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Use these links to assist in planning and research for your classes!

African American Studies

The African American Experience has the widest depth and breadth of information available of any online database collection on African American history and culture. With focus on the life of African Americans from as early as 500 AD and resources from speeches, biographies, letters, articles, and court documents, this resource is filled with primary sources. 

American Rhetoric is an incredible speech bank with the most popular speeches in American history.  It is a great way to use primary sources because many times you get to see or hear the speech when it was originally given.  Most of the speeches also include written transcripts.  There are also links to other useful primary sources, including news sources, political party home pages, even pop culture.  It's definitely worth checking into!

Biography captures the most gripping, surprising and fascinating stories about famous people. With over 7,000 biographies and daily features that highlight newsworthy, compelling and surprising points-of-view, we are the digital source for true stories about people that matter. *NOTE: This site may contain bias. It is included because it can offer interesting perspectives on real life.

HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) comprehensive list via Wikipedia: Wikipedia is not known to be a trustworthy source for all research, but it's a great starting point. This list will get learners started in researching America's historically black colleges and universities.

Middle Tennessee State University has an impressive collection of primary sources and teacher lessons including those connected to African American History as related to the state of Tennessee,, the Civil War, military service in America, voting rights, African American leaders, folklife, life as displayed in our movies, civil rights, the Progressive Era, sports & the Olympics, politically incorrect primary sources, African American Heritage, and many more.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is an organization that works for the equal rights of all persons and provides leadership in the following areas: civic engagement, environmental & climate justice, federal advocacy, health, economic opportunity, and criminal justice.  This site provides the background of this organization as well as all the current issues for which they are working.

The National Black Chamber of Commerce is a place where researchers can find out about new and thriving black-owned businesses in America today.  Readers will learn about challenges and victories in the business world for black entrepreneurs, find out about legal happenings addressing the black business professional, read congressional testimonials, and more. It requires some exploring, but it does have a search bar for quicker results.

The Smithsonian, originally organized as the "United States National Museum," the Smithsonian is administered by the US Govt. Termed "the nation's attic" for its eclectic holdings of 138 million items; the Black History Teaching Resources has a variety of  materials with different themes and a focus on different notable African American men & women throughout histrory. Users of the cite are encouraged to copy and use the information for their educational purposes as long as they cite their work!

It may also be helpful for you check the Primary Sources page in order

to look up statistic, speeches, letters, legislative & historical records,

works of literature, photographs, maps, postcards, audio,

newspapers, and art that may relate to your unit.

If you know of any other trustworthy sources that could be included in this collection, please contact me so I can add them!

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