US House of Representatives
History, Art, and Archives: Barbara Charline Jordan 1936 1996
One of the first African-Americans elected from the Deep South and the first black Congresswoman ever from that region, read about how Barbara Jordan emerged as a powerful interpreter of the Watergate impeachment investigation.
Poetry Foundation
Poetry Foundation: Gwendolyn Brooks (1917 2000)
A biography of Gwedolyn Brooks, the first African American woman author to win the Pulitzer prize. With career information and links to many of her poems, some with audio. Listen to podcasts about her work and read articles about the...
American Academy of Achievement
Academy of Achievement: Sidney Poitier
A biography of actor Sidney Poitier. After a very humble beginning in life, Poitier struggled for years to overcome his lack of education and to break through racial barriers, eventually receiving recognition for his acting abilities. He...
National Women’s History Museum
National Women's History Museum: Girls Changing History Alice Coachman
A biographical view of Alice Coachman who was the first African-American woman to win an Olympic gold medal, in 1948.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: 300 Women Who Changed History: Phillis Wheatley
Encyclopedia Britannica provides a brief biography of Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784 CE), the first African-American to have a book of poetry published.
National Women’s History Museum
National Women's History Museum: Condoleezza Rice
Learn interesting facts about Condoleezza Rice, the first African American woman to hold several positions, including Secretary of State.
Other
Florence Beatrice Price: African American Composer
Learn about the first African American women to have a symphony performed by a major orchestra. This resource lists information about her birth, her marriage and a list of nearly all of her compositions.
PBS
Africans in America: Margaret Washington on the Earliest Africans in Va.
In a brief answer, Margaret Washington, Assoc. Professor of History at Cornell University, discusses where the first Africans to colonial Virginia were from, who they were, and what it may have been like for them.
York University
York University: African Canadian Online: Black Pioneers
Black people have played an important part in the history of Canada from its earliest days when the first black man came to Canada in 1606. Learn about these pioneers and their accomplishments.
PBS
Pbs: Cet: Africans in America: The First Slave Auction at New Amsterdam in 1655
This website contains a general description of the time and reason for the first large slave auction held in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. Click on Teacher's Guide for teaching resources.
The Washington Post
Washington Post: Paris Noir: African Americans in the City of Light
A fascinating first chapter from the book, Paris Noir: African Americans in the City of Light. Read about how African American laborers and troops were treated by their white American compatriots and see how that contrasted with the...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: 1913: Fifty Years, Making of African American Identity: V. 2
A poem, an address, and a blues song that express black life in the first fifty years after the Emancipation Proclamation. The texts examine whether the true meaning of the proclamation carried forward to the lives African Americans.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Freedom: Charles W. Chesnutt: African American Identity
Short story that explores the cultural and linguistic resources that sustained African Americans in the first years of freedom. This resource focuses on Charles Chesnutt and the influence he achieved by writing about race for a white...
PBS
Africans in America: Equiano's Autobiography
From a larger site from PBS' Africans in America, blurb about Olaudah Equiano and his autobiography with a link to text of this historical document.
University of Michigan
Kellogg African American Health Care Project: William G. Anderson
Interview with Dr. William Anderson, first president of the Albany Movement. Picture, biographical information and links to 40 other interviews with black medical personnel about their experiences with discrimination.
African American Literature Book Club
African American Literature Book Club: Olaudah Equiano
This site from the African American Literature Book Club provides a great narrative on the life of Olaudah Equinao entitled, "They Carry Off As Many As they Can Seize." The text is somewhat in-depth and worth checking out on the subject.
PBS
Africans in America: Founding of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society
A detailed account of the founding of the first Quaker abolitionist society in 1775 in Philadelphia by Anthony Benezet. The society became known as "PAS" or "Pennsylvania Abolition Society".
PBS
Africans in America: Lucy Terry Prince: Freed Slave and Poet
This website describes the life of Lucy Terry Prince, first female African American poet. She obtained her freedom by marrying a wealthy free black man who purchased her freedom.
E-learning for Kids
E Learning for Kids: Math: African Village: 2 D Space and Capacity
Visit this African village and learn about symmetry and parts of 2D shapes. Users can first watch a video that helps with the concepts of finding a vertex and a line of symmetry. They can then practice their knowledge on four activities...
PBS
Africans in America: Harriet Jacobs
Read about Harriet Jacobs'(1813-1897 CE) childhood as a slave and her escape from slavery -- the experiences from which she created her slave narrative, "Indidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," which "Was one the first open discussions...
Other
Huffington Post: Meet Kamala Harris, Who Could Become the First Woman President
On November 8, 2016, Kamala Harris became the first Indian-American and the second African-American woman elected to the United States Senate. Harris is currently the Attorney General in California.
Understanding Slavery Initiative
Understanding Slavery: Atlantic Crossing: First Hand Accounts Case Study
Read eye-witness accounts of the brutality and cruelty suffered by enslaved Africans as they traveled across the Atlantic on slave ships.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Spirit of Nationalism: Phillis Wheatley
Phillis Wheatley, an African-American slave, is featured for her neoclassical poetry of pre-nineteenth century America. Click on "Phillis Wheatley Activities" for more resources.
Alabama Humanities Foundation
Encyclopedia of Alabama: Sports and Recreation: Satchel Paige
The first African American to pitch in the major league, Satchel Paige led a full life of baseball. Satchel retired from the mound when he was sixty years old. Discover the successes and setbacks of this famed baseball player.