AP African American Studies Resource Archive | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

A vertical timeline from the 1600s to the 2000s noting direct influences from one genre of African American music traditions in pink lines and indirect cross-influences with white arrows.

The Evolution of African American Music

by Portia K. Maultsby

View how African American music evolved over the course of four hundred years through this timeline.

Secondary Source

A black-and-white photograph of James Brown, a Black man wearing a white shirt, sunglasses, a metal bracelet, and wristwatch waving as fans wave pieces of paper and look on in the distance.

The Origins and Elements of Hip-Hop

with Jeff Chang

Learn more about the genres, composers, and performers who developed the building blocks for what would become hip-hop.

Video

Photograph of a multi-buttoned drum machine and sampler. The machine consists of a black plastic box with a small screen in the upper left corner, multiple key pads, and a vertical design of black musical notes along the left, center and right of the box.

The Evolution of Hip-Hop and Breakdancing

with Jeff Chang

Explore the development of turntables, sampling, and breakdancing as key elements of hip-hop artistry and culture.

Video

Three boys playing atop the roof of a blue car, in front of an apartment building with graffiti written on the ground floor.

The Influence of the 1960s and 1970s on Hip-Hop

with Jeff Chang

Explore the importance of place and community on the development and growth of hip-hop in its earliest days.

Video

A color photograph of a corner store with a two-toned green wall with two signs, one reading "Wadajir Grocery, Finest Halal Meats" and the other "Mediterranean Deli, Best Gyros in Town"

Diversity in Contemporary Black Communities

by Mamadi Corra

Learn more about shifts in the foreign-born Black population and its consequent impacts on the diversity of African Americans today.

Essay

Seated, from left to right, a Black man wearing a white shirt, kente cloth robe, and glasses; a Black woman wearing a white shirt; Pat Nixon, a White woman, wearing a light-colored dress with a white collar and a white hat; Richard Nixon, a White man, wearing a dark suit, white shirt, and dark tie; and K.A. Gbedeman, a Black man, wearing a light-colored shirt and kente cloth robe.

“M. L. King Meets Nixon in Ghana”

1957

Read this piece from the Pittsburgh Courier that connects the Black Freedom struggles in Ghana and the US.

Primary Source

An abstract multicolored mural above a bus depot, with a blue and white bus pulling into the depot in the right foreground.

“Mother Hale’s Garden”

by Shinique Smith

Explore the life and career of an activist and community organizer through this work of public art.

Work of Art

A large tile mosaic mural of people in a boat.

“Great Waves of Immigration”

by Carmen Lizardo

Explore the history of Afro-Caribbean migration to the US through this mosaic, installed in the New York City subway system.

Work of Art

An infographic on Black mortality rates of those who remained in the South during the Great Migration and those who moved.

Grave Effects of the Great Migration

by Jonathan Lee, Duke University

Explore some of the health outcomes of the Great Migration.

Secondary Source

Four maps of the United States, each with bar charts noting foreign-born population from different regions of Africa.

Foreign-born Population from Africa by State, 2000

by Michael Siegel and Rutgers Cartography

Explore the further diversification of African American demographics through these maps.

Thematic Map

Map of the Caribbean with bar charts for select countries noting emigration patterns from 1989 through 2001.

Immigrants from the Caribbean Admitted to the US, 1989–2001

by Michael Siegel and Rutgers Cartography

Visualize the shift in the Caribbean American demographics at the end of the twentieth century.

Thematic Map

Map of Africa with bar charts for select countries noting emigration patterns from 1989 through 2002.

Immigrants from Selected African Countries, 1989–2002

by Michael Siegel and Rutgers Cartography

Visualize African emigration to the United States at the end of the twentieth century.

Thematic Map

AP African American Studies Resource Library

The Evolution of African American Music

by Portia K. Maultsby

The Origins and Elements of Hip-Hop

with Jeff Chang

The Evolution of Hip-Hop and Breakdancing

with Jeff Chang

The Influence of the 1960s and 1970s on Hip-Hop

with Jeff Chang

Diversity in Contemporary Black Communities

by Mamadi Corra

“M. L. King Meets Nixon in Ghana”

1957

“Mother Hale’s Garden”

by Shinique Smith

“Great Waves of Immigration”

by Carmen Lizardo

Grave Effects of the Great Migration

by Jonathan Lee, Duke University

Foreign-born Population from Africa by State, 2000

by Michael Siegel and Rutgers Cartography

Immigrants from the Caribbean Admitted to the US, 1989–2001

by Michael Siegel and Rutgers Cartography

Immigrants from Selected African Countries, 1989–2002

by Michael Siegel and Rutgers Cartography

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