Research Guides
Who We Are: African Americans
Table of Contents
- Who We Are: African American HeritageA guide from the National Parks Service to important people and places.
- Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora: origins, experiences, and cultureCall Number: DT16.5 .E53 2008The authoritative source for information on the people, places, and events of the African diaspora, spanning five continents and five centuries.
- Oxford African American studies center : the online authority on the African American experience.
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Call Number: Online Resource: DatabaseComprehensive collection of scholarship focused on the lives and events which have shaped African American and African history and culture, coupled with precise search and browse capabilities.
Black Newspapers in the UW Collection
- The Baltimore Afro-American
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- The Chicago Defender
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The Future of Historically Black Colleges and Universities by
Historically, black colleges and universities (HBCUs) were originally founded to provide the educational opportunities that other post-secondary schools had denied to black Americans. Today, these schools face new challenges, and how they respond is shaped in large part by the men and women at the helm. Ten HBCU presidents speak out in this volume, addressing the fundamental issues confronting minority higher education. They discuss the historical role of black colleges; the current mission of HBCUs; and the effects of diversity programs, minority recruiting goals and globalization. Other topics include the impact of technology on college classrooms and the priorities and challenges in fundraising and development. Each chapter is devoted to the comments of one of the ten educators, and each includes a brief professional biography. An appendix includes profiles of historically black institutions.
Call Number: LC2781 .F88 2006ISBN: 9780786425655Publication Date: 2006- To reauthorize the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Historic Preservation Program : report (to accompany H.R. 1135) (including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office). byCall Number: Y 1.1/8:115-157Publication Date: 2017
- Brown v. Board of EducationThe Brown v. Board of Education decision and associated resources from the National Archives.
- Congress of Racial Equality, Seattle Chapter records, 1954-2010Archive held at UW Seattle Special Collections
Judgment Days by
Opposites in almost every way, mortally suspicious of each other at first, Lyndon Baines Johnson and Martin Luther King, Jr., were thrust together in the aftermath of John F. Kennedy's assassination. Both men sensed a historic opportunity and began a delicate dance of accommodation that moved them, and the entire nation, toward the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Drawing on a wealth of newly available sources -- Johnson's taped telephone conversations, voluminous FBI wiretap logs, previously secret communications between the FBI and the president -- Nick Kotz gives us a dramatic narrative, rich in dialogue, that presents this momentous period with thrilling immediacy. Judgment Days offers needed perspective on a presidency too often linked solely to the tragedy of Vietnam. We watch Johnson applying the arm-twisting tactics that made him a legend in the Senate, and we follow King as he keeps the pressure on in the South through protest and passive resistance. King's pragmatism and strategic leadership and Johnson's deeply held commitment to a just society shaped the character of their alliance. Kotz traces the inexorable convergence of their paths to an intense joint effort that made civil rights a legislative reality at last, despite FBI director J. Edgar Hoover's vicious whispering campaign to destroy King. Judgment Days also reveals how this spirit of teamwork disintegrated. The two leaders parted bitterly over King's opposition to the Vietnam War. In this first full account of the working relationship between Johnson and King, Kotz offers a detailed, surprising account that significantly enriches our understanding of both men and their time.
Call Number: E847 .K67 2005ISBN: 9780618088256Publication Date: 2005
Freedom Rights by
In his seminal article "Freedom Then, Freedom Now," renowned civil rights historian Steven F. Lawson described his vision for the future study of the civil rights movement. Lawson called for a deeper examination of the social, economic, and political factors that influenced the movement's development and growth. He urged his fellow scholars to connect the "local with the national, the political with the social," and to investigate the ideological origins of the civil rights movement, its internal dynamics, the role of women, and the significance of gender and sexuality. In Freedom Rights: New Perspectives on the Civil Rights Movement, editors Danielle L. McGuire and John Dittmer follow Lawson's example, bringing together the best new scholarship on the modern civil rights movement. The work expands our understanding of the movement by engaging issues of local and national politics, gender and race relations, family, community, and sexuality. The volume addresses cultural, legal, and social developments and also investigates the roots of the movement. Each essay highlights important moments in the history of the struggle, from the impact of the Young Women's Christian Association on integration to the use of the arts as a form of activism. Freedom Rights not only answers Lawson's call for a more dynamic, interactive history of the civil rights movement, but it also helps redefine the field.
Call Number: E185.615 .F735 2011ISBN: 9780813134482Publication Date: 2011
Martin and Malcolm and America by Call Number: E185.97.K5 C66 1991ISBN: 9780883447215Publication Date: 1991
- Report of the Department of Justice Task Force to Review the FBI Martin Luther King, Jr., Security and Assassination Investigations. byCall Number: J 1.2:K 58Publication Date: 1977Full text also available online from Hathi Trust.
- FBI Files on Malcolm XDescription from the FBI "Malcolm X was the Minister of the Nation of Islam until March 1964 when he left this group and formed the Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965 while delivering a speech in New York City. Norman Butler, Thomas Johnson, and Talmage Hayer were convicted of his murder and sentenced to life in prison. The FBI investigated the groups that Malcolm X was affiliated with due to allegations of communist influence."
- FBI FOIA Vault: the Black Panther PartyThe Charlotte Field Office opened a file on the black panther party in 1969 and the documents in this file cover 1969-1976. Note with caution the description of the Black Panther Party in the introduction to the files. There is a distinct point of view being expressed.
- The Historiography of the Black Panther Party
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- "Armed Negroes Protest Gun Bill: 30 Black Panthers Invade Sacramento Legislature"
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This article from May 1967 is the first national news coverage of the Black Panthers. The New York Times also did a retrospective of their coverage of the Black Panthers for the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Black Panther party, so check that out for more news coverage. - The Black Panther's Ten-Point ProgramThe founding document of the Black Panther Party.
- Black Lives MatterThe Black Lives Matter Global Network is a chapter-based, member-led organization whose mission is to build local power and to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.
- Black Lives Matter: A Legacy of Black Power ProtestFrom the African American Intellectual History Society, a brief discussion of the Black Lives Matter Movement's place in the historiography of black protest.
- Seattle Black Panther Party History and Memory ProjectFrom the UW Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project.
A Black Lives Matters march in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Image by Fibonacci Blue [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.
- Congressional Black CaucusThe CBC captures Black Representatives in the Senate and House.
- National Black Caucus of State LegislatorsNBCSL serves as a national network, advocate and catalyst for public policy innovation, information exchange, and joint action on critical issues affecting African Americans and other marginalized communities
- Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle"We empower African Americans and underserved communities to thrive by securing educational and economic opportunities."
- Smithsonian: National Museum of African American History and CultureThe new Smithsonian museum has a number of resources for learning more about the Black American experience.
Quantitative Data
Looking for quantitative resources? Try these:
- Explore Census Data This link opens in a new windowCensus and survey data about the United States, Puerto Rico and the Island Areas.
- U.S. Statistics GuideStatistics resources from the UW Libraries.
- African American Experience This link opens in a new window
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Reference content, primary documents, and media illustrating the history and culture of the African American community - African American Newspapers of the 19th century This link opens in a new window
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Select 19th century African American newspapers. - America: History & Life with Full Text This link opens in a new window
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Scholarly articles on American and Canadian history - Black Drama This link opens in a new window
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Online collection of plays written by African American playwrights. - Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century This link opens in a new window
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Collections related to the civil rights movement including records of federal agencies, organizations, and individuals. (ProQuest History Vault) - Black Studies Center This link opens in a new window
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Scholarly and general interest sources and historical newspapers and other primary sources on the Black experience from ancient past to present day. - Black Studies in Video This link opens in a new window
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Video collection includes documentaries, newsreels, interviews and archival footage
- Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window
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Journal, magazine, and newspaper articles written primarily by Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian & Pacific Islander, and Jewish people, covering 1959-present. - U.S. Federal Legislative History Library This link opens in a new window
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An expansive collection of federal legislative histories from the U.S. GPO and private publishers.
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