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

A jet of water in a tiled water fountain labeled 'Yemoja" [also known as Yemayá] in a body of water, topped with a white bust of a woman and, above the bust, a dark neon sign reading "The Surprise."

“Yemayá”

by Grupo Abbilona

View and listen to an Afro-Cuban example of syncretic religious practices.

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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.

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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.

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From left to right: Fodé Lassana Diabaté, a Black man wearing a light-colored tunic and dark red shirt, playing the balafoon (a struck instrument similar to a xylophone); Hawa Kassé Mady Diabaté, a Black woman wearing a patterened cloth dress and red headscarf, singing with arms outstretched, and Chérif Keita, a Black man in a blue robe, smiling.

The Sunjata Story: Glimpse of a Mande Epic

with Fodé Lassana Diabaté, Hawa Kassé Mady Diabaté, and Chérif Keita

Explore the story of Sunjata Keita through this performance.

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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.

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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.

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Group of African Americans, marching near the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

History of Race Relations in America

with David Blight, Kellie Carter Jackson, and Manisha Sinha

Explore the importance of Black history and the history of race relations in America in this panel discussion.

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