Black History Month: Online Resources
Black History Online Resources (including Black History Month resources)
The theme for 2024 focuses on African Americans and the Arts.
African American art is infused with African, Caribbean, and the Black American lived experiences. In the fields of visual and performing arts, literature, fashion, folklore, language, film, music, architecture, culinary and other forms of cultural expression, the African American influence has been paramount. African American artists have used art to preserve history and community memory as well as for empowerment. Artistic and cultural movements such as the New Negro, Black Arts, Black Renaissance, hip-hop, and Afrofuturism, have been led by people of African descent and set the standard for popular trends around the world. In 2024, we examine the varied history and life of African American arts and artisans.
Association for the Study of African American Life
- African American Cultural Center - Buffalo, NYThe African American Cultural consists of five core components: the AACC Dance and Drum Performance Company, Paul Robeson Theatre at the African American Cultural Center, Pine Grill Jazz Reunion, Jumpin™ Jambalaya Summer Program, and the AACC Cultural Enrichment/Educational Directives After School Program.
- AfroculinariaEXPLORING CULINARY TRADITIONS OF AFRICA, AFRICAN AMERICA AND THE AFRICAN DIASPORA
- The Art Institute of Chicago's African American ArtThough the gallery retains its geographic arrangement of the collection, illustrating the vastness and diversity of the African continent as well as the relationships between neighboring cultures, our new installation welcomes four new acquisitions as well as several exceptional loans from the Field Museum and presents fresh perspectives through both the physical display and interpretation of every object on view.
- Black History Month at New York Public LibraryThe New York Public Library celebrates Black History Month throughout February with events and programs, recommended reading, blog posts, and a wide array of digital resources available to anyone with a library card.
- Black PastBlackPast is dedicated to providing a global audience with reliable and accurate information on the history of African America and of people of African ancestry around the world. We aim to promote greater understanding through this knowledge to generate constructive change in our society.
- Guide to Exploring African American CultureBoth formal and nonformal education programs are adding diversity-related topics to their curricula. This publication is designed to encourage youth 10 years and older to develop an understanding of African American culture and its importance in U.S. society; learn about the individual contributions of selected African Americans to American history; reflect on their own culture and the similarities and differences among cultures; and develop life skills that give them the opportunity to value diversity, think critically, process information, learn to learn, practice creativity, complete a project or task, and more.
- Library of Congress Black History MonthFebruary is Black History Month The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society.
- National Gallery of Art African American ArtistsExplore a selection of works by African American artists included in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Choose from the images below to view paintings, photographs, works on paper, and sculpture ranging from a still-life painting by Robert Seldon Duncanson to modern and contemporary pieces by Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Alma Thomas, Sam Gilliam, Kara Walker, and more.
- National Museum. of African American History and CultureA People’s Journey, A Nation’s Story
- ThoughtCo.com: African American HistoryDiscover the literature, music, dance and art of African-American culture. Find topics such as the meaning of spirituals, the Harlem Renaissance, the rise of hip-hop and African-American film history.
Exploring Race in Society Database
(EBSCO) has launched Exploring Race in Society™, a full-text research database that offers essential content covering race-related issues to libraries and researchers at no cost. This resource encourages thoughtful discourse by providing students with a deep understanding of how current issues in society stem from actions and policies of the past.
Exploring Race in Society provides an in-depth look at the history of race and delivers critical context on topics related to race, ethnicity, diversity and inclusivity, offering students necessary resources for developing a better understanding of the experiences of racial groups in society.
Exploring Race in Society provides proprietary essays written and reviewed by a diverse group of writers representing the fields of academia, journalism, medicine, and other disciplines working to address issues related to race. In addition to the essays, Exploring Race in Society includes full-text articles from academic journals, primary source documents, nonprofit organizations, primary source documents and government agency reports.
- Exploring Race in Society This link opens in a new windowEssays that provide a deeper understanding of how current issues stem from actions and policies of the past.
Additional Primary Source Documents
- African American Poetry This link opens in a new windowFind poems written by African-American authors between 1750-1900.
- Library of Congress African American History Collections(22)American Memory, from the Library of Congress, provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience.
- African American History Advanced JStor Open Resources SearchExplore JSTOR's growing collection of open access journals, books, images and media, as well as community collections, research reports, and JSTOR Daily (an online publication that contextualizes current events with scholarship).
- Black Freedom by ProQuestBlack Freedom Struggle in the United States:
Challenges and Triumphs in the Pursuit of Equality - US National Archives and Records Administration's Black HistoryFeatures full-text manuscripts documenting African-American history and culture from the early 19th through the 20th centuries.