African American History
Addressing topics from the Transatlantic Slave Trade to present day
Multimedia Resources
Featured Video Collections 
The websites listed here are suggested online resources for viewing videos on topics related to this larger guide. Also linked below are the library's video streaming databases, and the library's catalog (to look up films by title or keyword).
- Black American History - Crash Course video playlistCrashCourse video series (6-13 min. each) with innovative graphics, last updated 2023. Focuses on major events, issues, and figures in Black American history. Crash Course videos are high-quality, with a mix of live-action and animated graphics. Not openly licensed but freely available to view, link, and embed into courses.
- Black Film Center/ArchiveAn archive at Indiana University "dedicated to collecting, preserving, and making available historically and culturally significant films by and about Black people." Although the physical archive is in Indiana, there are several useful online features and collections.
- Black History in Two Minutes or soA channel on YouTube focusing on various people, places, and events within Black history in the US
- Left of BlackFrom the John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University - "Left of Black is a web series featuring interviews with Black Studies scholars created and hosted by James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of African and African American Studies Mark Anthony Neal."
- NAACP on YouTube"This channel highlights some of the NAACP activities and messages from the National office and Units from across the nation. "
- Say It Loud - YouTube Channel"Say It Loud is a PBS Digital Studios series that celebrates Black culture, context, and history. Hosts Evelyn from the Internets and Victor Jackson give you a comedic take on identity and pop culture, from Black pride movements to Black Twitter shenanigans. The show explores the complexity of Black experience and finds joy in the many ways Black folks have influenced American life."
- StoryCorps"StoryCorps mission is to provide people of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives."
- TED TalksTED Videos have a CC BY NC ND 4.0 license, and TED encourages users to freely view, share, and download the videos without restraint. The website is provided as a public service to promote the spread of good ideas.
- Telling Their Stories: Oral History Archive ProjectRead, watch, and listen to student interviews of elders who witnesses key historic events of the 20th century
- Voices of the Civil Rights Movement SeriesA collection of videos with first-personal narratives and interviews with those living through the school segregation, protests, and other events during this time in history.
Featured Podcasts
There are specific featured podcast episodes on each subject-specific page in this guide; however, linked here are some of the larger podcasts that often cover topics featured in this guide.
- 15 Minute History [Podcast]"This podcast series is devoted to short, accessible discussions of important topics in world history, United States history, and Texas history with the award winning faculty and graduate students at the University of Texas at Austin, and distinguished visitors to our campus. They are meant to be a resource for both teachers and students, and can be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in history."
- Abolition Today (podcast)"Abolition today is a weekly online radio program with specific focus on modern slavery as it is practiced through the 13th amendment of the US constitution and by private for-profit prisons worldwide."
- Blackbelt Voices [Podcast]"The Blackbelt Voices podcast tells stories from and about Black folks down South that honor our history, celebrate our culture, and shape our future. Through first-person narratives and in-depth conversations, hosts Adena J. White, Kara Wilkins, and Katrina Dupins share the experiences of Black Southerners living in, loving, and reconciling with the region we call home."
- The Black History Buff [Podcast]"Heard in over 100 countries the Black History Buff podcast is a fun and thrilling journey through time. Covering the full historical tapestry of the African Diaspora, you’ll hear tales covering everything from African Samurai to pistol-wielding poets"
- Black History in Two Minutes (or So) [Podcast]This podcast is "Black History delivered in short, lively, fact-packed stories accessible to people of all ages and education levels. It’s fast, accurate U.S. history available in free video podcast recordings describing major historical events and introducing less well-known experiences involving Black Americans"
- Black History Year [Podcast]"Black History Year connects you to the history, thinkers, and activists that are left out of the mainstream conversations."
- Code Switch - NPRA podcast that talks about race and is hosted by journalists of color who "explore how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and everything in between."
- Dig: A History Podcast [Podcast]"Dig: A History Podcast is a narrative-driven, open access, and accessible digital history project bridging the worlds of popular and academic history with an explicitly feminist perspective."
- Driving The Green Book Podcast"They drive from Detroit to New Orleans, collecting powerful, personal testimony about how Black Americans used the historic travel guide The Negro Motorist Green Book during the height of segregation as a vital resource to quell fears, find safe havens, and travel with dignity. As he drives the Green Book, Alvin unearths both inspiring and heartbreaking tales that tell a different story from what Hollywood would have you believe"
- Ear Hustle [Podcast]"The daily realities of life inside prison shared by those living it, and stories from the outside, post-incarceration"
- Fair Fight Initiative Podcast"Each episode we’ll speak to reformers, informers, and survivors of our broken system of justice in the United States, and hear how the Fair Fight Initiative is crowdsourcing justice for its victims. We’ll get updates on how to make change in the system in your community. And leave you with the infinite hope that we can end mass incarceration for future generations. "
- Historically Black PodcastPodcast that brings personal stories and histories of the Black experience, through user-submitted objects, to life. Listen to interviews, music, and archival sounds.
- Justice in America [Podcast]"Justice in America, hosted by Josie Duffy Rice and Clint Smith, is a podcast for everyone interested in criminal justice reform— from those new to the system to experts who want to know more. Each episode we cover a new criminal justice issue. We explain how it works and look at its impact on people, particularly poor people and people of color. We’ll also interview activists, practitioners, experts, journalists, organizers, and others, to learn. By the end of the episode, you’ll walk away with a better understanding of what drives mass incarceration and what can fix it."
- Pod Save the People"On Pod Save the People, DeRay Mckesson explores news, culture, social justice, and politics with Sam Sinyangwe, Kaya Henderson and De’Ara Balenger. They offer a unique take on the news, with a special focus on overlooked stories and topics that often impact people of color."
- Slavery and its Legacies [Podcast]The Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition is pleased to announce “Slavery and Its Legacies,” a podcast series featuring visiting scholars, activists, and others about their contributions to the understanding of slavery past and present and its ongoing role in the development of the modern world.
- The Tacoma Historical Society PodcastFirst launched in 2021, the Tacoma Historical Society Podcast provides local stories of Tacoma's past
- Teaching Hard History [Podcast]Find many great episodes from this podcast which "begins with the long and brutal legacy of chattel slavery and reaches through the victories of and violent responses to the civil rights movement to the present day."
- The United States of Anxiety [Podcast]From WNYC Studios "A show about the unfinished business of our history and its grip on our future."
Featured Books & eBooks
Use the arrows to scroll through titles; click on the titles for more info and/or access
Streaming Film Databases
The databases linked below contain full feature films, full documentaries, as well as segments and short film clips. Some of the databases, such as Films on Demand, also will generate a citation for the source, as well as provide a written transcript. These can be very helpful in learning the basic information on a topic.
- Swank Motion Pictures This link opens in a new window
TCC Library subscribes to Swank streaming films that have been requested by faculty to support their online and hybrid classes. - Kanopy This link opens in a new window
TCC Library subscribes to Kanopy streaming films that have been requested by faculty to support their online and hybrid classes. - Films on Demand This link opens in a new window
Over 20,000 streaming videos appropriate for academic research. Videos can be watched in their entirety, or as individual segments. - Library Catalog This link opens in a new window
Find items on the TCC library's shelves, as well as digital books from our ebook collections.
Except where otherwise noted, the content in these guides by Tacoma Community College Library is licensed under CC BY SA 4.0.
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