LibGuides: African-American History Subject Guide: Begin Your Research

Beginning Your Research

You may want to consider combining keywords to narrow your search.

African Americans AND educational attainment
Civil rights movement AND Martin Luther King, Jr

You can also broaden your search by adding OR between the keywords or phrases:

African Americans OR African-Americans
Black Panthers OR Black Power

Try searching using the following Subject Headings:

Some of the call numbers you can browse to find physical books in the library are:

305.8 - Racial, Ethnic and National Groups
306 - Culture and Institutions
323 - Civil and Political Rights
326 - Slavery and Emancipation
973 - General History, North America, United States

Below are resources that will help you find research on your topic including Encyclopedias, Databases, & Websites

Databases

ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window
A multidisciplinary database of periodical content, including scholarly journals, trade publications, magazines, and newspapers.
Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive multi-disciplinary full-text database with both scholarly and popular periodicals.
African American Newspapers, Series 1, 1827-1998 This link opens in a new window
A collection of 280 newspapers published for or by African Americans, beginning with Freedom’s Journal, the first African American newspaper published in the United States.
African American Poetry This link opens in a new window
A collection of several thousand poems by African American poets of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Twentieth Century African-American Poetry This link opens in a new window
A collection of poetry written by influential and important African American poets of the twentieth century.

Encyclopedias

Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present by Paul Finkelman (Editor)
Call Number: 973.0496 En192fi
ISBN: 9780195167795
Encyclopedia of Black Studies by Molefi Kete Asante (Editor); Mambo Ama Mazama (Editor)
ISBN: 9781452265445
Encyclopedia of African American Music by Emmett G. Price (Editor); Tammy L. Kernodle (Editor); Horace J. Maxile (Editor)
ISBN: 9780313342004
Encyclopedia of African American Artists by dele jegede
ISBN: 9780313337611
Encyclopedia of African American Women Writers [Two Volumes] by Yolanda Williams Page (Editor)
ISBN: 9781281007292
Encyclopedia of African American Politics by Robert C. Smith
ISBN: 9780816044757
Black Women in America by Darlene Clark Hine (Editor); Elsa B. Brown (Editor); Rosalyn Terborg-Penn (Editor)
Call Number: R 920.72 B56 v.1
ISBN: 9780926019614
Publication Date: 1993-01-01

Websites

Black Freedom Struggle in the United States: Challenges and Triumphs in the Pursuit of Equality
This website focuses on Black Freedom, featuring select primary source documents related to critical people and events in African American history. Our intention is to support a wide range of students (see examples for using in teaching and learning), as well independent researchers and anyone interested in learning more about the foundation of ongoing racial injustice in the U.S. – and the fights against it.
African American History Month
This Web portal is a collaborative project of the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
Hutchins Center for African and African American Research
Nation's oldest research center dedicated to the study of the history and culture of African Americans
African American Odyssey
A digital collection of books, manuscripts, maps, government documents, plays, films, and recordings from the Library of Congress
HathiTrust
Digitized books, journals, and government documents from all countries and time periods.
National Museum of African American History & Culture
The National Museum of African American History & Culture is the only museum dedicated to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. This website will provide numerous resources for educators, families, and students.

African-American History Subject Guide

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Books

Magazines

Beginning Your Research

Databases

Encyclopedias

Websites