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

Photograph of large sculpture of Martin Luther King Jr. carved out of stone.

A Place in History: Historical Perspective on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

by James Oliver Horton

Read about the historical context for the formation of the modern civil rights movement and leadership.

Essay

A group of five Black men and women hold hands and sing with a white man and woman inside a church.

Different Perspectives on the Civil Rights Movement

by Anthony J. Badger

Read about the different ways historians have challenged the dominant narrative of the Civil Rights movement since the 1960s.

Essay

Water-color nautical chart of the African continent including a skyline of an ancient African empire flanked by palm trees.

The Discovery of the Americas and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

by Ira Berlin

Explore the origins of the transatlantic slave trade and the plantation system.

Essay

Oprah Winfrey addressing the audience at the Women's Summit on Empowerment, Entrepreneurship, and Engagement.

Black Women in Entrepreneurship

by Andrea Smith-Hunter

Learn about the challenges and opportunities Black women entrepreneurs face, from financial barriers to networking, mentorship, and growth.

Essay

Mary McLeod Bethune seated at her desk in Bethune-Cookman College.

Mary McLeod Bethune’s Impact

with Noliwe Rooks

Learn about Mary McLeod Bethune’s life, her involvement in politics and civil rights, and her work’s lasting impact.

Video

Africa's Major Rivers

by Exploring Africa, Michigan State University

View some of the key geography of the African continent.

Thematic Map

John Lewis, a Black man, wearing a dark jacket and tie and white shirt, speaking in front of two microphones on a table.

“The Revolution Is at Hand”

1963

Read the draft of John Lewis’s original planned speech for the March on Washington.

Primary Source

A typed notice on American Red Cross letterhead

“Statement of Policy Regarding Negro Blood Donors”

1942

View an impact of Jim Crow segregation on medical care during World War II.

Primary Source

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

A cartoon of a young Black man, mouth open, holding copies of The Black Panther newspaper, with a rifle strapped to his back. The front page of the copy in his right hand reads "ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE."

The Black Arts Movement

by Yasmine Espert

Explore the origins, evolution, and key players and works of the Black Arts Movement.

Essay

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

AP African American Studies Resource Library