PBS
Reconstruction: The Birth of a Nation - Rewriting History through Propaganda
How historically accurate was the film The Birth of a Nation? Using a video that features clips from the film and analysis from historians, young scholars explore the connection between art and history. Additional activities...
PBS
Reconstruction: Ida B. Wells - Pioneer of Civil Rights
When Ida B. Wells was kicked off the whites-only ladies railway car, it ignited a ferocious warrior for civil rights. Wells and others worked to preserve the hard-won freedoms of Reconstruction, which were tenuous at best during...
PBS
Reconstruction: The 15th Amendment and African American Men in Congress
To escape to freedom, Robert Smalls had to steal a Confederate ship and sail to Union lines. He continued that fight for freedom as one of the first African American representatives in Congress during the Reconstruction era. Learners...
C-SPAN
On This Day: Black Panther Party
An engaging resource provides viewers with information about the founding of the Black Panther Party and social programs like its food bank that the party created. The video clips also describe the political views of the party and their...
C-SPAN
On This Day: Little Rock Nine
The resource explains the importance of the Little Rock Nine and why President Eisenhower used military force to uphold the Supreme Court's decision to end segregation in schools. Scholars learn about attempts from the Arkansas...
PBS
A Black Writer in the South | American Masters: Alice Walker
Alice Walker discusses the influence the strong women in her family and her experiences growing up on a plantation in Eatonton, Georgia had on her writing. Part of the American Masters series, the short video includes images of her...
PBS
The Color Purple
A clip from the documentary Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth features Walker discussing her writing process and why she chose to write The Color Purple as an epistolary novel. The resource is part of PBS' American Masters...
PBS
Gabrielle Union Discusses The Color Purple
Gabrielle Union discusses the role Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Color Purple, plays in her life. She stresses the importance of readers being able to find reflections of themselves in literature.
PBS
Ralph Ellison and the Black Arts Movement
The ideas of the leaders of the Black Arts Movement were in direct contrast to those of Ralph Ellison. A clip from the American Masters film Ralph Ellison: An American Journey clarifies these conflicts between Ellison and the younger...
PBS
Dr. Bledsoe: A Fictional Booker T. Washington
Many critics believe that the character of Dr. Bledsoe in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man was modeled after Booker T. Washington. After watching a clip from the film Ralph Ellison: An American Journey about the Washington Bledsoe...
PBS
Invisible Man: The Trueblood Incident
How is the reader of Ralph's Ellison's Invisible Man supposed to react to "The Trueblood Incident" of Chapter 2? A short clip from the American Master film Ralph Ellison: An American Journey offers differing critical analyses from two...
PBS
Invisible Man: Battle Royal
A film reenactment of the "Battle Royal" scene in Chapter 1 of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man offers readers a chance to compare the film version of the scene to the novel's depiction. The discussion questions ask readers to consider the...
PBS
Invisible Man: The Hero's Journey
The narrator of Invisible Man is on a quest, a quest to find out who he is and what his place is in a deeply divided American society. An episode from the American Masters series asks readers to consider Ralph Ellison's acclaimed novel...
PBS
Invisible Man: Plot Summary
Although labeled as a plot summary, this resource from the American Masters series is so much more. In addition to clips from the American Masters film, the packet contains teaching tips, discussion questions, a background reading, and...
National WWII Museum
United but Unequal
Minority groups were treated differently during WWII. Images and newsreel footage show the experiences of African-Americans, Native Americans, Japanese-Americans, and other ethnic minority groups during the war.
C-SPAN
On This Day: Barack Obama Becomes the First African American to Win a Presidential Election
The election of Barack Obama in 2008 was a watershed moment in African American and American history. Using clips from the acceptance and concession speeches, as well as the words of outgoing president, George H. W. Bush, budding...
C-SPAN
On This Day: Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks is considered a symbol of the American Civil Rights movement—but what about her story? A series of video clips examines her role in the movement, as well as her legacy. Scholars listen to historian Jeanne Theoharis discuss her...
National WWII Museum
What Would You Do? Scenario: Segregation
Young African American men at the start of World War II faced a dilemma: they could fight the racism of the Nazis but only by enlisting in a racist Army. Scholars consider this situation as they study the life of a man who in 1941 was...
Homeschool Pop
Facts about Jackie Robinson for Kids
A short video spotlights Major League Baseball's first African American player, Jackie Robinson. Engaging photographs, fun graphics, and a clear narrator detail Robinson's life starting with his military background to his induction...
PBS
Black History Month | All About the Holidays
Kick off a celebration of Black History Month with a quick video. The narrator shares the history of the holiday and sheds light on famous African Americans such as Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman, George Washington Carver, and...
Scholastic
The Man Who Changed America
An informative video shares a quick history of Martin Luther King, Jr. The engaging narrator covers topics such as where and when MLK Jr. was born, what charged his passion, and good deeds he performed.
The Great War
Henry Johnson And The Harlem Hellfighters
Although Americans identify the concepts of democracy and freedom as the motivation for the country's entry into World War I, they often don't associate that period with racism and racial segregation. The 369th Infantry Regiment from...
PBS
Martin Luther King Day | All About the Holidays
Martin Luther King Day, a national holiday celebrated on the third Monday in January, is the focus of a short video that introduces young learners to the civil rights leader. The video provides a brief review of King's work and...
TED-Ed
The History of African-American Social Dance
Just exactly what is social dancing? What does social dancing have to do with the African American community and African American history? The narrator of this short video explains how social dancing can support the culture of a...