PBS
Democracy in Action: Freedom Riders
This is a must-have resource for every social studies teacher covering the civil rights movement. Through an engaging video and detailed viewing guide, young historians learn about the Freedom Riders, and discover how everyday...
Middle Tennessee State University
Fights, Freedom, and Fraud: Voting Rights in the Reconstruction Era
As part of a study of post Civil War era, young historians investigate the changes in voting rights during the Reconstruction Era (1863-1876), the fraud involved in the Hayes-Tilden presidential election of 1876, and efforts by Pap...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Artists, Making of African American Identity: V. 1
The artwork of four nineteenth-century free blacks expressed in portraits, landscapes, sculpture, and photography. Links to works from Joshua Johnson, Robert Scott Duncanson, Edmonia Lewis, and Augustus Washington are provided.
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Forever Free: The 1870s: Education
Read about the development of free education for African Americans following the emancipation of this enslaved population. This article focuses on schools in Texas, including what is now known as Texas A&M University. Includes a...
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Forever Free: 19th Century African American Legislators: 1880s Repression
This several page article recounts the black legislators in the Texas Congress and their attempts to address many issues affecting the African Americans in the state. Read about the Ku Klux Klan, convict leases, and segregation on railroads
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Forever Free: The 1870s: Matthew Gaines
Read about Matthew Gaines, an African American state senator from Texas during Reconstruction. Learn about where he stood on issues such as integrated education and taxation of specific groups, and why he was removed from office.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Mutual Benefit, Making of African American Identity: V. 1
Four documents establishing black mutual assistance and self-help organizations from the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries. A link to each document is provided.
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Forever Free: The 1860s: George T. Ruby
Read about George T. Ruby, an African American politician from Texas during Reconstruction.
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Forever Free: The 1870s: Representation
Read about the political climate in 1870s Texas and two governors elected during this time, Republican Edmund J. Davis and Democrat Richard Coke. Focuses primarily on how African Americans were affected by the leadership of each governor.
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: The 1890s: End of an Era and the Quest for Civil Rights
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.
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...
Black Past
Black Past: Forten, James (1766 1842)
An encyclopedia article about James Forten, a free black man, who fought in the Revolutionary War, and later became a supporter of abolition and suffrage.
Other
Augustine.com: Black History in St. Augustine: Fort Mose
The first sanctioned free black town was Fort Mose located near what is now St. Augustine, Florida. Learn about its rich historical background as a slave sanctuary and battleground.
Black Past
Black Past: Whipper, William
A brief encyclopedia article about William Whipper, businessman and abolitionist.
Other
Mississippi Writers' Page: Ida B. Wells Barnett
The University of Mississippi offers a detailed biography of Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1931) the famous freedom fighter is offered at this site. It includes an extensive bibliography of her works, and works about her, as well as some...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Archie Shepp
Learn about the life of Archie Shepp, African American tenor saxophonist, composer, dramatist, teacher, and pioneer of the free jazz movement.
Ohio History Central
Ohio History Central: Radical Republicans
A good description of the beginnings of the Republican Party before the Civil War, and the transformation to Radical Republicanism during Reconstruction as they attempted to guarantee equal rights for African Americans. Information is...
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Forever Free: The 1860s: The 1858 69 Constututional Convention
With the freeing of slaves following the Emancipation Proclamation, African-Americans, including former slaves, began to take part in the government. Read about African-American Charles W. Bryant, Constitutional Convention delegate, and...
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Forever Free: The 1870s: The Constitutional Convention of 1875
A Constitutional Convention was held in Texas in 1875 as a reaction to Reconstruction. See how the gains made by the Republican Party, which included African American legislators, were negated by the Democratic Party when it gained control.
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Juneteenth Celebration
This resource is a brief article about Juneteenth, or Emancipation Day, which celebrates the day when Union soldiers arrived in Texas and spread the word that slaves were free.
Civil War Home
Home of the American Civil War: Robert Gould Shaw
A brief description of the life and death of Robert Shaw and his involvement with the black regiment, the 54th Massachusetts. From "Who Was Who In the Civil War" by Stewart Sifakis.
Black Past
Black Past: Poor, Salem (1747 1780)
Read this encyclopedia entry that recounts the participation of Salem Poor, a freed black man, who served in the Revolutionary War.
Black Past
Black Past: Fisk Jubilee Singers
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.
Black Past
Black Past: Abele, Julian F.
Julian Abele, the most successful black architect of his time, is described in this encyclopedia article. There are links to websites that show his designs.