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

Booker T. Washington, a Black man, wearing a light colored jacket, vest, and pants, white shirt, and black bow tie.

The Atlanta Exposition Address

1895

Read and listen to Booker T. Washington's speech to a predominantly White audience at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta.

Primary Source

A shirtless and shoeless Black man wearing white pants and a sword along his right leg while brandishing a rifle with both hands and identified as "Leonard Parkinson, a Captain of the Maroons."

“Leonard Parkinson, a Captain of the Maroons”

1769

View a depiction of a maroon community leader.

Primary Source

Alain Locke, a Black man, wearing a white suit, vest, and shirt, and a dark tie.

“Negro Youth Speaks”

1925

Read an excerpt from Alain Locke’s book The New Negro, a cornerstone of the New Negro movement.

Primary Source

Three of the San Francisco 49ers football team kneeling (right knee on ground, arms balanced on left knee) during the pregame performance of the national anthem, as their teammates, coaches, and staff stand, some with hats or hands on their left breast, behind them. The three Black men kneeling are wearing the 49ers uniform of red jerseys, gold pants (with red-white-red stripes along the leg), and either red or white socks.

San Francisco 49ers Protest

2016

View a contemporary example of sports as a platform for protest.

A stained glass sign that reads “CITIZENS / SAVINGS / BANK”

Citizen’s Savings and Trust Company Clock

1920–2013

View this artifact of a financial institution founded for the purposes of growing Black wealth.

Seven Black women with Afros raising their right fists.

Black Panther Women in Oakland, CA

1968

View an example of women organizing and protesting in the Black Panther Party.

Primary Source

A black-and-white photograph showing children preparing bags of food to be distributed through the Panther Free Food Program at the Black Panther Community Survival Conference in Oakland, California. Four Black children, two boys and two girls, are placing bags of puffed wheat cereal into brown paper grocery bags that have been organized in rows.

Black Panther Free Food Program

1972

View an example of the Black Panther Party's direct action in the community through food distribution.

Primary Source

Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. smiling and talking with each other while a police escort stands near.

Martin Luther King and Malcolm X

1964

View a photograph of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X’s only meeting.

Primary Source

From left to right: a Black woman wearing a white vest and plaid pants kneeling with head raised; John Lewis, a Black man wearing a white button-down shirt, black pants, and black shoes, kneeling with head bowed while holding a notepad in his left hand; a Black girl wearing a white shirt, shorts, and shoes, kneeling with head bowed; and a Black man wearing a white button-down shirt, black pants, and black shoes, kneeling with head bowed. All are in front of a brick building with ground-floor windows.

John Lewis at a Prayer Demonstration

1962

View a photograph of members of the SNCC kneeling in prayer in Cairo, Illinois.

Primary Source

“Nonviolence and Racial Justice”

1957

Explore Martin Luther King’s philosophy toward nonviolent resistance.

Primary Source

A black-and-white photograph of Martin Luther King Jr. speaking at a lectern. Login Required message is an overlay.

Why We Can’t Wait

1964

Read an excerpt from Martin Luther King’s 1964 book, focused on segregation in Birmingham prior to SCLC’s campaign there.

Primary Source

A typed flyer for a "SCHOOL BOYCOTT!" featuring a Black boy with his arms on a windowsill, looking through a broken window.

“Boycott Cripples City Schools”

1964

Read an article about a student protest led by 360,000 Black and Puerto Rican students in New York City.

Primary Source