PBS
Africans in America: Frontispiece of Equiano's Autobiography
At this website, see a photo of the frontipiece from Olaudah Equiano's autobiography, "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African." This book was a best seller.
PBS
Africans in America: Map of the British Colonies
Map of British Colonies and information from PBS on slavery from about 1600 to 1750. Some timelining of African American's lives in the New World.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: A New African American Culture
All immigrants to America bring a part of their homeland with them. The same was true of slaves. See how vocabulary, arts, and music were knit into American culture.
Read Works
Read Works: Passages: Olaudah Equiano
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read information about and an excerpt from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa as well as "African Migration to Colonial America" and answer paired text...
OpenStax
Open Stax: Urbanization 1870 1900: Great Migration and New European Immigration
What caused the influx of African Americans and European immigrants into urban centers in the late 19th century? Learn about some of the discriminatory and anti-immigrant laws that were enacted to restrict their rights. Includes a chart...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: Lives on the Railroad: Salisbury, North Carolina 1927
Replica of the Salisbury, North Carolina railway station teaches about riding and working on the railroad in the 1920s when railroads were a central part of American life. Railroad lines crisscrossed the country. They carried people,...
Varsity Tutors
Varsity Tutors: Web English Teacher: Langston Hughes
This resource focuses on the works of famous African-American author, Langston Hughes.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Becoming Visible: James Baldwin
James Baldwin is presented in this biography as a great African American contributor to the literary world during the civil rights movement. See "James Baldwin Activities" for more information.
PBS
Pbs American Masters: Scientific American: Following Muddy's Trail
This site has a lesson plan on Muddy Waters focused on the American Masters documentary about him. Parallels the Great Migration with the growth of the blues music movement in America. Click on Muddy's name to access a detailed biography...
US National Archives
Portrait of Black Chicago: John H. White
From June through October 1973 and briefly during the spring of 1974, John H. White worked for the federal government photographing Chicago, especially the city`s African American community. His photographs portray the difficult...
Other
Amistad Digital Resource: Harlem Renaissance
Read about the Harlem Renaissance, the 1920s rebirth of African American arts centered in the Harlem neighborhood in New York City.
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg: Colonial African American Life
Provides a few statistics on slaves in Maryland and Virginia and then contrasts the lives of field hand vs household or urban slaves.
Other
Amistad Digital Resource: End of World War Two
Narrative explores the role of African Americans after World War II ended and the state of the civil rights movement from the 1940s to the early 1050s.
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg: The Two Williamsburgs
This lesson plan on daily life in Colonial Williamsburg challenges students to compare and contrast the lives of the African and European populations.
Columbia University
Columbia University: The Unfinished Dialogue of m.l. King, Jr. & Malcolm X [Pdf]
A scholarly article examining the issue of whether Malcolm X and Dr. King could have ever reconciled their different visions of Black America.
Other
African Postcolonial Literature in English: Achebe's Fiction
A short synopsis on Achebe's use of language to combat politics in Africa. With a quote from his essay "The Novelist as Teacher."
PBS
Pbs Africans in America: "The Bloody Massacre"
From the PBS series "Africans in America," this site explores Paul Revere's engraving of the Boston Massacre. The article discusses its use as propaganda, as well as what the engraving actually depicts.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: Post Civil War America
[Free Registration/Login Required] "A variety of materials demonstrates the rise and fall of civil rights for African Americans during the latter half of the nineteenth century, including constitutional amendments, sharecropper...
PBS
Africans in America: Revolution: 1750 1805
Part of a detailed PBS site which describes "the history of racial slavery in the United States, this section focuses on slavery from 1750-1805.
PBS
Africans in America: Revolution: Agrippa Hull, 1759 1838
A brief look at Agrippa Hull, a free black who served as an orderly to officers in the Continental Army. From PBS.
PBS
Pbs: Cet: Africans in America: The Underground Railroad
This PBS site provides a general history of the Underground Railroad, including a focus on notable participants or "conductors." Click on Teacher's Guide for teacher resources.
PBS
Pbs: Cet: Africans in America: The Threat of Fasting During the Middle Passage
Description of how slaves tried to starve themselves to death on slave ships as a form of resistance, and how the slave traders forced them to eat so they would not lose money. Click on Teacher's Guide for teaching resources.
PBS
Pbs: Cet: Africans in America: The Stono Rebellion
The Stono Rebellion and its impact is described in this informative essay. Hyperlinks to more discussion of this event. Teacher's Guide offers teacher resources.
PBS
Pbs: Africans in America: The Slave Chain
A close up picture providing an example of what a slave chain looks like. Click on Teacher's Guide for teacher resources.