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

Black and white photo of a middle-aged Black woman with shoulder length hair and wearing a large white flower pin being sworn in as the borough president of Manhattan.

Constance Baker Motley: A Trailblazer in the Legal Profession

by Gary L. Ford, Jr.

Read about the life and work of Constance Baker Motley, the only woman who argued desegregation cases in courts in the racially segregated South during the Civil Rights Movement from 1946 to 1964.

Essay

The Heart and Soul of Fannie Lou Hamer

by Earnest N. Bracey

Read about the life and advocacy about Civil Rights leader and National Women’s Political Caucus cofounder Fannie Lou Hamer.

Essay

The image is a sepia-toned portrait of Ida B. Wells, the African American journalist, activist, and anti-lynching crusader. She is shown from the chest up, wearing a high-collared, intricately embroidered lace dress with ruffled details. Her hair is styled in an elegant updo, and she has a composed, determined expression while gazing slightly to the side. The soft lighting and classic photographic style suggest it was taken in the late 19th or early 20th century.

The Persistence of Ida B. Wells: Reform Leader and Civil Rights Activist

by Kristina DuRocher

Learn more about Wells’s fight against lynching, her journalism, and her leadership in the civil rights movement.

Essay

Read an overview of the landmark moments of the Civil Rights Movement in the twentieth century.

Ten Ways to Teach Rosa Parks

by Jeanne Theoharis and Say Burgin

Read about ten common misconceptions about Civil Rights legend Rosa Parks.

Essay

Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. smiling and talking with each other while a police escort stands near.

The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.

with Peniel Joseph

Dive into the lives and work of both Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

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The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban America

with Khalil Gibran Muhammad

Explore the history of race, crime, and modern US history.

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Image of the National Museum of African American History and Culture with the Washington Monument in the distance.

Creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture

with Lonnie Bunch

Learn about the significance and creation of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

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Traveling Black: A Story of Race and Resistance

with Mia Bay

Learn more about the impact of Homer Plessy on segregation and discrimination of railroad travel.

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President Obama seated at his desk in the Oval Office, taking phone call.

The Black President: Hope and Fury in the Age of Obama

with Claude A. Clegg III

Take a deep dive into the political context of the Obama presidency.

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The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks

with Jeanne Theoharis

Learn how examining Rosa Parks’s life challenges perceptions of her as an accidental actor in the civil rights movement.

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Photograph of Prof. Keisha Blain, a Black professor, smiling while wearing a white jacket over a textured green shirt, black glasses, and gold earrings.

Fannie Lou Hamer’s Enduring Message to America

with Keisha N. Blain

Explore Fannie Lou Hamer’s life and civil rights organizing career.

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Poster promoting consumption of healthy foods, showing dairy products (milk, cheese), eggs, fruit, vegetables, bread and cereal, and meat.

Food Deserts and the Rise of Fast Food

with Marcia Chatelain

Learn about the movement of fast food into predominantly African American neighborhoods and its connection to the larger issue of food deserts.

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AP African American Studies Resource Library