Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source Set: African American Soldiers in World War I

For Students 9th - 10th
A collection that uses primary sources to explore the experiences of African American Soldiers in World War I.
Website
Other

California Newsreel: Videos on African American Life

For Students 9th - 10th
This company claims to be the "oldest and most notable non-profit documentary production and distribution center in the nation." It offers a rich collection of videos on all aspects of African American life and history: e.g., Academy...
Website
Library of Congress

Loc: African American Odyssey: Sit Ins, Freedom Rides, and Demonstrations

For Students 9th - 10th
The Civil Rights Era explores African American history in the 1960s, the fight against racial discrimination and segregation, and the search for justice through "freedom rides," boycotts, sit-ins, legislation, and marches.
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Famous African Americans Jackie Robinson

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This passage contains biographical information about the first African American to play in Major League Baseball, Jackie Robinson. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces...
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Famous African Americans Malcolm X

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] Biographical information is contained in this passage regarding the African American activist, Malcom X. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and...
Handout
TexasHistory.com

Texas history.com: African Americans in Uniform on the Texas Frontier

For Students 9th - 10th
Examines the history of the buffalo soldiers in Texas after the Civil War, the obstacles they faced due to racism, and how other African Americans perceived them.
Article
Other

Unc Charlotte: History of Scientific Racism [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
A scholarly article by Anthropology Professor Jonathan Marks on the history of scientific racism. Published in the Encyclopedia of Race and Racism.
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Famous African Americans Oprah Winfrey

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This passage contains biographical informationa about the multi-talented Ophrah Winfrey. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and strategies and...
Handout
Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Texas State Library and Archives Commission: The 1890s: End of an Era and the Quest for Civil Rights

For Students 9th - 10th
Part of an online exhibit called "Forever Free," this section deals with African Americans' efforts to establish themselves in society, despite increases in racism. Addresses topics such as Black Codes, Jim Crow Laws, and voting rights.
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Book Pairings: "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry

For Students 9th - 10th
Selected (7) reading passages (grades 8-10) to pair with the drama "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry. When a struggling African-American family receives a large insurance check, a conflict erupts on how to spend the money....
Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Us History: 1945 1980: The Reemergence of the Kkk

For Students 9th - 10th
Disbanded after Reconstruction, the KKK returned to national prominence in the 1920s to direct its hatred against African Americans, Catholics, Jews, and immigrants.
Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Us History: 1865 1898: Jim Crow

For Students 9th - 10th
After Reconstruction, states in the South passed laws that barred African Americans from voting and segregated schools, restaurants, and public accommodations.
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Famous African Americans Muhammad Ali: The Greatest

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] Biographical information about the famous boxer Muhammad Ali is contained in this passage. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and strategies and...
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Famous African Americans Martin Luther King, Jr.

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This biographical sketch contains information about the Civil Rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and...
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Famous African Americans Marian Anderson

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This passage contains brief biographical information about the famous singer named Marian Anderson. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and strategies...
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Famous African Americans Thurgood Marshall

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This mini-biographical pieces shares information about Thurgood Marshall. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and strategies and establishes...
Unit Plan
Scholastic

Scholastic History Mystery: Roaring '20S: Ossian Sweet

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students try to guess the mystery subject Carlotta Facts, the History Mystery Museum's professor, is studying. They read the clues, do some online and offline research, and then attempt to identify the game's mystery person, Ossian Sweet.
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Book Pairings: "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

For Students 9th - 10th
Maya Angelou recounts her coming of age story as a mature but apprehensive girl in the American South and California during the Jim Crow era. Selected (8) reading passages (grades 7-10) to pair with "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by...
Activity
University of Missouri

Famous Trials: The Sweet Trials

For Students 9th - 10th
The KKK membership was on the rise in Detroit in the 20s. An angry mob gathers at the home of an African-American doctor and shots ring out from the upstairs. Investigate the trial through transcripts and eye witness accounts.
Website
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow: The Atlanta Compromise Speech (1895)

For Students 9th - 10th
Find out how Booker T. Washington tried to allay the fears of white Southerners in his speech in Atlanta in September, 1895. Although hailed as a new era in which blacks would give up their civil and political rights and in return get...
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Breaking Barriers: Critical Discussion of Social Issues

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Through a series of picture book read-alouds and journal entries, students engage in critical discussion of complex issues of race, class, and gender.
Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Fisk Jubilee Singers

For Students 9th - 10th
In this interesting encyclopedia article, you can read about the beginning of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, a gospel group which performed spirituals all over the country and the world.
Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source Set: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

For Students 9th - 10th
This collection uses primary sources to explore Invisible Man written by Ralph Ellison.
Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source Set: Blackface Minstrelsy in Modern America

For Students 9th - 10th
This collection uses primary sources to explore blackface minstrelsy in modern America.