African-American History Subject Guide - University Libraries, University of Hartford
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    African-American History - Subject Guide

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    Sections in this category: General Resources | Biographies | Encyclopedias

    General Resources

    African American Almanac
    Provides a range of historical and current information on African American history, society and culture

    African American Architects: a Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945
    Mortensen Library Reference NA736 .A47 2004 Check Status

    Black firsts 4,000 ground-breaking and pioneering historical events
    African American achievements.

    Harlem Renaissance
    This authoritative resource presents the people, places and times that defined an era and documents the launch of cultural development among African Americans in 1920s Harlem.

    Ripples of Hope: Great American Civil Rights Speeches
    Indispensable compilation of the words that have changed American history.


    Biographies

    African-American Writers: A Dictionary
    African American Writers examines a multitude of black cultural leaders from the 18th century to the present.


    Encyclopedias

    Africa and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History
    Explores the many long-standing influences of Africa and people of African descent on the culture of the Americas

    Encyclopedia of African-American Writing Five Centuries of Contribution : Trials
    Covers the role and influence of African-American cultural leaders, from all walks of life, from the 17th century to the present.

    Slavery in the United States a Social, Political, and Historical Encyclopedia
    A comprehensive, contextual presentation of all aspects—social, political, and economic—of slavery in the United States, from the first colonization through Reconstruction.


    Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present
    Provides biographical information on the more than 13,000 persons who have served in the United States Congress, including those who served in the Continental Congress.

    Essay & General Literature Index with Retrospective
    Years Covered: 1900-
    Essay & General Literature offers access to tens of thousands of essays that are otherwise all but inaccessible. This resource also unlocks a wealth of information in thousands of collections and anthologies, making your library more valuable to researchers in a wide array of fields.

    Founders Early Access
    The Rotunda Founders Early Access project makes available thousands of unpublished documents from our nation’s founders in a free online resource.

    Google Scholar
    Search for scholarly literature across disciplines and sources. Includes peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, etc. Particularly strong in sciences and social sciences. Selected full text. Many links are to publisher's sites which sell access. ON Campus - links to U of H holdings are available. OFF Campus - U of H users should check our holdings and use Interlibrary Services as needed.

    Historical Hartford Courant
    Fully searchable images of America's oldest continuously published newspaper, covering 1764 through 1922. Use ProQuest Newspapers for current (1992- ). No coverage is available between 1923 and 1991. Made available by iCONN.org, the Connecticut Digital Library. Full text available.

    Historical New York Times
    Full images of the complete New York Times from 1851 to 2002. Search by keyword, by date, etc. Images of specific articles or full pages available..

    History Cooperative
    Searchable full text of 16 scholarly journals in American history.

    National Portrait Gallery Portrait Search
    survey of American portraits in public and private collections across the United States and abroad. The CAP encompasses portraits of American subjects or by American artists, generally limited to one-of-a-kind likenesses such as paintings, sculpture, drawings, miniatures, and silhouettes.

    ProQuest Newspapers
    Search the text of major newspapers including the Boston Globe (1980- ), Christian Science Monitor (1990- ), Hartford Courant (1992- ), Los Angeles Times (1985- ), New York Times (1999- ), including the Book Review and Magazine), Wall Street Journal Eastern Edition (1984- ), and Washington Post (1987- ). Full text available.

    ProQuest Newspapers
    Search the text of major newspapers including the Boston Globe (1980- ), Christian Science Monitor (1990- ), Hartford Courant (1992- ), Los Angeles Times (1985- ), New York Times (1999- ), including the Book Review and Magazine), Wall Street Journal Eastern Edition (1984- ), and Washington Post (1987- ). Full text available.

    ProQuest Social Science Journals
    ProQuest Social Science Journals is a definitive resource for those who need access to a variety of social science journals. The database includes over 530 titles, with more than 300 available in full text.

    World Digital Library (WDL)
    The World Digital Library (WDL) makes available on the Internet, free of charge and in multilingual format, digital images of significant primary materials from countries and cultures around the world.


    African American Odyssey (Library of Congress)
    Superb overview of African American history with maps, photographs, and images of primary source documents.

    African-American Sheet Music, 1850 -1920
    This collection (searchable by subject, composer, publisher, illustrator, and title) provides access to digital images of 1,305 pieces of sheet music at Brown University dating from 1850 through 1920.

    AFROameric@: The Afro-American Newspapers Homepage
    Features weekly news updates, news archives, cultural and historical information of interest to the African-American community. Excellent links section with Real Audio for music and speeches.

    American Memory Project (Library of Congress)
    Superb collection of American historical links, plus prints, photographic images, and other excellent graphics.

    Archives of American Art (Smithsonian Institution)
    A repository of primary materials: letters, diaries, scrapbooks, catalogues,documentation of all kinds. Helpful "How to" box at the top of the screen to allow to search, question, etc.

    Been Here So Long - Selections from the WPA American Slave Narratives
    Selection of slave narratives collected by the Works Progress Administration during the 1930s available in print format and sound files.

    Black Film Center/Archive: Internet Resources
    Links to sites dealing with African-Americans behind the camera, as well as in front of it.

    The Black Press: Soldiers without Swords
    Companion to a PBS film. Includes historical information on Black newspapers, biographies of Black journalists, a timeline, and links to more sources.

    Civil Rights Oral History Bibliography (University of Southern Mississippi)
    Extensive interviews with civil rights organizers and others involved in The Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi with additional supporting links.

    Docs Teach
    An excellent Teaching Resource for History and the Social Sciences. Has ideas on lesson plans incorporating primary sources as well as links to many National Archives primary sources.

    Exploring Amistad (Mystic Seaport Museum)
    Well-produced web resource on the Amistad Trial, with links to court records, historic maps, timelines, and graphic images.

    From Slavery to Freedom: The African-American Pamphlet Collection, 1824-1909 (Library of Congress)
    American Memory Project site from the Library of Congress providing digital documents relating to slavery, Emancipation, and Reconstruction.

    A Guide to Harlem Renaissance Material
    Library of Congress resources on African-American expressions of writing, music and art during the 1920s and 1930s. Links to external Web sites on the subject and bibliography.

    Historical Text Archive: African American History (Mississippi State University)
    Links to archival materials and primary documents relating to the African American experience.

    Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia
    The mission of the museum is to "promote racial tolerance by helping people understand the historical and contemporary expressions of intolerance".

    John Henrik Clarke Africana Library (Cornell University)
    Provides excellent links to African American historical sites, electronic journals, political, and cultural resources.

    Repositories of Primary Resources
    A listing of over 5000 websites describing holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary sources for the research scholar.

    Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (New York Public Library)
    Developing website with excellent links to African and African-American cultural and historical resources including online exhibitions and online multimedia samplers.

    This Far by Faith: African-American Spiritual Journeys
    Companion site to a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) series that "examines the African-American religious experience through the last three centuries. ... [it] explores the connections between faith and the development of African-American cultural values." Features essays, a timeline, profiles, audio and video clips, show transcripts, and related links.

    The Underground Railroad
    With a time line, classroom ideas, and links to other resources, this website explores the options for slaves in America - taking the chance for freedom on the Underground Railroad or staying on the plantation.

    W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African-American Research (Harvard University)
    Research projects, events, and publications related to the study of the history, culture, and social institutions of African Americans.

    We Shall Overcome: Historic Places of the Civil Rights Movement (National Park Service)
    Detailed resource which chronicles the Civil Rights Movement through lists of historic sites.