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

Ayesha Rascoe, a Black woman, is smiling, wearing a tan suit with a white scoop neck shirt, teardrop earrings, and bright pink lipstick. The background is a bright yellow backdrop.

HBCU Made: A Celebration of the Black College Experience

with Ayesha Rascoe

Learn more about the experience of individuals who attended an HBCU.

Video

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

A painting depicting a scene of a Black man being captured from his family by slave traders on the coast of Africa.

Humans in Shackles: An Atlantic History of Slavery

with Ana Lucia Araujo

Take a wide, transatlantic view of the institution of slavery.

Video

Map of Africa noting the major rivers.

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 page from a book focused on a title of legislation, "An Act for the Better Ordering and Governing of Negroes and Slaves."

South Carolina Slave Code

1740

Read excerpts from this slave code enacted in a British colony.

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 stereoscope card of a field of sisal fibers with a house in the background leading to a Mexican pyramid.

Diverse Roles of Africans in Early American Colonization

by Matthew Restall

Explore the ways free and enslaved Africans influenced Latin America in the sixteenth century.

Essay

Six older Black men wearing dark suits sitting on steps in two rows of three.

The WPA Slave Narratives

by Robert C. Williams

Develop an understanding of the nuances behind recording narratives of formerly enslaved people during the Great Depression.

Essay

A portrait of a Black man with long black hair wearing a white turban, white robe, and necklace.

Ayuba bin Suleiman Diallo to His Father

ca. 1733

Read a translation of the letter that helped to secure Diallo’s freedom from enslavement.

Primary Source

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