Article
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: The Trickster in African American Literature

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Trudier Harris, Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, explains the role of tricksters in African American literature.
Activity
Smithsonian Institution

Anacostia Community Museum: All the Stories Are True: African American Writers Speak

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
Article
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Jazz and the African American Literary Tradition

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
Handout
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Constitutional Rights Foundation: Literature by and About African Americans

For Students 9th - 10th
A bibliography collection of literature by and about African Americans. Includes a selection of memoirs, fiction and non-fiction work.
Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs: Literature & Life Givens Collection (Afr. Am. Lit)

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This PBS site explores African-American literature from its beginnings to the present. Includes an on-line study guide.
Unit Plan
Georgia Department of Education

Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature and Composition: The Harlem Renaissance

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
Unit Plan
Georgia Department of Education

Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature and Composition: Realism: Spirituals

For Students 9th - 10th
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,...
Website
African American Literature Book Club

African American Literature Book Club: Chinua Achebe

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
Lesson Plan
National Women’s History Museum

National Women's History Museum: The Legacy of Zora Neale Hurston

For Students 9th - 10th
Examine Zora Neale Hurston's lifelong commitment to African American literature and cultural preservation.
Article
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: The Image of Africa in the Literature of the Harlem Renaissance

For Students 9th - 10th
Overview of African Americans and their relationship to Africa. a myth which was embraced by the Harlem Renaissance.
Website
PBS

Pbs: Literature & Life: Voices of the People

For Students 9th - 10th
Actor and singer Paul Robeson and playwright August Wilson are two African Americans featured in this discussion. Throughout their careers, they fought for justice for African Americans. This page has readings of their works and expert...
Website
University of Illinois

University of Illinois: Modern American Poetry: Gwendolyn Brooks, Biography

For Students 9th - 10th
Detailed account of the writer's life. Contains references to contemporaries, influences and motivations in her career.
Activity
University of Illinois

University of Illinois: Modern American Poetry: Anne Spencer

For Students 9th - 10th
In-depth site on Anne Spencer including an extensive biography of this famous Harlem Renaissance poet. Detailed information on her works, education, and contemporaries. Numerous photographs. Some of her poems are also included.
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Guide to Black History: Harlem Renaissance

For Students 9th - 10th
Extensive information about the Harlem Renaissance, a period of time considered to be the cultural awakening of African Americans. Included are sections on poetry, fiction, and drama, as well as the legacy of this movement.
Article
African American Literature Book Club

African American Literature Book Club: The Pyramids of Egypt

For Students 9th - 10th
Considered to be the "largest single building ever constructed by man," The Great Pyramid of Khufu is regarded as the greatest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. This article gives a detailed description of this pyramid,...
Lesson Plan
Varsity Tutors

Varsity Tutors: Web English Teacher: Langston Hughes

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This resource focuses on the works of famous African-American author, Langston Hughes.
Primary
University of Virginia

Explorations in Black Leadership: Amiri Baraka

For Students 9th - 10th
A short biography of African American writer Amiri Baraka and an interview with him conducted by Julian Bond available in video download or script format. With insight into influential people in his life, career development, influence of...
Unit Plan
McGraw Hill

Glencoe Literature: "Sounder" Study Guide [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Teachers can share the award-winning young adult novel "Sounder" with their students through the use of this 40 page study guide. "Sounder", by African American author William H. Armstrong, is about a young boy in the American South who...
Website
University at Buffalo

Phat African American Poetry Book: Arna Bontemps

For Students 9th - 10th
Three of Arna Bontemps' more famous poems are printed here.
eBook
Other

Iola Leroy, Or, Shadows Uplifted

For Students 9th - 10th
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's novel is offered by the Schomburg African American Women Writers project in machine-readable form.
Unit Plan
PBS

Literature & Life: Renaissance

For Students 9th - 10th
Some of the African-American writers and poets who were prominent in the early part of the twentieth century are featured on this page. They were important voices during what became known as the 'black Renaissance'. Here, you can listen...
Unit Plan
Georgetown University

Georgetown University: Langston Hughes (1902 1967)

For Students 9th - 10th
Excellent research site on Langston Hughes. Includes theme, perspective, form, style, audience, comparison and contrast of the famous Harlem Renaissance author's work.
Website
Howard University

Howard University: Sterling A. Brown, a Literary Tribute

For Students 9th - 10th
This tribute article discusses the author as a professor, critic and Poet Laureate.
Website
University of Washington

Best Site on Colleen Mc Elroy

For Students 9th - 10th
This site is from the University of Washington, where McElroy is a professor. It has biographical information, a list of her works, and other details about the writer.