Black Past
Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed: Josephine Baker
Entry, from an online encyclopedia of African American history, for Josephine Baker.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Guide to Black History: Berry Gordy, Jr.
This entry from Encyclopedia Brittanica's Guide to Black History features Berry Gordy, Jr., an American businessman, founder of the Motown Record Corporation (1959), which became the most successful black-owned music company in the...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Guide to Black History: Taj Mahal
This entry from Encyclopedia Brittanica's Guide to Black History features Taj Mahal, an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and one of the pioneers of what came to be called world music. He combined blues and other African-American...
Other
Africlassical: Black History and Classical Music
Africlassical profiles musicians and composers of African descent since the time of Mozart.
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: "Two Hearts That Beat as One" by Frank Norris
"Two Hearts that Beat as One" is the first of four in the collection about the Three Black Crowes by Frank Norris. Read the full text on this site.
Black Past
Black Past: Jackson, Mahalia
This encyclopedia article tells the high points of Mahalia Jackson's life. She was a world-renowned gospel singer whose influence was felt in the civil rights movement.
Black Past
Black Past: Monk, Thelonius
This encyclopedia entry gives a brief account of Thelonius Monk, jazz pianist, and his influence on the jazz scene.
Library of Congress
Loc: Lyrical Legacy: 400 Years of American Song and Poetry
Explore eighteen American songs and poems each represented by an original primary source document, along with historical background information and, in many cases, sound recordings and alternate versions.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Poetry of Liberation
This unit examines poetry of the postmodernism period, focusing on the Beat Movement, Black Arts Movement, feminism, and other related movements and periods in recent literary history. An extensive list of authors, time line, video, and...
John F. Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center: Lift Every Voice and Sing
Explore and analyze "Lift Every Voice and Sing" , a poem by James Weldon Johnson, which was set to music and is considered the "Black National Anthem."
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Slavery & the Making of America
Using primary documents, oral histories, and other historical resources, discover how the arts of Africa, Europe, and pre-Civil War America influenced the culture of enslaved African Americans.
PBS
Pbs: Jazz Timeline
With this timeline, learn about how the history of slavery, Jim Crow laws and other forms of racial oppression impacted the rise of jazz in America. Also highlights the achievements of women, including Viola Smith in this world of music....
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Jazz and the African American Literary Tradition
Article explores the influence of jazz on African American literature from the early history of jazz, noted jazz artists, the black-white tensions within jazz, to its literary influence after World War II.
PBS
Pbs: New Perspectives on the West
This in-depth resource presents a history of the American West from pre-Columbian times until World War I with profiles, documents, and images. It encourages visitors to link these into patterns of historical meaning for themselves....
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Louis Jordan
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Louis Jordan, an American saxophonist-singer prominent in the 1940s and '50s who was a seminal figure in the development of both rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The bouncing, rhythmic...
Other
The Minstrel Show: Preface
Richard Moody does a fine job with a general description of a minstrel show. He gives background information on the history and development over the years. There are many links in the left-hand column for more information.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Will Smith
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Will Smith, an American actor and musician whose charisma, clean-cut good looks, and quick wit helped him transition from rap music to a successful career in acting.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Stevie Wonder
A brief biographical sketch of Stevie Wonder, an African-American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, a child prodigy who developed into one of the most creative musical figures of the late 20th century.
Yale University
Yale New Haven Teachers Institute: A Guide Through the Culture of the Blues
An extraordinary curriculum unit to teach blues and all its cultural implications.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Aretha Franklin
Read about the life history of the "Queen of Soul", Aretha Franklin. In 1987, she was the first woman inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
PBS
Pbs American Masters: Sarah Vaughan
An informative biography of jazz singer Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990 CE) is presented highlighting her long musical career.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Guide to Black History: Duke Ellington
Biography of Duke Ellington, one of the originators of big band jazz, and a noted composer.
Library of Congress
Loc: The African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship
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,...
Varsity Tutors
Varsity Tutors: Web English Teacher: Langston Hughes
This resource focuses on the works of famous African-American author, Langston Hughes.
Other popular searches
- Black History Month Rap
- Black History Month Music
- Black Music History Projects
- History of Black Music
- Black History Music