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Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: Black List Project: Charley Pride

For Students 9th - 10th
A biography of famed country music singer Charley Pride, one of few African Americans in the industry to both perform at and be inducted to the Grand Ole Opry.
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Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Jones, Quincy

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia entry offers a brief look at Quincy Jones, who began as a jazz trumpet player, but has expanded his career beyond music into film and television. There are links to websites for more information.
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Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Bert Williams

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia article gives a good overview of the life of Bert Williams, a black entertainer of the early 1900's who broke many color lines.
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Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Rap/hip Hop

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia entry gives a brief history of rap and hip hop and the influences of the music on modern culture.
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Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Queen Latifah

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia entry extols Queen Latifah as the most influential female rap singer. You can read about her evolution as a rap singer and actress.
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Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Watts, Andre

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia article gives a brief biography of Andre Watts, the first internationally known black classical pianist.
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Website
Other

African Genesis: Black Gospel Music

For Students 9th - 10th
This Black Gospel Music site provides information on the history, artists, and spirituality of black gospel music.
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Lesson Plan
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 47: Get Up, Stand Up

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This activity uses music from three different areas of the world and three different time periods in the 20th century to address the issue of civil rights for black populations.
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Website
Indiana University

Archives of African American Music and Culture

For Students 9th - 10th
Contains resources on black culture and music from the early 1900s to the present.
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Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Guide to Black History: Motown

For Students 9th - 10th
Information on the popular style of music called Motown that developed from a recording company of the same name.
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Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: America in Class: America in the 1920s: Divisions: Black & White

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...
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Article
Nederlander Organization

Broadway Direct: 20 Benchmark Musicals in Broadway History

For Students 9th - 10th
The history of Broadway musical theater is demonstrated through brief examinations of twenty groundbreaking musicals, from The Black Crook in 1866 to Hamilton in 2015. Nine videos accompany the descriptions of some of the musicals.
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Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Cooke, Sam (1931 1964)

For Students 9th - 10th
Sam Cooke's influence on music, as the pioneer in cross-over from gospel to rhythm and blues, is described in this encyclopedia entry. His music was important to the African-American identity in the Civil Rights movement.
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Website
Other

Black History Canada : The Arts

For Students 9th - 10th
An informative look at the influence of African music in Canada.
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Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Joplin, Scott

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a brief encyclopedia biography of the ragtime composer, Scott Joplin, whose music was influential in the growth of jazz.
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Article
A&E Television

History.com: Muhammad Ali: Boxing Legend ... And 2 Time Grammy Nominee

For Students 9th - 10th
In 1964, the fighter was up for the music honor for a comedy album. Twelve years later, he was nominated again. The accomplishments of Muhammad Ali are renowned: Olympic gold medalist, heavyweight boxing champion, humanitarian, civil...
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Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Public Enemy

For Students 9th - 10th
In this encyclopedia entry, you read about the rap group, Public Enemy, their songs, and the evolution of their message. There is a link to a website for more information.
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Website
Other

Black Gospel Music: The History of Gospel Music

For Students 9th - 10th
This site explores the history of Gospel music, including how gospel music began and some of the various incarnations it has gone through.
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Activity
Smithsonian Institution

Anacostia Museum: The Renaissance: Black Art of the Twenties

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides an informative description of the "Black Arts of the Twenties," which was better known as the Harlem Renaissance. Learn about the culture, art, music, and writings of this period.
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Lesson Plan
Yale University

Yale New Haven Teachers Institute: Black Emancipators of the 19th Century

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A lesson unit on the people and movements that fought to abolish slavery. Looks at the Triangular Trade, and at the Underground Railroad and famous abolitionists. Includes a play about emancipation, a black history rap and a trivia quiz...
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Website
Digital History

Digital History:the Great Migration

For Students 9th - 10th
The Great Migration for African Americans began during World War I as blacks left the segregated south to find jobs in the north. Read about how segregation followed them into their northern neighborhoods. See also how the Harlem...
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Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Guide to Black History: Jack the Rapper

For Students 9th - 10th
Jack the Rapper (Jack Gibson) helped open the first African-American-owned radio station in the United States, WERD in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1949. Gibson learned about radio while working as a gofer for deejay Al Benson in Chicago. He...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs: Music, Slavery and the Civil War

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
This lesson could serve as the basis of a curriculum unit on slavery and/or the Civil War. Spirituals are analyzed, especially their cultural implications.
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Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Lloyd Price

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Lloyd Price, an American singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. Price made his mark in rock music history with his exuberant tenor and his flair for recasting rhythm and blues as...

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