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

A black-and-white photograph of a parade; Black women, most wearing white dresses and hats, march in formation in rows of about twenty. Between two groups of women there is a row of four Black men in dark suits, ties, and hats, holding up large American flags. In the first group of women, one woman holds up a sign reading, "YOUR HANDS ARE FULL OF BLOOD."

Negro Silent Protest Petition on Lynching

1917

Read a response from Black leaders to White supremacist violence, two years before Red Summer.

Primary Source

A film still of a Black man wearing a light-colored cap and a dark jacket holding a box labeled "Mme. C. J. Walker's Vegetable Shampoo, Indianapolis. Ind., USA."

The Madam C. J. Walker Company on Film

1926

View silent film scenes of Walker’s business empire.

Video

A hand-colored portrait of Sissieretta Jones, a Black woman also known here as The Black Patti and the Greatest Singer of Her Race, wearing a gold necklace and earrings and a white dress covered with medals and ribbons.

“UNLADYLIKE2020: Sissieretta Jones”

with Julianna Margulies

Explore the career of the first African American woman to headline at Carnegie Hall.

Video

“UNLADYLIKE2020: Gladys Bentley”

with Lorraine Toussaint and Lisa Wilkerson

Learn more about this trailblazing pianist, musician, and drag entertainer.

Video

Title page for The Urban League Bulletin magazine.

The National Urban League and the Great Migration

with Marc H. Morial

Learn more about the impact of the National Urban League over its more than 100-year history.

Video

A black-and-white photograph of Carter G. Woodson, a Black man, wearing a dark jacket, white shirt, and polka-dotted tie

The Black Campus Movement and African American Studies

with Clarence Taylor

Explore how the field of African American Studies evolved and the first university departments in the field were formed.

Video

A string of 8 multicolored glass beads

Beads and Trans-Saharan Trade

with Abidemi Babatúnde Babalola

Learn more about the importance of beads in African kingdoms, and their impact on the archaeological record.

Video

A color postcard depicting a brick courthouse with a cupola and entrance pediment in Meridian, Mississippi.

The Story of a Freed Mother and Daughter

by Brenda E. Stevenson

Examine one family’s story in the context of Reconstruction.

Essay

A black-and-white photograph of a Black man wearing a light-colored shirt, tie, and hat, and dark suspenders, under a sign reading "Colored Waiting Room."

The Impact of Jim Crow Laws

with Mia Bay

Explore the origins of Jim Crow legislation and how it impacted Black mobility during the nadir.

Video

A black-and-white image of a photograph of twelve Black men in three rows of four (and a child on one man's knee, second row left), all wearing dark suits and hats, superimposed on a photograph of Niagara Falls.

Resistance to Jim Crow During the Nadir

with Mia Bay

Explore how African Americans organized against the pernicious racism of Jim Crow.

Video

A black-and-white photograph of Black and white soldiers on decks of a large ship.

360th [or 366th] Colored Regiment Arriving in New York

1919

See an example of Black service in World War I.

Primary Source

A color print of Wilberforce University showing seven small tan and white buildings and a large T-shaped white building with a brown roof surrounding a quadrangle of lawns, paths, and trees.

The Founding of Black Colleges

by Jelani M. Favors

Learn more about the birth and evolution of historically Black colleges and universities.

Essay