Read Works
Read Works: Walking Tall
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about Ruby Bridges and her experience as the first African American to attend an all-white elementary school. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading...
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Thurgood Marshall
The first African-American on the U.S. Supreme Court as a pioneer for equal rights. Learn more about Thurgood Marshall on this Library of Congress site.
NPR: National Public Radio
Npr: Ghana Celebrates 50 Years as Independent Nation
In this article and the accompanying radio broadcasts, Ghana reflects back on its accomplishments in the fifty years since it became independent of colonial rule. It was the first African nation south of the Sahara to do so. [March 7, 2007]
Library of Congress
Loc: Historic Baseball Resources: Personalities: Jackie Robinson
Biographical sketch of baseball great Jackie Robinson, who was the first African American to play baseball in the major leagues.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Legends of Tuskegee
Exhibit documents the history and achievements of three key constituents of Tuskegee University: Booker T. Washington, who founded the university; the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American flying squadron who trained there during...
National Women’s History Museum
National Women's History Museum: Phillis Wheatley
Despite spending much of her life enslaved, Phillis Wheatley was the first African American woman to publish a book of poems.
Curated OER
Real African American Heroes: Guion S. Bluford, Jr.
This site provides the resume and a picture of Guion S. Bluford, Jr., America's first NASA African-American astronaut in space.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: African Americans in the British New World: The Growth of Slavery
Africans first arrived in Jamestown as indentured servants, but soon the appeal of having laborers that were not free after seven years caught on. See how the use of slaves grew in the Southern colonies, the economies of which were based...
Countries and Their Cultures
Countries and Their Cultures: Introduction to Africa
This introduction provides some basic information as background for the detailed accounts of the particular cultures that follow. The cultures have been selected to represent Africa, in the sense that they include the larger and...
Other
Hall of Fame Biographies: John Maxwell (Michael) Coetzee
A brief biography of John Maxwell Coetzee, a professor and famous author from Africa. Read about his accomplishments which led him to be the first to win two Booker Awards.
Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery: Daguerreotypes by Augustus Washington
Augustus Washington, son of a former slave, learned to make daguerreotypes in 1843 to offset his college expenses, during his freshman year at Dartmouth College. Biographical notes and details about his work are provided in an annotated...
Other
Hall of Fame Biographies: Christian Neethling Barnard
A concise biography of Christiaan Barnard (1922-2001), the famous surgeon who did the first heart transplant. Learn about his early life, education, and his learning process of performing heart transplants.
Other
Black Inventors Online Museum: Benjamin Banneker
Use this site to learn about Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806 CE), an African American that created the first clock built in the United States and was known as our first great Black Inventor.
Internet History Sourcebooks Project
Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook: How I Found Livingstone, 1871
This site from the Fordham University provides a primary account of Sir Henry Morton Stanley's first meeting with Dr. Livingstone.
Georgia Humanities Council and the University of Georgia Press.
New Georgia Encyclopedia: Fletcher Henderson 1897 1952
Uncover biographical facts about African American jazz musician, Fletcher Henderson, who formed the first big band orchestra in the early 1920s.
My Hero Project
My Hero: Wilma Rudolph
Track star Wilma Rudolph overcame several childhood illness to become, in 1960, the first American woman to win 3 Olympic gold medals. Use this resource to learn more about the awards and recognition this amazing athlete earned.
National Museums Liverpool
International Slavery Museum: Slaves' Stories
An intriguing resource that gives first hand accounts of four Africans being taken from their homes and forced into slavery. Click on the pictures of the people to read their unbelievable stories and see artifacts about slavery.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: Historian's Perspective: Winning the Vote: History of Voting Rights
[Free Registration/Login Required] Historian-authored three-part overview looks at the history of voting rights in America, touching on all the critical moments in American history when voting rights were first denied then granted to...
PBS
Pbs News Hour: Interview With Secretary of State Rice
An interview conducted by Jim Lehrer. Topics included "Syria's presence in Lebanon, diplomatic efforts to end Iran's nuclear aspirations, the U.S. relationship with Europe, and her first months as America's top diplomat."
Other
Museum of Afro American History: The Abiel Smith School, 1835 1855
A slide presentation which explores the origins and history of the first school building built to educate African American children in Boston.
Other
Amistad Digital Resource: The Great Migration
Read about the reasons for the Great Migration of African Americans from the Deep Sourth to northern cities in the first few decades of the 20th century. After the Great Depression, the migration numbers increased again. Find out what...
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: "By the Bayou St. John" by Alice Dunbar
This is the full text of the short story "By the Bayou St. John" by Alice Dunbar, an African American poet, journalist and political activist. Among the first generation born free in the South after the Civil War.
Read Works
Read Works: The Struggle for Equality
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about heroic African Americans including Rosa Parks, Langston Hughes, Thurgood Marshall, Jackie Robinson, and Barbara Jordan. A question sheet is available to help students build...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Women in Africa: Tradition and Change
In this lesson plan, students will consider Women in Africa: Tradition and Change. Worksheets and other supporting materials can be found under the Resources tab. Students first examine a selection of traditional African artworks that...