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Website
University of Virginia

Virginia Center for Digital History: Television News of the Civil Rights Era

For Students 9th - 10th
A rich collection of streaming video samples of television news footage from 1950 to 1970, along with an assortment of primary source documents, first-person accounts, a glossary of terms, and essays and analysis for learning about the...
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Graphic
Library of Congress

Loc: Born in Slavery

For Students 9th - 10th
From the Library of Congress American Memory project, this extensive online archive contains first-person narratives of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves that were collected in the 1930s as part of the Federal...
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Handout
National Women’s History Museum

National Women's History Museum: Ruby Bridges

For Students 9th - 10th
A biographical look at Ruby Bridges who became famous at six years of age by being the first Black child to attend a desegregated school in America.
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Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Postal Museum: 1990 Black Heritage Series: Ida B. Wells Issue

For Students 9th - 10th
View the artwork for a U.S. postage stamp issued in 1990 to commemorate Ida B. Wells, one of the founders of the NAACP. With a short passage on her life and contributions to ending discrimination against women and African-Americans.
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Article
Scott Alexander

Red Hot Jazz: The Origins of Jazz

For Students 9th - 10th
Red Hot Jazz outlines the origins of jazz, taking a look at the blend of cultures that existed in New Orleans at the turn of the century when jazz first emerged as a unique musical form. Includes links to additional information about...
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Handout
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Harcourt: Biographies: Sojourner Truth

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn of Sojourner Truth's eventful life from runaway slave to advocate for freedom and fairness. She was the first African American woman to speak out against slavery in public. She continued her quest for fairness by being a...
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Handout
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Harcourt: Biographies: Sojourner Truth

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about Sojouner Truth's eventful life from runaway slave to advocate for freedom and fairness. The first African American woman to speak out against slavery in public. (In Spanish)
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Handout
NASA

Nasa: Astronaut Biography: Mae C. Jemison

For Students 9th - 10th
Official NASA biography of astronaut, Mae C. Jemison, the first African American woman admitted into the astronaut training program.
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Handout
US Department of State

Biographies of the Secretaries of State: Colin Luther Powell

For Students 9th - 10th
Biography of Colin Powell, the first African American to serve as Secretary of State, nominated by George W. Bush. Mr. Powell served 4 years in that role which proved to be both influential and controversial.
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Handout
US Department of State

Biographies of the Secretaries of State: Condoleezza Rice

For Students 9th - 10th
Biography summary of Condoleezza Rice who was nominated for Secretary of State by George W. Bush and assumed office on January 26, 2005, serving four years in the position. She was the first African-American woman to serve as Secretary...
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Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Smile!

For Students 2nd
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about Ruby Bridges, the first African American to attend a Southern, all-white elementary school. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
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Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Walking Tall

For Students 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about Ruby Bridges, the first African American to attend a Southern, all-white elementary school. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
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Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Walking Tall

For Teachers 3rd
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about Ruby Bridges and her experience as the first African American to attend an all-white elementary school. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading...
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Website
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: Thurgood Marshall

For Students 3rd - 8th
The first African-American on the U.S. Supreme Court as a pioneer for equal rights. Learn more about Thurgood Marshall on this Library of Congress site.
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Website
NPR: National Public Radio

Npr: Ghana Celebrates 50 Years as Independent Nation

For Students 9th - 10th
In this article and the accompanying radio broadcasts, Ghana reflects back on its accomplishments in the fifty years since it became independent of colonial rule. It was the first African nation south of the Sahara to do so. [March 7, 2007]
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Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: Historic Baseball Resources: Personalities: Jackie Robinson

For Students 9th - 10th
Biographical sketch of baseball great Jackie Robinson, who was the first African American to play baseball in the major leagues.
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Website
Curated OER

National Park Service: Legends of Tuskegee

For Students 9th - 10th
Exhibit documents the history and achievements of three key constituents of Tuskegee University: Booker T. Washington, who founded the university; the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American flying squadron who trained there during...
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Handout
National Women’s History Museum

National Women's History Museum: Phillis Wheatley

For Students 9th - 10th
Despite spending much of her life enslaved, Phillis Wheatley was the first African American woman to publish a book of poems.
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Graphic
Curated OER

Real African American Heroes: Guion S. Bluford, Jr.

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides the resume and a picture of Guion S. Bluford, Jr., America's first NASA African-American astronaut in space.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: African Americans in the British New World: The Growth of Slavery

For Students 5th - 8th
Africans first arrived in Jamestown as indentured servants, but soon the appeal of having laborers that were not free after seven years caught on. See how the use of slaves grew in the Southern colonies, the economies of which were based...
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Handout
Countries and Their Cultures

Countries and Their Cultures: Introduction to Africa

For Students 9th - 10th
This introduction provides some basic information as background for the detailed accounts of the particular cultures that follow. The cultures have been selected to represent Africa, in the sense that they include the larger and...
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Handout
Other

Hall of Fame Biographies: John Maxwell (Michael) Coetzee

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief biography of John Maxwell Coetzee, a professor and famous author from Africa. Read about his accomplishments which led him to be the first to win two Booker Awards.
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Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: Daguerreotypes by Augustus Washington

For Students 9th - 10th
Augustus Washington, son of a former slave, learned to make daguerreotypes in 1843 to offset his college expenses, during his freshman year at Dartmouth College. Biographical notes and details about his work are provided in an annotated...
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Handout
Other

Hall of Fame Biographies: Christian Neethling Barnard

For Students 9th - 10th
A concise biography of Christiaan Barnard (1922-2001), the famous surgeon who did the first heart transplant. Learn about his early life, education, and his learning process of performing heart transplants.