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

Printed copy of the Constitution.

Excerpts from the United States Constitution

1787

Read the three-fifths, transatlantic slave trade, and fugitive slave clauses, none of which explicitly referenced slavery or enslaved people.

Primary Source

A man wearing a white shirt and pants begins a handstand as a band plays in the background and others look on.

Two Depictions of Capoeira

ca. 1835/2017

View how capoeira has persisted in the culture of Brazil over nearly two hundred years.

Primary Source

A circular seal of a woman with wrists in chains kneeling, with her plea above: "Am I Not a Woman and a Sister?"

Am I Not a Woman and a Sister?

ca. 1833

View this visual representation of a rallying cry for abolition among Black women.

Primary Source

A black historical marker with white text and the seal of the Georgia Historical Society at top.

White Supremacy in the Early Twentieth Century: Causes and Responses

with Adriane Lentz-Smith

Take a deep dive into the proliferation of white supremacist violence in the 1910s and 1920s, and responses from Black communities.

Video

Two water fountains: at left, a larger water fountain labeled "white" and a smaller fountain labeled "colored." The labels appear above the fountains.

Segregated Water Fountains

n.d.

See another example of how Jim Crow discrimination was made manifest in the built environment.

Primary Source

A Black soldier in a blue Union Army uniform (jacket, coat, pants, and hat), holding a rifle on his right shoulder with a slight smile on his face.

Historical Context: Black Soldiers and Sailors in the Civil War

by Steven Mintz

Get some key facts on Black service during the Civil War.

Teacher Resources

Augusta Savage, a Black woman, smiling and looking to her left as she holds a small sculpture of an antelope or similar creature in her hands.

Searching for Augusta Savage

with Jeffreen M. Hayes

Learn more about Savage’s art amid the New Negro movement and Harlem Renaissance.

Video

Vinyl record with a brown Columbia records label, adorned with red, white, and blue banners, and the title and artist ("Hope I'll Join the Band," Fisk University Jubilee Singers.)

Songs of the Fisk Jubilee Singers

1909–1924

Listen to early recordings of spirituals recorded and popularized by the Fisk Jubilee Singers.

Video

A black-and-white photograph of James Weldon Johnson, a Black man wearing a light colored blazer, white shirt, and dark bow tie, seated at a desk, turning left toward the camera. He is holding a telephone in his left hand.

“Lift Every Voice and Sing” as a Hymn to America

by Noelle Morrissette

Explore the meaning and the impact of James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson’s hymn.

Essay

A handwritten document in script.

“Petition of the People of Colour, Freemen,” Philadelphia

1799

Explore this petition referencing the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in support of Black freedom.

Primary Source

A printed page from the newspaper The Freeman's Journal, September 21, 1781.

“Negroes Who Obtained Freedom”

1781

Read a plea from free Black people in Philadelphia to protect their freedom.

Primary Source

A brick building with two round sections on either side, connected via a colonnade topped by a white steeple and flagpole in front of a brick fence.

“Petition to the Virginia House of Delegates”

1784

Read this plea written by Sarah Greene, a formerly enslaved woman caught in a legal fight.

Primary Source