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Unit Plan
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Citizens: African American Identity: 1865 1917

For Students 9th - 10th
Discusses the efforts of African Americans to be recognized as equal citizens after the Civil War, and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. Includes links to supplemental information.
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Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Community & Self Help, Making of African American Identity:v. 3

For Students 9th - 10th
An interview illustrating some of the ways community functioned in the lives of African Americans. It explores how external pressures of racism brought African Americans together to form fraternal organizations and entire towns.
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Primary
Library of Congress

Loc: Experiencing War: African Americans: Fighting Two Battles

For Students 9th - 10th
Online personnel narratives by African American soldiers who participated in World War II.
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Primary
Digital Public Library of America

Dpla: African American Soldiers in World War I

For Students 9th - 10th
This primary source set emphasizes the experiences of African American doughboys during the war while also highlighting how they were perceived by white Americans. Use the sources to determine how racism and patriotism shaped the...
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Graphic
Other

Oxford Aasc: Focus on African Americans in World War I

For Students 9th - 10th
Read this brief essay about the African Americans who volunteered to serve during World War I, four thousand of whom fought alongside the French. Included is a photo essay with twelve photographs with descriptions.
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Website
Library of Congress

Loc: African American Odyssey: Sit Ins, Freedom Rides, and Demonstrations

For Students 9th - 10th
The Civil Rights Era explores African American history in the 1960s, the fight against racial discrimination and segregation, and the search for justice through "freedom rides," boycotts, sit-ins, legislation, and marches.
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Lesson Plan
Other

Institute of Texan Cultures: Indi Visible: African Native American Lives [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A collection of lessons to accompany an exhibit, available online, that examines the shared history and heritage of African Americans and Native Americans. Both groups were faced with exclusion from society and often joined together, in...
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Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Famous African Americans Jackie Robinson

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This passage contains biographical information about the first African American to play in Major League Baseball, Jackie Robinson. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces...
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Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Famous African Americans Malcolm X

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] Biographical information is contained in this passage regarding the African American activist, Malcom X. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and...
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Rhythms in Poetry: Claude Mc Kay

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a succinct biography of Claude McKay, infamous Harlem Renaissance poet who expressed the need for the African American community in America to speak out against racism. See "Claude McKay Activities" for related materials.
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Graphic
US Holocaust Memorial Museum

U.s. Holocaust Memorial Museum: Nazi Olympics Berlin 1936: Jim Crow America

For Students 9th - 10th
The U.S. Holocaust Museum presents historical information and photographs about the Jim Crow laws of the American South, which restricted the freedoms of black Americans. Focuses on the African American struggle for social equality in...
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Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Afro American Council (1898 1907)

For Students 9th - 10th
An article about the founding of the Afro-American Council in 1898 and its goals for addressing rising violence against African Americans.
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Handout
TexasHistory.com

Texas history.com: African Americans in Uniform on the Texas Frontier

For Students 9th - 10th
Examines the history of the buffalo soldiers in Texas after the Civil War, the obstacles they faced due to racism, and how other African Americans perceived them.
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Website
University of Illinois

University of Illinois Urbana Champaign: Eslarp: Race Riot at East St. Louis, 1917

For Students 9th - 10th
This chapter from a book about East St. Louis relates the horror of the East St. Louis Massacre where maurading whites fired on African Americans and torched their homes. Read about the aftermath of the massacre and what happened to...
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Primary
Other

Letter From Birminghham Jail [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This letter shares Martin Luther King's reflections about his involvement in peaceful demonstrations. The letter provides historical information about the plight of African Americans throughout history and why he and others are so...
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Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Racial Discrimination, Kenneth Clark

For Students 9th - 10th
In this transcript of an interview for Eyes on the Prize, psychologist Kenneth Clark describes his research that illustrated the impact of racism on African American children.
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: The Search for Identity: Alice Walker

For Students 9th - 10th
Alice Walker is highlighted in this brief biography for her acclaimed contributions to literature, relating the struggles and triumphs of African Americans throughout history. Click on "Alice Walker Activities" for related materials.
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Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Lesson Plans: Civil Rights

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A rich resource on civil rights from the early struggles of African Americans during slavery on through to today. Includes seven lesson plans for multiple grade levels, with information on standards.
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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...
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Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Robeson, Paul

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia entry tells about Paul Robeson, famous baritone, and his struggles for racial equality. A link to a website for more information on African-Americans is provided.
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Article
Other

Unc Charlotte: History of Scientific Racism [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
A scholarly article by Anthropology Professor Jonathan Marks on the history of scientific racism. Published in the Encyclopedia of Race and Racism.
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Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Famous African Americans Oprah Winfrey

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This passage contains biographical informationa about the multi-talented Ophrah Winfrey. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and strategies and...
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Website
Other

San Francisco Unified School District: Teaching #Blacklivesmatter

For Students Pre-K - 1st
A library research guide with a huge collection of links to articles, lesson plans, readings, poetry, and official documents. They explore the experiences of African Americans and the evolution and purpose of the Black Lives Matter...
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Handout
Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Texas State Library and Archives Commission: The 1890s: End of an Era and the Quest for Civil Rights

For Students 9th - 10th
Part of an online exhibit called "Forever Free," this section deals with African Americans' efforts to establish themselves in society, despite increases in racism. Addresses topics such as Black Codes, Jim Crow Laws, and voting rights.