+
Primary
Curated OER

History Matters: Atlanta Compromise Speech, 1895

For Students 9th - 10th
Read an excerpt from Booker T. Washington's 1895 Atlanta Compromise speech, in which he stresses accommodation rather than resistance as way to deal with racism. Includes a short audio clip - the only surviving recording of Washington's...
+
Primary
Curated OER

History Matters: Recollection of 1906 Atlanta Race Riot

For Students 9th - 10th
Walter White, who later became head of the NAACP, recalls witnessing the 1906 Atlanta Race Riots at age 13.
+
Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: African American Odyssey: Booker T. Washngton Era

For Students 9th - 10th
A history from the Library of Congress of African Americans during the time of Booker T. Washington, "the 1870s to the start of World War I."
+
Primary
Curated OER

History Matters: Seven Letters From the Great Migration

For Students 9th - 10th
These seven letters to the Chicago "Defender," a black newspaper, offer accounts from individuals who chose to leave the South from 1916-1921 in search of better opportunities as a part of what is now known as the Great Migration.
+
Website
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Harcourt: Biographies: Linda Brown 1943

For Students 3rd - 8th
Read a brief summary of the life story of Linda Brown whose civil rights experiences were the basis for the famous historical case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.
+
Handout
History Link

Bertha Pitts Campbell: An Oral History

For Students 9th - 10th
From the Washington State Oral History Project comes this captivating interview with Bertha Pitts Campbell, an African American woman and early Seattle civil rights worker. Campbell talks about the discrimination and segregation she...
+
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: African American Identity in the Gilded Age

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Examine the tension experienced by African-Americans as they struggled to establish a vibrant and meaningful identity based on the promises of liberty and equality in the midst of a society that was ambivalent towards them and sought to...
+
Graphic
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: The Making of African American Identity [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Humanities Center presents collections of primary resources compatible with the Common Core State Standards - historical documents, literary texts, and works of art - thematically organized with notes and discussion...
+
Website
Library of Congress

Loc: The African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship

For Students 9th - 10th
Online exhibit from the Library of Congress explores black America's quest for equality from the early national period through the twentieth century. Exhibit contains a wealth of items including books, government documents, manuscripts,...
+
Article
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs: American Slave Narrators

For Students 9th - 10th
Lucinda MacKethan, English professor at North Carolina State University, offers a comparison of two classic slave narratives: Frederick Douglass's 1845 Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: an American Slave and Harriet Jacobs's...
+
Website
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Is This a Map of the Underground Railroad?

For Students 9th - 10th
In this segment from History Detectives, Anne Zorela, a map collector, believes she's found a map that outlines the routes of the Underground Railroad.
+
Website
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: What Was the Harlem Renaissance?

For Students 9th - 10th
Professor Kate Rushin describes the Harlem Renaissance as a large social and cultural movement fueled by many factors in this video from A Walk Through Harlem.
+
Website
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Symbolism in "The Negro Speaks of Rivers"

For Students 9th - 10th
This video segment from A Walk Through Harlem features the poem "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" by Langston Hughes.
+
Activity
Scholastic

Scholastic: Culture & Change: Black History in America

For Students 3rd - 8th
An interactive timeline from Scholastic. Students can click on various times and learn important dates and events in African American history.
+
Website
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: A Walk Through Harlem: Finding Their Voice

For Students 9th - 10th
African Americans in the 1920's had a new attitude. In this video segment from A Walk through Harlem, learn about the Harlem Renaissance. [0:59]
+
Article
Stanford University

Stanford University: A Biography of Martin Luther King, Jr.

For Students 9th - 10th
A scholarly biographical article on King taken from a work published in 1999 and written by the most authoritative scholar on King today.
+
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Education: Art to Zoo What Can You Do With a Portrait?

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
This is the very first published issue of Art to Zoo. Unlike later issues, it features three separate topics instead of one larger theme. In this issue you can find information and resources for teaching westward expansion and its impact...
+
Unit Plan
Have Fun With History

Have Fun With History: African Americans

For Students 9th - 10th
Module on African Americans with links to National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Museum, Northwest African American Museum, and SuSable African American History Museum and numerous videos on various topics including, World War II,...
+
Handout
Other

Early Women Masters: Harriet Powers

For Students 9th - 10th
A beautiful portrayal of the life and work of the "mother of African-American quilting."
+
Handout
Other

Maryland Historical Society: Collections Online

For Students 9th - 10th
An online database full of paintings, photographs, manuscripts, decorative arts pieces, and lithographs pertaining to history topics. Topics include American Civil War, African American History, Women's History, and immigration and...
+
Website
Other

Mississippi Writers Page: Margaret Walker Alexander

For Students 9th - 10th
The University of Mississippi lauds its native Margaret Walker Alexander. Included are biographical information, an extensive bibliography of her works and those written about her, and a link to the Margaret Walker Alexander National...
+
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs American Masters: Scientific American: Following Muddy's Trail

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This site has a lesson plan on Muddy Waters focused on the American Masters documentary about him. Parallels the Great Migration with the growth of the blues music movement in America. Click on Muddy's name to access a detailed biography...
+
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Breaking Barriers: Critical Discussion of Social Issues

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Through a series of picture book read-alouds and journal entries, students engage in critical discussion of complex issues of race, class, and gender.
+
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Social Realism: W. E. B. Du Bois

For Students 9th - 10th
W. E. B. DuBois is featured here for his writings which advocated human rights for all, but particularly for African Americans in the early twentieth century. Click "W. E. B. DuBois Activities" for related materials.