| African American History
The history of African Americans covers the rise from enslavement to
accomplishments in every field of human endeavor--literature, art, science,
business, industry, education, government, diplomacy, athletics, exploration.
Sample some of the following activities to learn more about African American
history.
Places To Go | People To See | Things To Do | Teacher Resources | Bibliography
Places To Go
The following are places to go (some real and some virtual) to find out
about African American history.
Harlem
Renaissance
Travel to Harlem, New York and learn about the Harlem Renaissance. This
period of creative activity took place in the 1920s and 1930s among the
black community in Harlem. It has been called a "literary and intellectual
flowering" that included such writers, artists, and entertainers as Langston
Hughes, Countee Cullen, Zora Neale Hurston, James Van Der Zee, W.E.B.
Du Bois, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, and others.
Brown v. Board
of Education
Virtually visit the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site
in Topeka, Kansas. There are curriculum guides for 4th, 6th and 8th grades
available, information about the case, and links to further resources.
Harpers Ferry
National Historic Site
Travel to Harpers Ferry National Historic Site. It is located at the confluence
of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers in the states of West Virginia, Virginia,
and Maryland. It's at Harpers Ferry where John Brown captured the United
States Armory and Arsenal in 1859 as part of his goal to free slaves by
armed intervention. Harpers Ferry also had strategic importance during
the Civil War.
The
Black Heritage Trail®
Travel to Boston and visit sites significant to African American history
such as the African American Meeting House which is he oldest black church
edifice still standing in the United States and the Robert Gould Shaw
and 54th Regiment which was the first black regiment to be recruited in
the North. The movie, Glory, is about this group of African American soldiers.
Martin Luther
King National Historic Site
Visit the Martin Luther King National Historic site in Atlanta, Georgia.
This site contains Martin Luther King's birthplace, the Ebenezer Baptist
Church where he worshipped as a child, the Peace Plaza honoring his memory,
Fire Station No. 6 which served as a community center, the King Center
established by his wife, Corretta Scott King.
Martin Luther King
Memorial
Visit the proposed site of the Martin Luther King Memorial in Washington,
D.C. and learn about the efforts to construct a memorial honoring him,
his movement, and his message.
The Frederick
Douglass National Historic Site
Spend time at the home that Frederick Douglass lived in during his career
in Washington, D.C. "The Frederick Douglass National Historic Site is
dedicated to preserving the legacy of the most famous African American
of the 19th Century. Frederick Douglass' life spanned nearly eighty years,
from the time that slavery was universal in American states to the time
it was becoming a memory. Douglass freed himself from slavery, and through
decades of tireless efforts he helped to free millions more. His life
was a testament to courage and persistence that continues to serve as
an inspiration to those who struggle in the cause of liberty and justice."
Booker T.
Washington National Monument
Travel to Booker T. Washington National Monument in Virginia which preserves
the birth site and childhood home of Booker T. Washington and interprets
his life experiences and significance in American history.
Maggie L.
Walker National Historic Site
Visit the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site in Richmond, Virginia.
Maggie L. Walker was the the first African American woman to found a bank
in the United States.
Images
of African Americans from the 19th Century
The Schomburg Center's Images of African Americans from the Nineteenth
Century uses its vast collections of images to document the social, political,
and cultural life of African-Americans as they dealt with the difficult
transition from slavery to freedom.
People To See
Biographical
Sketches of Black Pioneers and Settlers of the Pacific Northwest
Make the acquaintance of African-American settlers of the west such as
Reuben Shipley. He was a slave in Missouri. His wife and children were
owned by a different individual in Missouri. When Reuben Shipley's owner
came west on the Oregon Trail, Reuben was forced to go with him and leave
his family behind in Missouri. Reuben Shipley's owner eventually granted
him his freedom, and Mr. Shipley attempted to save enough money to buy
his family from their owner in Missouri. He learned that his wife had
died while he was on the Oregon Trail, and the owner refused to sell Shipley
his sons. Learn more about Mr. Shipley and how he remarried, raised six
additional children, and became a philanthropic landowner in Oregon.
Larry
Doby
Get to know Larry Doby. Larry Doby was the second African-American to
play in the major leagues and the first ever in the American League. He
began playing for the Cleveland Indians in 1947. In the 1948 World Series,
he hit the winning home run against the Boston Braves.
Alex
Haley
Meet author, Alex Haley. His book, Roots, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1977
and became a popular television mini-series. Roots traces Mr. Haley's
family lineage back to African ancestor Kunta Kinte. Alex Haley is also
famous for his book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
The
Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences
Get to know African American men and women who have contributed to the
advancement of science and engineering.
Marian
Anderson
Spend time with Marian Anderson, renowned operatic singer. In 1939, the
Daughters of the American Revolution would not allow her to perform at
Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. So, as a protest, Eleanor Roosevelt
resigned her membership in DAR. Mrs. Roosevelt then sponsored Marian Anderson's
concert at the Lincoln Memorial.
Bass
Reeves
Make the acquaintance of Bass
Reeves. In the 1870s, he was the first African-American appointed
a U.S. marshal west of the Mississippi. He was famous for being a talented
marksman and for knowing how to speak many Native American languages.
Marshalls did not earn a salary in those days, so he had to rely on reward
money to live. He became accomplished at tracking down and capturing criminals.
Josephine
Baker
Get to know Josephine Baker, jazz singer. Although born in St. Louis,
she spent much of her life in Paris. During World War II, she worked for
the French Resistance.
Breaking
Racial Barriers
Meet men and women whose achievements in the fine arts, business, education,
farming, literature, music, religious service, etc. began to break the
barriers of race.
Dr. Maya Angelou
Meet poet, writer, songwriter, actress, civil rights activist, Maya
Angelou. She read one of her poems,“On the Pulse of Morning”
at President Clinton's 1993 presidential inauguration.
Black
History: Inventors
Meet famous African American inventors such as Granville T. Woods and
Dr.Charles Richard Drew.
Thurgood
Marshall
Meet Thurgood Marshall. He was the first African-American who served as
a member of the Supreme Court. Before his appointment, he argued many
cases before the Supreme Court, including Brown v. Board of Education
of Topeka in 1954.
Malcolm
X
Remember Malcolm X. His real name was Malcolm Little, and he was born
in Nebraska. In the 1950s, he became a member of the Black Muslims and
went by the name of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. He was killed in 1965, probably
by a rival member of an Islamic group.
Phyllis
Wheatley
Get to know Phyllis Wheatley. She is considered to be America's first
African-American poet. She was born in the 1750s in Africa and was purchased
in 176l by John Wheatley, a prominent Boston tailor.
Matthew
Henson
Meet Matthew Alexander Henson. He was an arctic explorer. In 1909, along
with Robert E. Peary and a few Inuit guides, he was in the first group
to reach the North Pole.
African
Americans in the Sciences
Profiled here are African American men and women who have contributed
to the advancement of science and engineering.
African
American Women Writers of the 19th Century
This site features a digital collection of some 52 published works by
19th-century black women writers. It provides access to the thought, perspectives
and creative abilities of black women as captured in books and pamphlets
published prior to 1920.
African
Americans in the Visual Arts
Although excluded from mainstream artistic endeavors prior to the Civil
War, after the war, a host of African-American visual artists started
to be recognized. From 1865 to the start of the 1920's, most of these
artists produced works considered acceptable to museums, patrons, or local
salons or studios.
Mathematicians
of the African Diaspora
Learn more about famous black mathematicians.
Things To Do
Afro-American
Almanac
Find information in the Afro-American Almanac. It presents an historical
perspective of African individuals in the United States from the beginning
of the slave trade through the Civil Rights movement to the present.
Afro-American
Almanac
Find African-American biographies, historical documents, and historical
events. This site also has a section with folk tales with African roots.
Black Facts Online
Find out what happened in African-American history for a particular date.
The
Internet African American History Challenge
Take this interactive quiz that helps you sharpen your knowledge of African
American history.
African-American
History
Choose from a variety of African America topics with an emphasis on civil
rights.
African American
Perspectives
From the Library of Congress, find an African-American timeline and primary
source material relating to Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington,
Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Benjamin W. Arnett, Alexander Crummel, Emanuel Love,
and others.
African
American Odyssey
Also from the Library of Congress, you can examine two exhibits : "African
American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship" and "From Slavery to Freedom:
The African-American Pamphlet Collection, 1824-1909". The primary source
materials are about slavery, African colonization, emancipation, reconstruction,
and related topics. The materials range from personal accounts and public
orations to organizational reports and legislative speeches. Among the
authors represented are Frederick Douglass, Kelly Miller, Charles Sumner,
Mary Church Terrell, and Booker T. Washington.
The
African-American Mosaic : A Library of Congress Resource Guide for the
Study of Black History and Culture
Explore the resources at this Library of Congress site that cover nearly
500 years of the black experience in the western hemisphere and includes
books, periodicals, prints, photographs, music, film, and recorded sound.
Black
History : Exploring African American Issues on the Web
Find hotlists to African-American history sites, a student treasure hunt,
a webquest, and other resources relating to black history.
Stamp
on Black History
Learn about black history via the commemorative stamps that have been
issued.
NAACP
Learn about the NAACP. It was founded in 1909 to safeguard the rights
of African-Americans.
African American
Web Connection
Use this resource to find information about African American history as
well as African American authors, art, and poetry.
Afro America@
Use the "Kid Zone" section of this website to find brain teasers, games,
and African myths and fables.
Black
History Month
Find information in many different areas of African American history.
Even though this CNN site was created for Black History Month of 1999,
it has good information and links.
From
Jim Crow To Linda Brown: A Retrospective of the African-American Experience
from 1897 to 1953
From the Library of Congress, use these two excellent student activities
that incorporate primary source material. Jim
Crow was a term which meant the practice or policy of segregating
or discriminating against African Americans. There were Jim Crow laws
that barred African Americans from many employment opportunities and from public
places such as restaurants, hotels, and even movie theatres. The name,
Jim Crow, is thought to come from a character in a popular minstrel song.
Teacher Resources
Lesson Plans/Webquests
Bibliography
- Chambers, Veronica. The Harlem Renaissance. Philadelphia : Chelsea
House Publishers, c1998.
- Haskins, James. The Harlem Renaissance. Brookfield, Conn. : Millbrook
Press, c1996.
- Palmer, Colin A. The First Passage : Blacks in the Americas, 1520-1617.
New York : Oxford University Press, c1995.
- Patrick, Diane. The New York Public Library Amazing African American
History : A Book of Answers for Kids. New York : Wiley, c1998.
- Russell, Dick. Black Genius : And the American Experience. New York
: Carroll & Graf ; p+sEmeryville, Calif. Distributed by Publishers
Group West, c1998.
- Shnidman, Ellen. The African-American Answer Book. Philadelphia :
Chelsea House Publishers, c1999.
- Tucker, Phillip Thomas. From Auction Block to Glory : The African
American Experience. New York : MetroBooks, c1998.
- White, Deborah G. Let My People Go : African Americans, 1804-1860.
New York : Oxford University Press, c1996.
- Wukovits, John F. The Black Cowboys. Philadelphia : Chelsea House,
1997.
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