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Carnegie Hall: A Celebration of the African American Cultural Legacy

For Students 9th - 10th
Trace the history of African American music from 1600-2000 and examine the styles, influences, artists and listen to samples presented by Carnegie Hall.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: Teacher Tools: African Arts and Music Lesson Plans

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Explore the world of African Art and Music when you check out this lesson plan. This site features learning objectives, activities and more.
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Other

Black History Canada : The Arts

For Students 9th - 10th
An informative look at the influence of African music in Canada.
Lesson Plan
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Understanding Poetry of Maya Angelou Through Rap Lyric

For Teachers 9th - 10th
By examining the lives and lyrics of popular, positive black female rappers such as Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill, students can trace a direct line back to the inspirational writer and poet, Maya Angelou. Rap lyrics will help explicate...
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Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Smithsonian Jazz

For Students 9th - 10th
Smithsonian Jazz is home to several online exhibits, an interactive "Duke Ellington class," recordings, publications, oral histories, and similar resources.
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Indiana University

Archives of African American Music and Culture

For Students 9th - 10th
Contains resources on black culture and music from the early 1900s to the present.
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George Mason University

Chnm: World History Sources: Music

For Students 9th - 10th
An overview of how music has influenced history throughout time. Choose links from common questions to music resources.
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Other

Brand South Africa: The a to Z of South African Culture

For Students 9th - 10th
Presented as an ABC list of cultural features of South Africa. Each letter links to a topic, and each topic has a paragraph with a link to more in-depth, and often fascinating, information about that topic, and about the history of South...
Handout
Countries and Their Cultures

Countries and Their Cultures: Multicultural America: South African Americans

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides an overview of the traditional culture and lifestyle of South African Americans. (Note: Content is not the most current.)
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Freedom Riders and Popular Music of the Civil Rights Movement

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this lesson plan, students will consider "The Freedom Riders and the Popular Music of the Civil Rights Movement." The plan includes worksheets and other student materials that can be found under the resource tab.
Handout
Georgia Humanities Council and the University of Georgia Press.

New Georgia Encyclopedia: Blues Music: Overview

For Students 9th - 10th
Overview and definition of blues music that developed in the southern United States in the early nineteenth century. Performers from Georgia include Ray Charles, Ma Rainey, Little Richard, and the Allman Brothers.
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Other

African Genesis: Black Gospel Music

For Students 9th - 10th
This Black Gospel Music site provides information on the history, artists, and spirituality of black gospel music.
Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Queen Latifah

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia entry extols Queen Latifah as the most influential female rap singer. You can read about her evolution as a rap singer and actress.
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Guide to Black History: Taj Mahal

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Brittanica's Guide to Black History features Taj Mahal, an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and one of the pioneers of what came to be called world music. He combined blues and other African-American...
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Other

Classical Music Navigator: Forms and Styles

For Students 9th - 10th
This alphabetized list of musical forms and styles briefly defines and describes the types of musical sounds and genres created throughout history.
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Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: Black List Project: Charley Pride

For Students 9th - 10th
A biography of famed country music singer Charley Pride, one of few African Americans in the industry to both perform at and be inducted to the Grand Ole Opry.
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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.
Unit Plan
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Documents Gallery: Ellington and Strayhorn

For Students 9th - 10th
Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, two of the greatest jazz composers, collaborated on hundreds of works. As you explore this exhibition, you will have an opportunity to view original music scores, listen to audio clips, and view videos...
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Other

Saudi Aramco World: Muslim Roots, u.s. Blues

For Students 9th - 10th
This site explores the link between Muslim traditions and American blues music. Using audio content, pictures, text, and the song ?Levee Camp Holler,? this site examines African Muslim history tied to the history of U.S. Blues.
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Other

David Holt: The Roots of Mountain Music

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a short history of the major influences that have combined to create mountain music, one of which is minstrel music. Provides a good decription of minstrel music in general. Includes names and descriptions of specific songs,...
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A&E Television

History.com: Why the Watershed 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival Was Overshadowed for 50 Years

For Students 9th - 10th
The 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival brought over 300,000 people to Harlem's 20-acre Mount Morris Park from June 29 to August 24, 1969 against a backdrop of enormous political, cultural and social change in the United States. The summer...
Unit Plan
John F. Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center: Blues Journey

For Students 9th - 10th
Trace the history of the blues in America through the play, Blues Journey, based on the book by Walter Dean Myers. You can see video clips of the stage play, listen to blues radio shows, and learn about different types of blues music.
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Other

Africlassical: Black History and Classical Music

For Students 9th - 10th
Africlassical profiles musicians and composers of African descent since the time of Mozart.
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Black Past

Black Past: Cooke, Sam (1931 1964)

For Students 9th - 10th
Sam Cooke's influence on music, as the pioneer in cross-over from gospel to rhythm and blues, is described in this encyclopedia entry. His music was important to the African-American identity in the Civil Rights movement.

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