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

A photograph of a large brick hospital building with multiple wings.

Black American Contributions to Modern Medicine

by George Aumoithe

Learn more about how Black medical professionals overcame obstacles in the field and innovated despite exclusion.

Essay

A black-and-white photograph of Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. (a Black soldier in uniform and sunglasses), Joe Louis (a Black man wearing a light colored suit and a dark bowtie), Thurgood Marshall (a Black man wearing a dark suit and white shirt, his head resting on his crooked right arm), and Daisy Lampkin (a Black woman wearing a light colored dress and dark hat) seated outside under an open-air tent.

NAACP Civil Rights Convention

1947

View this photograph of four activists in the wake of the Double V movement taken by Joe Schwartz.

Primary Source

A black-and-white photograph of three women, Audre Lorde, a Black woman with an afro at left; Meridel Lesueur, a White woman with white hair and glasses in the center; and Adrienne Rich, a White woman with short black hair, at right.

Black Feminism: A History of Theory and Activism

by Dayo F. Gore

Learn more about the Combahee River Collective and other groups and individuals involved in shaping Black feminism in the twentieth century.

Essay

A green flyer for Bad Brains (featuring a Lion of Judah with a Star of David crown, its tail knocking over a building) and Minor Threat, noting the date, time, and location.

Bad Brains in Concert

1982

Learn more about this foundational all-Black punk band through this concert flyer.

Primary Source

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

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

Two maps side by side, of Oak Park and surrounding towns/neighborhoods in 1950 and 2010. The 1950 map shows an almost exclusively White population; the 2010 map shows a diverse community surrounded by an overwhelmingly Black neighborhood to the east and overwhelmingly Latino towns to the south.

Responses to and Impact of Housing Discrimination

with Richard Rothstein

Learn more about how African Americans fought against housing discrimination.

Video

A black-and-white photograph of three suburban houses with a small tree in the foreground.

The Development and Impact of Twentieth-Century Housing Discrimination

with Richard Rothstein

Learn more about some of the ways African Americans were discriminated against when it came to seeking housing.

Video

A flyer with the images of two white men (Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner) flanking the image of a Black man (James Chaney).

Nonviolent Resistance and the Civil Rights Movement

by Robert Greene II

Learn more about nonviolent tactics and campaigns during the Civil Rights Movement.

Essay

A color photograph of a crowd gathering around the reflecting pool in Washington, the Washington Monument, and the Capitol rotunda in the distance. In the foreground, a White man holds a red-and-white sign reading "We march for jobs for all now!"

The Power of Nonviolent Resistance in the Civil Rights Movement

by Hasan Kwame Jeffries

Learn more about the impact and successes of nonviolent organizing during the Civil Rights Movement.

Essay

A black-and-white photograph of a crowd picketing with signs outside a building, photographed from above.

Methods of the Major Civil Rights Organizations

by Hasan Kwame Jeffries

Take a quick look at the differing practices of the “Big Four” civil rights organizations.

Essay

First typed page of the Brown v. Board of Education decision.

The Path to Brown v. Board of Education

with Justin Driver

Learn more about the Brown v. Board case as it made its way to the Supreme Court and the Court’s historic decision.

Video

AP African American Studies Resource Library

Black American Contributions to Modern Medicine

by George Aumoithe

NAACP Civil Rights Convention

1947

Black Feminism: A History of Theory and Activism

by Dayo F. Gore

Bad Brains in Concert

1982

The Black Campus Movement and African American Studies

with Clarence Taylor

Beads and Trans-Saharan Trade

with Abidemi Babatúnde Babalola

Responses to and Impact of Housing Discrimination

with Richard Rothstein

The Development and Impact of Twentieth-Century Housing Discrimination

with Richard Rothstein

Nonviolent Resistance and the Civil Rights Movement

by Robert Greene II

The Power of Nonviolent Resistance in the Civil Rights Movement

by Hasan Kwame Jeffries

Methods of the Major Civil Rights Organizations

by Hasan Kwame Jeffries

The Path to Brown v. Board of Education

with Justin Driver

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