High schoolers follow the study of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and attempts to connect the thematic underpinnings of the novel to Students' own lives.

Students explore, examine and study August Wilson's 10-play series where each play focuses on a particular decade. They discuss each play in depth and then speculate on the possible plots for an eleventh play set in the 21st century.

Ninth graders explore Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In this reading comprehension instructional activity, 9th graders reach chapters 16 and 17 and complete reading check questions. Students discuss themes that reflect...

Students examine and compare primary and secondary source accounts of the Wright brothers' first flights on December 17, 1903.

Trudier Harris, Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, explains the role of tricksters in African American literature.

An online companion site for an exhibit showing at the Anacostia Community Museum. Read biographical information on many African American writers while viewing video clips and photos.

This site includes the author's credits as an editor and playwright, a biography, and links to three of his books.

Article explores the influence of jazz on African American literature from the early history of jazz, noted jazz artists, the black-white tensions within jazz, to its literary influence after World War II.

This site from the African American Literature Book Club provides a great narrative on the life of Olaudah Equinao entitled, "They Carry Off As Many As they Can Seize." The text is somewhat in-depth and worth checking out on the subject.

A bibliography collection of literature by and about African Americans. Includes a selection of memoirs, fiction and non-fiction work.

Some of the African-American writers and poets who spoke out eloquently about their experiences of slavery in the 1700s and 1800s are featured in this section of Literature & Life. Read powerful first-person accounts of Harriet...

Learn about African American protest poetry and what was motivating it. This article takes a look at protest poetry during slavery, during the period of segregation and Jim Crow, and after political obstacles to equality were removed....

A biography of African-American writer Alain Locke, chief interpreter of the Harlem Renaissance, the video [5:30] "Ossie Davis: Dr. Alain Leroy Locke's Influence," and links to three of his books.

This PBS site explores African-American literature from its beginnings to the present. Includes an on-line study guide.

This biography of Harlem Renaissance writer Dorothy West includes a video [2:42] of West in New York and links to book reviews for all of West's works.

This site focuses on Zora Neale Hurston including a bibliography, the video [2:30] "Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun" and links to 11 of her books including her most famous work There Eyes Were Watching God.

This site provides a concise biography of Haley, the video [12:28] "Alex Haley Interview Roots (Merv Griffin Show 1977)" and links to six of his books.

This lesson is an introduction to a unit on The Harlem Renaissance, the period between the end of WW I through mid 1930s when African Americans were recognized for their literature, music, and art. It discusses their themes and lists...

A collection of historical, primary documents in the form of pamphlets written by African Americans from 1822-1909. Curriculum connections included.

This lesson focuses on the spirituals sung by the African American slaves as a way to express feeling and relay information in coded messages. as well as, to pass the time. It includes a PDF of the lyrics to two spirituals, "Go Down,...

This site includes a brief biography of Achebe, the video [9:13] "Nigerian Writer Chinua Achebe on CNN's 'African Voices'" and links to 17 of his books.

James Baldwin is presented in this biography as a great African American contributor to the literary world during the civil rights movement. See "James Baldwin Activities" for more information.

Examine Zora Neale Hurston's lifelong commitment to African American literature and cultural preservation.

Lengthy, detailed biography of Harlem Renaissance poet, Langston Hughes, from the Oxford Companion to African American Literature.