University of Pittsburgh
Center for American Music: Minstrelsy
This site explains the origin of the minstrel show and how it evolved over the decades.
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech: A Multicultural Literature Bibliography
A list that provides either the teacher or the student with a list of books that gives a representation of the multicultural society that exists in the United States. A brief synopsis of each book is given along with a suggestion for the...
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech: At Home With Multicultural Adolescent Literature
List of "Must read," multicultural literature for the adolescent reader. The books are categorized by the culture that they represent and by reading level. An excellent resource for teachers and students alike.
History Link
Bertha Pitts Campbell: An Oral History
From the Washington State Oral History Project comes this captivating interview with Bertha Pitts Campbell, an African American woman and early Seattle civil rights worker. Campbell talks about the discrimination and segregation she...
Other
African American Inventors and Inventions: Elijah Mc Coy the Real Mc Coy
A brief biography of Elijah McCoy and a description of one of his inventions that made factory machinery run smoothly.
NPR: National Public Radio
Npr: Crafting a Voice for Black Culture
NPR's Vertamae Grosvenor interviews Alice Walker about her connection to Zora Neale Hurston. Walker talks about how Hurston inspired her writing, even though the two writers never met. The site also contains audio of Walker reading her...
Digital History
Digital History: The State of Black America in 1960
A brief description of the cultural environment for Black Americans in the 1960's.
Read Works
Read Works: Famous African Americans Duke Ellington
[Free Registration/Login Required] This passage contains biographical information about the famous jazz composter, Duke Ellington. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and strategies and...
A to Z Teacher Stuff
A to Z Teacher Stuff: Black History
A to Z Teacher Stuff provides lesson plans that specifically target the accomplishments of African-Americans or the African-American culture.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Becoming Visible: Saul Bellow
Jewish American author Saul Bellow is featured in this biography identifying his literary contributions and his manner of drawing on the weaknesses of humanity. See "Saul Bellow Activities" for related materials.
PBS
Pbs: The Blues Classroom
Access the educational resources developed by a Seattle-based museum to supplement the PBS documentary series "The Blues." Includes background essays on the blues; biographies, video clips, and sound clips from the series; a blues...
Other
African Australian Online Resource
This site offers dozens of reviews of African recordings, new and re-released. Well-known musicians Zap Mama and Femi Kuti, as well as up and coming ones, are reviewed. Links to individual Web sites and audio files are also featured here.
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Great War & Jazz Age (1914 1928)
This Library of Congress time-line series surveys World War I and the Jazz Age. When World War I broke out in Europe, many changes were going on in the United States. Women were voting for the first time and African-American culture was...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Guide to Black History: Harlem Renaissance
Extensive information about the Harlem Renaissance, a period of time considered to be the cultural awakening of African Americans. Included are sections on poetry, fiction, and drama, as well as the legacy of this movement.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Racial Uplift Ideology in the Era of "The Negro Problem"
History professor Kevin Gaines explores the idea that educated blacks are responsible for the welfare of the majority of the race and how the uplift ideology undermined collective social advancement.
Other
Why Christmas: Christmas Traditions and Customs: Kwanzaa
Learn all about the holiday of Kwanzaa which celebrates African and African-American culture and history each December.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Assimilation and the Crucible of the City: Reading Guide: Two Stories
An excerpt from Abraham Cahan's novel, "Yekl: A Tale of the New York Ghetto," and Charles Chesnutt's short story, "The Wife of His Youth," that describe challenges of assimilation into American culture for both European immigrants and...
Varsity Tutors
Varsity Tutors: Web English Teacher: Zora Neale Hurston
This site provides information and activities focused around Zora Neale Hurston's life and work. Check out this site featuring links to several sites focused on Hurston's work.
Oklahoma State University
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture: All Black Towns
Read about the all-black towns that were settled in Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory in the mid-19th century.
American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History: African Ethnography
The Anthropology Division's African collection is extensive in terms of geographic coverage. It includes North Africa, West Africa, and Madagascar, although its greatest concentration of material is from central and southern Africa. The...
abcteach
Abcteach: Kwanzaa
[Free Registration/Login Required] This site features a worksheet focused on the seven Kwanzaa principles.
Other
African American Registry: The Cakewalk, a Black Expression Through Dance
This resource presents an article on the Cakewalk, a popular dance in the early 1900s that originated with black slaves impersonating their masters.
Library of Congress
Loc: Ragtime
Includes background essays, artist biographies, sheet music, video, and audio resources about ragtime.
Other
Rhapsodies in Black: Art of the Harlem Renaissance
An online exhibit of representative art from the Harlem Renaissance.