Guides: Ethnic Studies: African American Studies

What's on this Page?

Here you will find resources specific to African American Studies.
Consult the other pages in the menu (e.g., Articles, Books) for important databases, catalogs, and reference sources of broader scope that include material relevant to African American Studies.

African American Newspapers

African American Newspapers: The 19th Century
Full-text newspapers articles from: The Canadian Observer, The Christian Recorder, The Colored American, Douglass Monthly, Frederick Douglass' Paper, Freedom’s Journal, The Freedmen’s Record and Freedmen’s Journal, The National Era, The Negro Business League Herald, The North Star, Provincial Freeman, Weekly Advocate
Black Newspapers (ProQuest)
Search the digital full-text editions of the Chicago Defender (1910-1975), the Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2002), and the Atlanta Daily World (1931-2003).

Additional Sources: Newspapers
For historical newspapers, see Primary Sources. For current newspapers, see the Newspapers section under Articles.

Primary Sources for African American Studies

African American Newspapers: The 19th Century
Full-text newspapers articles from: The Canadian Observer, The Christian Recorder, The Colored American, Douglass Monthly, Frederick Douglass' Paper, Freedom’s Journal, The Freedmen’s Record and Freedmen’s Journal, The National Era, The Negro Business League Herald, The North Star, Provincial Freeman, Weekly Advocate
Fannie Lou Hamer: Papers of a Civil Rights Activist, Political Activist, and Woman
Fannie Lou Hamer was a voting rights activist and civil rights leader. She was instrumental in organizing Mississippi Freedom Summer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and later became the Vice-Chair of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
Federal Surveillance of African Americans, 1920-1984
Primary source FBI documents about African American individuals and organizations between 1920-1984.
Slavery, Abolition and Social Justice, 1490-2007
A research database from Adam Matthew with original material from 30 libraries and archives including the British Library, Duke University, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, NYPL. Close attention has been given to the varieties of slavery, the legacy of slavery, the social justice perspective and the continued existence of slavery today.
We Were Prepared for the Possibility of Death: Freedom Riders in the South, 1961
Freedom Riders were civil rights activists that rode interstate buses into the segregated South to test the United States Supreme Court decision in Boynton v. Virginia. Boynton had outlawed racial segregation in the restaurants and waiting rooms in terminals serving buses that crossed state lines.

Additional Sources: Primary
See the Primary Sources tab for more options.

Reference Sources for African American Studies

African American Biographies: Profiles of 909 Current Men and Women
Over 900 short biographies of contemporary politicians, activists, educators, scientists, and more.
eBook
Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia
Print Reference: E185.86 .B542 1993
Encyclopedia of African American History
Coverage: 1896 to the present.
Print Reference: E185 .E5453 2009
Encyclopedia of African American Religions
Biographies of African American religious leaders and articles on African American denominations, religious organizations, and topics. Online.
Encyclopedia of African-American Civil Rights
Covers emancipation to the 1990s.
Print Reference: E185.61 .E54 1992
Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History
A five-volume set and supplement covering all aspects of the African-American experience from 1619 to the present day. Using biographies, historical essays, and thematic pieces.
Online encyclopedia

Gale Virtual Reference Library
A collection of subject-specific encyclopedias, including African American Eras, African American Literature, African American Writers, African Americans in Sports, The African-American Years, The African American Almanac, and more.

Additional Sources: Reference
See the Reference Sources tab for more options.

Music & DVD

American Music (North America)
Online audio recordings including jazz, blues, gospel, and R&B.

More
See the More tab for additional resources.

Academic Video Online
Over 80,000 video titles spanning a wide range of subject areas including anthropology, business, counseling, film, health, history, music, and more.

African American Resources on the Web

African American Odyssey
Library of Congress digital collections including The Frederick Douglass Papers, Jackie Robinson, Born in Slavery, From Slavery to Freedom, and Slaves and the Courts.
Digital Schomburg
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture located in Harlem, New York is a research unit of The New York Public Library system. It is recognized as one of the leading institutions focusing exclusively on African-American, African Diaspora, and African experiences.
National Archives: African American Research
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the nation's record keeper. Explore research resources, online collections, and more.

Browse Books

Twilight: Los Angeles by Anna Deavere Smith
Call Number: PS3569.M465 T95 1994
Words of Fire : An Anthology of African-American Feminist Thought
Call Number: E185.86 .W897 1995
Between Barack and a Hard Place by Tim Wise
Call Number: ebook or print: E184.A1 W57 2009
Critical Race Theory
Call Number: ebook
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
Call Number: PS3562.O75 S5 1984
Black Skin, White Masks by Frantz Fanon
Frederick Douglass - Autobiographies
Call Number: E449 .D749 1994
African American Literary Theory
Call Number: PS153.N5 A335 2000