Library of Congress
After Reconstruction: Problems of African Americans in the South
Lynchings, race riots, and Jim Crow laws were just a few examples of antagonism that African Americans faced after Emancipation. Class groups investigate these and other events, and prepare a presentation to inform the class about...
Center for History Education
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper: 19th Century African-American Writer and Reformer
Although some African American abolitionists—such as Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass—are well known, others, like Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, remain in the shadows of history. Harper was a poet and activist who played an...
Curated OER
Literature and Art Through Our Eyes: African-American Artists
Examine the contributions of African-Americans in the worlds of art and literature. Over the course of a few days, young scholars will read and analyze a poem, a short story, and a piece of art. They complete a range of...
Curated OER
African Americans After the Civil War
Young historians learn what life was like in the South during the Reconstruction era. They complete hands-on-activities and participate in group discussion to understand how experiences varied between African Americans and white...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
An African American Represents Alabama during Reconstruction
The era after the Civil War saw a flourishing of African Americans exercising their rights. Using graphic organizers and Internet research, pupils consider the legacy of Benjamin Sterling Turner, who sat in Congress. Afterward, they...
National Woman's History Museum
African American Activists
Ida B. Wells, Rosa Parks, and Fannie Lour Hammer are three African American activists who stood up for change. Though living in different time periods, all three women sought justice and equality. Class members examine primary source...
Carolina K-12
African Americans and the Vietnam War
No need to look any further. This resource has everything for a solid exploration of the role of African Americans in the Vietnam War. Class members read primary sources, including a Martin Luther King speech, political cartoons of the...
Curated OER
African Americans in the Civil War
Students examine the contributions of African American soldiers during the Civil War. In pairs, they complete Civil War timeline worksheets. They use character cards to assume the identities of African Americans and determine whether or...
Lesson Planet
Black History Month: Celebrating Diversity and Progress
Black History Month is a time to recognize the achievements of our civil rights heroes while looking toward the future with a vision of equality for all.
American Institute of Physics
The Physicist's War: Dr. Herman Branson and the Scientific Training of African Americans during World War II
The mobilization of soldiers for World War II resulted in a worker shortage in the defense industries, especially in the fields of physics and other sciences. The Engineering, Science, and Management War Training program (ESMWT) was...
American Institute of Physics
African American Physicists in the 1960s
Physicists Herman Branson and Tannie Stovall provide young scholars with two very different perceptions of the status of African American physicists in the 1960s. After reading and comparing the bios of these two men, class members read...
Curated OER
African American Art in the Twentieth Century
Students create a poster and paper describing the importance of African American History Week after a visit to the Phillips Collection in Washington DC.
Curated OER
After Reconstruction: Problems of African Americans in the South
Students describe issues or problems facing African Americans following Reconstruction. They explain possible solutions to these problems suggested in the sources found and cite arguments for and against those solutions. Analyze primary...
Curated OER
African-American Soldiers in World War I: The 92nd and 93rd Divisions
Students research the role played and contributions made by African American soldiers during World War I. They discuss the evolution of civil rights in America's history, and the progress that has been made in the last 100 years.
Smithsonian Institution
Art to Zoo: Life in the Promised Land: African-American Migrants in Northern Cities, 1916-1940
This is a fantastic resource designed for learners to envision what it was like for the three million African-Americans who migrated to urban industrial centers of the northern United States between 1910 and 1940. After reading a...
American Institute of Physics
African American Inventors in History
A two-part lesson plan introduces young historians to the work of famous African American inventors. Groups first research and develop a presentation of an inventor that includes biographical information and information about one of...
K12 Reader
African American Inventors: Lewis Latimer
Celebrate Black History Month getting to know more about Lewis Latimer. Here, scholars read about his life and success, then apply their new-found knowledge by responding to questions about the text with short answers.
US House of Representatives
Black Americans in Congress Speak Their Mind
To conclude their study of Black Americans in Congress, groups select a statement made by one of the Members, examine the Member's profile on the provided link, and create a display that includes state represented, years of service, an...
Curated OER
Enslaved African Americans and Expressions of Freedom
High schoolers analyze a painting from African-American culture to determine its meaning. Reading slave spirituals, they discover what live was like for African-Americans who were enslaved in the South. They draw conclusions about their...
Curated OER
Migration of the African American Family
Learners investigate the influence Africa has had on African-American families as they have migrated from Africa to various sections of the United States. They utilize map skills to locate regions in Africa and in the United States.
K12 Reader
African American Freedom Fighters Word Search
An informative word search includes the names of six famous African American civil rights leaders. The list includes Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King, Jr., Harriet Tubman, and Frederick Douglass.
Curated OER
African Americans in California’s Heartland – The Civil Rights Era
Events related to the Civil Rights Movement in Sacramento, California during the 1960s offer class members an opportunity to compare the nonviolent resistance approach favored by Dr. Martin Luther King and the NAACP with those of the...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Music of African American History
High schoolers examine role spirituals have played in African American history and religion, examine Harriet Tubman's use of spirituals in her work, explore power of spirituals in Civil Rights Movement, and work with oral tradition,...
Center for History Education
Fighting for Whose Freedom? Black Soldiers in the American Revolution
Fight for freedom! The lesson delves into the world of African American soldiers during the American Revolution. Scholars read documents, such as the Dunmore Proclamation, to understand how the British government treated African...