TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: The History of African American Social Dance
Why do we dance? African-American social dances started as a way for enslaved Africans to keep cultural traditions alive and retain a sense of inner freedom. They remain an affirmation of identity and independence. In this electric...
Library of Virginia
Virginia Memory: Freedom Is Worth Fighting For: Billy and James
This lesson looks at the choices created during the Revolutionary War for enslaved African Americans in Virginia.
PBS
Pbs Africans in America: The Boston Massacre
From its series entitled "Africans in America," PBS offers a comprehensive overview of the Boston Massacre from the viewpoint of the poor, the oppressed, and enslaved or free Africans. The article highlights how these individuals were...
Digital History
Digital History: Enslavement
A very good description of how Africans were enslaved in Africa for sale to the Europeans. See how the introduction of European weapons changed the dynamic in West Africa.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Soldiers: Making of African American Identity: 1500 1865
Photographs of and letters from black soldiers-both enslaved and free-from the late-eighteenth to mid-nineteenth centuries that examine military experience for African Americans.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Reconstruction and the Formerly Enslaved
What are the "big questions" of Reconstruction? Article provides an overview of the Reconstruction period when Americans debated rights and the nature of freedom and equality. It focuses on who was an American and how citizenship should...
PBS
Africans in America: Revolution: The Book of Negroes 1783
An interesting look at the compiling of the Book of Negroes, a register of those whom the British promised freedom during the course of the Revolutionary War. Find out why this was a component of the Treaty of Paris of 1783. From PBS.
University of North Carolina
Unc: History of the Negro Church: Electronic Edition
This website is quite unique, in that it compiles historical data in a segmented form of the birth and evolution of Black Christianity in America. Carter G. Woodson, one of the most respected names relative to the anthology of the Negro,...
Library of Congress
Loc: American Memory: Colonial Settlement 1600s 1763
The settlement of the colonies in America is the focus of this article. The course of events is divided into topics and time periods, making it easier to understand. Note is made of the effects to the already present Native Americans as...
Other
Lexington Minutemen: Prince Estabrook
Learn about the book "Prince Estabrook, Slave and Soldier" by Alice Hinkle. This biography tells the story of the enslaved Revolutionary War Minuteman.
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Forever Free: The 1870s: Education
Read about the development of free education for African Americans following the emancipation of this enslaved population. This article focuses on schools in Texas, including what is now known as Texas A&M University. Includes a...
Digital History
Digital History: Middle Passage
The number of Africans who died or were enslaved as a result of slave trading both across the Atlantic and into the Arabian peninsula is truly shocking. Read about the Middle Passage which brought millions of slaves to the New World, see...
Digital History
Digital History: The Black Legend
Read about the Black Legend which vilified the Spanish treatment of Indians they enslaved, resulting in the decimation of many Indian populations. Bartolome de Las Casas criticized the enslavement of Indians and suggested using African...
US National Archives
Docsteach: How Effective Were the Efforts of the Freedmen's Bureau?
In this activity, young scholars will analyze documents from the War Department's Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands - better known as the Freedmen's Bureau - that Congress established on March 3, 1865, as the Civil War...
A&E Television
History.com: Black Heroes Throughout Us Military History
Meet the standout soldiers, spies and homefront forces who fought for America, from the Revolution to World War II. During the American Revolution, thousands of Black Americans fought -- on both sides of the conflict. As America's Civil...
Library of Virginia
Virginia Memory: Nat Turner Rebellion
In this lesson, young scholars examine the impact Nat Turner's Rebellion had on how enslaved and free African Americans were treated in Virginia.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Al Sharpton
Biographical details on Al Sharpton who began preaching at age four and became an ordained Pentecostal minister at age 10. A colorful and popular figure in the African American community, he embarked upon controversial protests that...
Curated OER
Wikipedia: National Historic Landmarks in Kansas: Nicodemus Historic District
Established by African Americans during the Reconstruction Period following the Civil War, the town of Nicodemus symbolizes the pioneer spirit of people formerly enslaved. Established on homestead land, the town of Nicodemus was...