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

A still from a black-and-white film showing Black men and women, many in straw-boater hats with dark hatbands, marching in a parade. In the foreground is a clarinetist, followed by two American flag bearers marching at the head of the parade.

Juneteenth Flag-Waving Procession, Oklahoma

1920s

See an example of an early twentieth-century Juneteenth celebration in this silent film clip.

Video

Joe Biden, wearing a blue suit, blue dotted tie, and flag lapel pin, standing next to and listening to Opal Lee, a bespectacled Black woman wearing a white shirt and necklace.

Juneteenth: Exploring Freedom’s Stories

by Annenberg Classroom

Explore the history of Juneteenth, from its initial celebration following the Civil War through its enactment as a federal holiday.

Video

A White woman in a yellow dress and dark orange cape and a White man in a white and red shirt and blue and white striped pants, eating at a table. Behind them are two Black people: a woman in a white dress fanning the two seated White people, and a man, wearing a white collared shirt and orange sweater, arms crossed behind the seated White man. In front of the table are two naked Black children, one of whom is being fed by the White woman.

Slavery and Freedom in Brazil

with Reighan Gillam

Explore the pervasive nature of slavery in Brazil and the path to abolition.

Video

A black-and-white photograph of seven men wearing wide-brimmed hats. To the right of the man third from left is a horse.

African Americans in the Seminole Nation

by Rachel Sarah O’Toole

Explore how maroons and self-emancipated people joined the Seminole community.

Essay

A bronze statue of Richard Allen, a Black man, wearing a jacket, vest, and ruffled collar shirt, with his right arm outstretched. Behind the statue is a brick church building to the right of a stone church building.

“Articles of Association of the African Methodist Episcopal Church”

1796

Explore the founding document of the AME’s Mother Church in Philadelphia.

Primary Source

Stipple portrait of James McCune Smith, a white-haired Black man with a mustache, wearing a dark jacket and bow tie

Free Black Neighborhoods Post-Emancipation

with Carla L. Peterson

Take a closer look at how free Black communities evolved after the Emancipation Proclamation and the Reconstruction Amendments.

Video

A black-and-white photograph of Sojourner Truth, seated, holding sewing materials in her hand; below her portrait is the phrase "I sell the shadow to support the substance."

Black Women’s Activism in Free Black Communities

with Carla L. Peterson

Learn how Black women such as Maria W. Stewart and Sojourner Truth organized for their communities.

Video

A newspaper advertisement announcing a procession of the African Lodge in Philadelphia in 1797

Free Black Organizations and Institutions

with Carla L. Peterson

Learn how free Black people established mutual aid societies and other institutions.

Video

A printed broadside announcing the sale of enslaved people in Alabama in 1858

The Economic Impact of Slavery in the US

with Seth Rockman

Take a closer look at how the system of slavery pervaded American economic markets.

Video

Inscription on a dark brown earthenware jar, reading: "this jar is to Mr Segler who keeps the bar in orangeburg / for Mr Edwards a Gentle man — who formly kept / Mr thos bacons horses / April 21 1858" "when you fill this Jar with pork or beef / Scot will be there; to get a peace, - / Dave"

The Pervasive Institution of Slavery in the US

with Seth Rockman

Learn how the system of slavery extended across the American labor system, and how African Americans worked to reclaim their labor.

Video

The Evolution of the Underground Railroad

with Christopher Bonner

Learn more about how the Underground Railroad operated and how the term for this means of escape from bondage emerged.

Video

A written legal document from 1781 certifying Cuffee Wells' purchase of freedom.

Doctor Cuffee Saunders

1781

Read about how Cuffee Wells Saunders gained his freedom.

Primary Source