Black History Month: Resources on the web
Primary Source Collections
Primary sources are original historical materials created at the time of an historical event. It's also sometimes called archival materials or original documents. These websites provide digitized copies of primary sources that have to do with African American history.
Historic Films
All-American News. A series of newsreels created for African-American viewers, originally to support the war effort in World War II, although the series continued into the 1950s. Newsreels were short programs, 5-10 minutes that were shown in movie theaters before the main movie. Before television, they allowed audiences to 'see' the stories of the day, not just to read about them. This set is part of the collection of the Library of Congress.
Podcasts
Portland's Response to the Death of Rickie Johnson. In 1975, a Portland Police Office posing as a Taxicab driver shot and killed Rickie Johnson, an African-American High School student. A series of protests resulted. PSU Graduate student Katie Nelson created this podcast for PSU's "Beyond Footnotes" series.
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman: Talk of the Nation, NPR, February 17, 2004
Join NPR's Neal Conan and guests in exploring the life of the leader of the underground railroad. Below is the earliest known photograph of Tubman, taken about 1868, shortly after her leadership on the Underground Railroad. It is part of the collection of the Library of Congress.
Black Past
Black Past, an online reference center maintained by the University of Washington, contains a wealth of materials on African American history.
An appeal of a colored man, to his fellow-citizens of a fairer hue. Written by Samuel Harrison and published sometimes in the early 1920s, this is a scan of that book. (44 Pages.) It is basically an appeal for fair treatment. Page 13: "The interest of the one race, if I may so speak, is the interest of the other. We are of one language, and the same system of laws are essential to govern both. When justice is practiced toward us, there is no need of special legislation for our race."
History of Jim Crow
The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow A support site for the PBS series of the same name. An interactive timeline, personal stories, videos and more are found here.
African American Migration
The Schomburg Research Center presents thousands of pages of texts and illustrations of "thirteen defining migrations that formed and transformed African America."
Africans in America
Africans in America: PBS/WGHB presents America's journey though slavery with images, documents, biographies, and commentaries.
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Housed in the Harlem Branch of the New York Public Library, the digital collection is large and far-ranging. It is based on the private collection of Arturo Schomburg, this collection is one of the world's best on African-American experiences.
These resources include “Online Exhibitions,” “Books,” “Images & Illustrations,” “Africana Heritage Newsletters,” “Audio/Visual Resources,” and “Selected Resources.” “Books” features more than 400 digitized titles, including 41 books from the African American Women Writers of the 19th Century collection. “Images & Illustrations” offers 500 images of African Americans from the 19th century and more than 11,000 images of Africa and the African Diaspora from the 17th through 20th centuries.