantic slave
trade. Next, in the "16th Century" chapter, students can learn about the
first century of contact between the three groups and the influence of the
"Spanish Model" on other European attempts at colonization. For an overview
of English and French colonies, students can click through the "17th
Century" chapter that also covers the plantation system and the fur trade.
The "18th century" chapter analyzes the new imperial, political, economic,
and social relationships that characterized North America as not European,
African, or indigenous but rather something new and unique. Finally, the
concluding chapter of the tutorial is an article on the Seven Years/French
and Indian War.
http://www.ucalgary.ca/HIST/tutor/colony/
Deep in the Bush, Where People Rarely Ever Go
Middle school teacher Phillip Martin gathered the information for his site
while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Liberia, West Africa. Three
Liberian folk tales are presented in both text and play versions: "Spider
and the Honey Tree," "Black Snake and the Eggs," and "The Chief Who Was No
Fool." The "P.O.W.E.R. Plays" section is a guide to help students develop
creativity and self-esteem as they produce class plays. In addition, users
can find recipes from Africa and links to other African and African American
related sites.
http://members.xoom.com/PMartin/Bush/bushhomepage.htm
Great African Americans
Users can journey through the history of blacks in America through this
section of the History Channel site with one-paragraph biographies on
twenty-eight personalities. From Crispus Attucks and Harriet Tubman to Toni
Morrisson and Jimi Hendrix, users can learn more about how these great
leaders, artists, athletes, and activists helped to advance a people and a
nation.
http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/blackhist/proindex.html
Harlem 1900-1940: An African American Community
Although the depth of this site (sponsored by the New York Public Library's
Schomburg Institute for Research in Black Culture) is exceeded elsewhere,
there doesn't seem to be any that can match this for breadth. Giving a
liberal estimation of the Harlem Renaissance years (1900 to 1940), the site
is divided into five sections. The first section is an extensive,
year-by-year listing of cultural events (such as In Dahomey, first all black
musical comedy presented in 1903) , births, deaths, marches ( the Silent
Protest), and publications from 1900 to 1940. The second and largest section
is further subdivided into five portions: Activism, Arts, Business,
Community, and Sports. Activism focuses in on Marcus Garvey, Adam Clayton
Powell, the Silent Protest, NAACP publications, and the UNIA parade. The
Arts section covers the gambit of Harlem Renaissance writers male and female
including Cullen, Douglas, DuBois, Ellington, The Frogs, Gilpin, Henderson,
Hurston, Johnson, McKay, Mills, Savage, Schomburg, Waters, Williams, Walken,
and Walker. The Business section has pieces on the Black Swan Phonograph
Corporation and Madame C.J. Walker. The fascinating Community section shines
a spotlight on the Northeasterners, Harlem Hospital, Lafayette Theater, and
the Wall Street Boys Association. Sports looks at Charles "Tarzan" Cooper
and Jack Johnson. There is also a Teachers' section (includes instructional
strategies, guidelines on conducting oral histories, and tips on how to read
a photograph), a Resources section (contains bibliographies and links), and
a Database for searching for writers, artists, and musicians of the Harlem
Renaissance.
http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/Harlem/index.html
Harlem: Mecca of the New Negro--A Hypermedia Edition of the March 1925
Survey Graphic Harlem Number
One resource with which no study of the Harlem Renaissance or Black History
would be complete is The Survey Graphic Harlem Number, a special 1925 issue
edited by Alain Locke. Survey Graphic was the monthly illustrated number of
Survey magazine, the premier journal of social work in America in the 1920s.
A full copy of the text of this primary source, reformatted for easy reading
(less eyestrain), as well as a reproduction of the entire copy with all
illustrations, advertisements, title page and end matter displayed as
enlarged images. This issue established Locke (then a professor of
philosophy at Howard University) as the leading theorist of the Harlem
Renaissance, or, as he preferred to think of himself, as the "philosophical
midwife" to the movement. Locke contributed The New Negro and other pieces,
as did James Johnson (The Making of Harlem), Charles S. Johnson (Black
Workers in the City), W.E.B. Du Bois (The Negroes Bringing Gifts), and
Arthur A. Schomburg (The Negro Digs Up His Past.) The issue also included
poems from (among others) Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, and Anne Spencer.
In all, the issue was pivotal in helping to pull black artists and writers
together, and also in getting them a measure of recognition and respect from
white audiences.
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/harlem/
T. Moore Homesite
The Harry T. Moore Homesite commemorates the lives two American black civil
rights workers, whose murders helped ignite the American civil rights
movement. This page from the North Brevard Business Directory in Florida
includes biographical information and photos of Harry T. Moore and Harriette
V. Moore. Langston Hughes wrote the "Ballad of Harry Moore" in their honor,
and a link is provided to its text.
http://www.nbbd.com/godo/moore/
Index of Women Scientists
This portion of Louisiana State University's The Faces of Science: African
Americans in the Sciences Web site indexes profiles of African American
women scientists by field of endeavor.
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/lib/chem/display/women.html
Jackie Robinson
The Afro-American Newspaper site has a section devoted to Jackie Robinson
and his struggle to be the first African American in the major leagues. The
illustrated articles discuss his personal life, his career, the Negro
Leagues, and why Robinson was chosen as the first player to integrate the
major league.
http://www.afroam.org/history/Robinson/intro.html
Kwanzaa: An African-American Holiday
Through this Afro-American Newspaper site, students can learn in brief about
the origins of Kwanzaa, how the holiday is celebrated, the seven principles
of Kwanzaa, and Kwanzaa words, symbols, and recipes.
http://www.afroam.org/children/fun/kwanzaa/kwanzaa.html
Levi Jordan Plantation
Maps, photos, and essays on the Levi Jordan plantation/archaeological site
in Brazoria, Texas are available on this Web page. There is a separate
section to help guide kids through the many articles that cover oral
histories, church histories of the area, diary excerpts from a woman who
lived on the plantation, and information on the slaves, tenant farmers, and
sharecroppers of the plantation.
http://www.webarchaeology.com/Html/
Malcolm X
The core of this part of Elke Moritz's personal site is her study on the
lives and ideas of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X called "Two
Roads to Freedom." She also has a Malcolm X image gallery, answers to
frequently asked questions, poems about Malcolm X, Malcolm X quotes, and
links to additional resources.
http://www.unix-ag.uni-kl.de/~moritz/malcolm.html
Martin Luther King Jr.
An excellent collection of articles on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life
and legacy can be found at this site from The Seattle Times. In the
"Electronic Classroom" section, users can read what various high school
students think of King's legacy, use a study guide, and take an online quiz.
Several timelines are available covering King's life, the Civil Rights
Movement, and the creation of King's birthday as a national holiday. In
addition, there are audio clips from King's most famous speeches, an image
gallery of the Civil Rights Movement, and profiles of five cities that have
streets named in honor King.
http://www.seattletimes.com/mlk/index.html
National Civil Rights Museum
Located at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN, where Martin Luther King, Jr.
was assassinated, the National Civil Rights Museum offers a comprehensive
overview of the civil rights struggle. Users can walk through an
"interactive tour" of the permanent exhibits that concentrate on key events
of the 1950s and 1960s through images and text. The events include Brown v.
Board of Education of Topeka, the Montgomery bus boycott, student sit-ins,
freedom rides, the Chicago freedom movement, and the march on Washington.
http://www.civilrightsmuseum.org
Stamp on Black History
Developed by students for ThinkQuest, this site lists all of the black
Americans on U.S. postage stamps, both alphabetically and by curriculum
areas, with a biography of each person. An excellent tour of black history
from 300 to the present, an online black history quiz, a history of U.S.
stamps, advice on stamp collecting, and games and activities are also
included.
http://library.advanced.org/10320/
Still Going On: An Exhibit Celebrating the Life and Times of William Grant
Still
Hosted by Duke University, this concentrated and highly involving site is
set up as a physical exhibit would be, and focuses on noted composer William
Grant Still. A "Chronology of Cultural Connections" traces African American
musical contributions from 1900-1995. Births, death, debuts, breakthrough
performances and many "firsts" are included in this comprehensive listing.
The rest of the site contains the multimedia equivalent of a physical
exhibition. It takes the user through Still's early life and
accomplishments, features sections on the Afro-American Symphony, explores
Still's relationship with pianist and journalist Verna Arvey (his second
wife), explains the New York World's Fair theme song and the "color-blind"
contest, showcases Troubled Island, lists performances of Still's music,
reveals Still's journals and writings, shares his friends and family, and
contains a sampling of the tributes and memorials which have recently paid
tribute to the composer. Audio clips are scattered through out the
exhibition, giving students a chance to actually hear Still's music.
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/sgo/start.html
The African American Journey
The history of African Americans is largely the story of their struggle for
freedom and equality. This World Book Encyclopedia site examines that
struggle in four sections beginning with the slave trade and continuing
through the height of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. "Charting the
African American Journey" is a special feature filled with many maps on the
routes African Americans took from slavery to freedom. Users can test what
they've learned through the online quizzes and other activities in each
section.
http://www.worldbook.com/fun/aajourny/html/
The African-American Mosaic
This online exhibit is a sampler of the materials in the publication, The
African-American Mosaic: A Library of Congress Resource Guide for the Study
of Black History and Culture. Four areas are addressed on the site: the
colonization of free blacks in Africa, the abolition of U.S. slavery, the
migrations of African Americans away from the South, and the WPA in relation
to the cultural accomplishments of African Americans. Each section begins
with an overview followed by annotated images from books, newspapers,
photographs, maps, letters, sheet music, portraits, and posters.
http://lcweb.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam001.html
The Black Press: Soldiers without Swords
Developed by PBS Online, this site supplements Stanley Nelson's documentary,
The Black Press: Soldiers without Swords, that celebrates the history of
America's black newspapers. Users can read the histories of several
newspapers and biographies on those who helped shape black press history.
Then they can move on to the one-paragraph biographies and video clips from
interviews with modern African American journalists to better understand the
legacy and the future of the black press. A full transcript from the film, a
study guide with discussion questions, sample lesson plans, and a timeline
are also provided.
http://www.pbs.org/blackpress/film/index.html
The Blue Highway
To learn about the history of blues music, users can turn to Curtis
Hewston's tributes to 20 great blues-makers, including Bessie Smith, Muddy
Waters, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Leadbelly. Each tribute has an image of
the artist, biographical information, and a short audio clip. Also located
on this site are various essays on the history and influence of the blues,
listings of blues radio programs around the world, and blues-related news
items.
http://www.thebluehighway.com/
The Encyclopedia Britannica Guide to Black History
Encyclopedia Britannica's rich guide to African American history features
600 informative articles and is beautifully illustrated with historical film
clips, audio recordings, hundreds of photographs, and other images. Students
can begin with the six-part study guide that has activities focusing on
slavery in the U.S., the Harlem Renaissance, African American sports
figures, the Civil Rights Movement, affirmative action, and more. Users can
also browse through a timeline of black history or through the collection of
articles arranged alphabetically and by era.
http://blackhistory.eb.com/
The Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences
Louisiana State University's Web site profiles African Americans who have
and are contributing to the advancement of science and engineering. These
pathfinders' accomplishments serve to guide present and future engineers and
scientists. The profiles are organized alphabetically, by profession, and by
field of study.
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/lib/chem/display/faces.html
The Harlem Renaissance
Jill Diesman's Harlem Renaissance page is the most complete in terms of
giving students access to literary texts. Poetry and prose writers are
represented equally with the full text of many poems and short stories
making this site a gold mine for teachers. Arna Bontemps, Langston Hughes,
Countee Cullen, Angelina Grimke, Jessie Redmon Fauset, James Weldon Johnson
represent a poetry sampling that presents the complete text of at least four
poems for each author, and in some cases up to thirteen. Selected short
stories of Nella Larsen and Zora Neale Hurston, and writings of Marion Vera
Cuthbert and Ida B. Wells are also included. Finally, there are images of
paintings by Lois Mailou Jones, William H. Johnson, and Palmer Hayden.
http://www.nku.edu/~diesmanj/harlem.html
The Harlem Renaissance from Encyclopedia Britannica
This Encyclopedia Britannica site is divided into four main sections:
leadership, literature, art, and entertainment. Each of these sections
features an overview supported by biographies and photos of Harlem's
best-known residents. There is also a clickable street map of the
neighborhood's main attractions as well as a timeline outlining the great
achievements of the period. Various audio and video clips allow users to
experience Harlem Renaissance music, poetry, and historical scholarship. For
the classroom, the "Study Guide" contains student activities and a teacher's
guide. (
http://harlem.eb.com/
The Internet African American History Challenge
Philip B. Davis' personal site houses biographies on twelve important 19th
century African Americans: Alexander Crummell, Frederick Douglass, Henry
Highland Garnet, Harriet Tubman, Henry McNeal Turner, John Mercer Langston,
Mary Elizabeth Boswer, Mary Church Terrell, Mary Ann Shadd, Nat Turner,
Richard Allen, and Sojourner Truth. Students can test their comprehension of
the biographical profiles with three online quizzes, and teachers can track
student progress with an online class grade book that can record quiz
scores.
http://www.brightmoments.com/blackhistory/
Scottsboro Boys
On March 24, 1931, the focus of the entire nation became fixed on nine young
black men from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who were charged with raping two
white women while riding a freight train. This portion of the Afro-American
Newspaper site details the history of the Scottsboro Boys through articles
written during and after the lengthy judicial proceedings. Users can also
read through chronologies of national and international reaction to the
trial.
http://www.afroam.org/history/scott/scotts.html
The Tuskegee Airmen
During World War II, black fighter pilots fought the Germans abroad and
racism in the ranks. Phyllis G. Douglass offers a brief history of the
Tuskegee Airmen through this loving and admiring portrait of her father.
http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Quarters/1350/
The Tuskegee Airmen: The Sky Was the Limit
With this Afro-American Newspaper site, users can get an inside look at the
racial and political struggles that went on within and outside of the 99th
Squadron from the Tuskegee Institute as they became the first black combat
pilots in America. There is information on the policy of racial segregation
of the armed forces, the creation of the Tuskegee Air Force Flying School,
operations of the Tuskegee Airmen, criticisms against the squadron, and
later integration of the Air Force.
http://www.afroam.org/history/tusk/tuskmain.html
The Underground Railroad
Articles discussing slavery in America, the story of the Underground
Railroad, and some of the people who were involved in the fight to end U.S.
slavery can be found on this site from the History Channel. Also available
are a study guide and a primary source document page with the words of John
Brown, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Tubman.
http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/undergroundrr/index.html
The Underground Railroad @ nationalgeographic.com
In this National Geographic site, the user is placed in the position of a
Maryland slave in the 1850s who must make various decisions along a journey
towards freedom in Canada. Included on the site are biographies of historic
figures involved with freeing slaves, a map based on Harriet Tubman's routes
to freedom, a timeline of slavery in America, and online activities.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/99/railroad/index.html
Underground Railroad
This site from the National Park Service briefly illustrates the history of
U.S. slavery, the Underground Railroad, and African American heritage in the
Mississippi Delta region.
http://www.cr.nps.gov/delta/under.htm
Voices of the Civil Rights Era
For some of the most seminal words from the 1960s, this section from
Webcorp's Historic Audio Archives allows you to download audio excerpts from
John F. Kennedy's 1963 Inaugural Address, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1963
speech at the March on Washington, and speeches by Malcolm X.
http://www.webcorp.com/civilrights/voices.htm
We Shall Overcome
To learn more about the people and places associated with the civil rights
movement, students and teachers can browse through this National Register of
Historic Places travel itinerary. Forty-two historic sites are listed with
extended descriptions of their significance to the civil rights movement.
Other articles dive further into the groups of people, strategies, costs,
and gains of the movement. This site was prepared as a cooperative project
between the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, and the
U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration.
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/
37th Texas Cavalry (Terrell's)
Many men of color (African American, Hispanic, Native American, and Chinese
American) served in uniform and in combat with Confederate Armed Forces.
This site presents information about this multi-racial makeup through
historical documents, biographies, photos, and news items on reenactments
and memorials. Users can also find out about the general history of the 37th
unit and its organizer, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Watkins Terrell.
http://www.37thtexas.org/
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