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

Image of man sitting and posing for a black and white photograph.

“Hidden Practices”: Frederick Douglass on Segregation and Black Achievement, 1887

by Edward L. Ayers

Analyze a letter written by Frederick Douglass describing his feelings on Black progress.

Essay

A white tile mosaic mural of several Black people airborne above buildings.

“Flying Home: Harlem Heroes and Heroines”

by Faith Ringgold

View a fantastical homage to Harlem history through this work of art in the New York City subway.

Work of Art

/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/twentieth-century-black-migration/urban-rural-communities-1890-1930

African Americans in Urban and Rural Communities, 1890–1930

by Michael Siegel and Rutgers Cartography

Visualize data that shows the impact of the Great Migration.

Thematic Map

A yellowed four-fold pamphlet featuring the photograph (at top left) of Stanley Dones, a Black man wearing a dark jacket, white shirt, and dark tie, placing his right hand upon his chin.

Black Land Ownership in the Jim Crow Era

with Alison Rose Jefferson and Sandra Trenholm

Explore the history of the Black-owned Eureka Villa housing development in 1920s California.

Video

The image is a black-and-white portrait of Langston Hughes, the renowned African American poet, playwright, and leader of the Harlem Renaissance. He is shown from the chest up, wearing a suit with a tie and a sweater vest underneath. He has a warm smile and is looking slightly downward, with soft lighting casting gentle shadows on his face. The background is plain, and the photograph has a classic, vintage feel, likely taken in the mid-20th century.

“I Too”: Langston Hughes’s Afro-Whitmanian Affirmation

by Steven Tracy

Explore Hughes' "I, Too" poem, its connection to Walt Whitman, and its role in affirming Black identity in America.

Essay

Ruins of a large brick cathedral (the roof no longer present), with a green tree at right.

Kongo, Christianity, and the Diaspora

with John K. Thornton

Learn more about Kongolese cultural practices merging with Christianity and evolving across the Atlantic.

Video

A map on yellowed paper.

Kongo and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

with John K. Thornton

Explore the development and evolution of, and forms of resistance against, the Kongolese-Portuguese slave trade.

Video

A wooden crucifix sculpture with three crosses stacked vertically, each with a Christlike crucified figure

Christianity and the Kingdom of Kongo

with John K. Thornton

Take a deep dive into Nzinga a Nkuwu (João), Nzinga Mbemba (Afonso), and the Kingdom of Kongo's move to Catholicism.

Video

A white angel with brown hair and a white robe and holding a staff in his left hand speaking to a white woman, her right arm outstretched, and her left hand turning the page of a book. A dove is surrounded by a halo above them. Below both of them is a textile created in Kongo.

Textiles in the Kingdom of Kongo

with John K. Thornton

Learn more about the development of textiles in Kongo.

Video

Map of Africa noting the major rivers.

Africa's Major Rivers

by Exploring Africa, Michigan State University

View some of the key geography of the African continent.

Thematic Map

A map of West Africa with the Mali Empire outlined in red.

Ghana, Mali, and Songhay: The Empires of West Africa

by Chouki El Hamel

Take a deep dive into the history of these three Sudanic empires.

Essay

Six older Black men wearing dark suits sitting on steps in two rows of three.

The WPA Slave Narratives

by Robert C. Williams

Develop an understanding of the nuances behind recording narratives of formerly enslaved people during the Great Depression.

Essay