- Tacoma Community College Library
- Tacoma Community College Library
- African American History
- Civil Rights, Black Power & Activism
African American History
Addressing topics from the Transatlantic Slave Trade to present day
Civil Rights, Activism & Social Justice
"Although the modern Civil Rights movement began with the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, the struggle for civil rights has been an ongoing battle. The founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909 was one of the first attempts to organize in the pursuit of civil rights."
- From Great Events From History: African American History.
(Click on image to enlarge, image and quotation cited below)
Featured Oral History Collections & Online Exhibits
Linked below are websites featuring oral histories, either in audio or video format, or transcribed. You will also find online exhibits and collections related to the Civil Rights Movement
- The Black Struggle for Freedom The Major Events and Timeline of the Civil Rights Movement in AmericaA collection of articles, images, videos and other linked resources covering the following topics: The Black Freedom Struggle | Slave Revolts, Abolition, and the Underground Railroad | Reconstruction | Early 20th Century | The Southern Civil Rights Movement |Politics and Race in Late 20th Century | Resisting Racism in Policing and the Justice System
- Brown v. Board of Education - National Historic SiteRead articles about this case, the location, and the impact of this event in US history on the National Park Service website
- Civil Rights Digital Library from the Digital Library of Georgia"The Civil Rights Digital Library promotes an enhanced understanding of the Movement by helping users discover primary sources and other educational materials from libraries, archives, museums, public broadcasters, and others on a national scale."
- Civil Rights Movement Resources"This guide compiles links to civil-rights resources throughout the Library of Congress Web site. In addition, it provides links to external Web sites focusing on civil rights and a bibliography containing selections for both general and younger readers."
- FBI: NAACPFBI files on the NAACP - housed in The Vault Collection which includes" 6,700 documents and other media that have been scanned from paper into digital copies"
- Kids in Birmingham 1963Search through a collection of first-hand accounts from those who lived through the tumultuous time of racial conflict in the 1963s
- Library of Congress: Civil Rights Act of 1964This online exhibit from the Library of Congress, contains primary source materials, a timeline, various multimedia, and more.
- Library of Congress: Civil Rights History ProjectSearch through this collection of filmed first-hand accounts, images, videos, articles, and essays - all focused on different aspects of the Civil Rights Movement.
- Library of Congress: Rosa Parks Papers"The papers of Rosa Parks (1913-2005) span the years 1866-2006, with the bulk of the material dating from 1955 to 2000. The collection, which contains approximately 7,500 items in the Manuscript Division, as well as 2,500 photographs in the Prints and Photographs Division, documents many aspects of Parks's private life and public activism on behalf of civil rights for African Americans."
- Library of Congress: Voices of Civil RightsThe exhibition Voices of Civil Rights documents events during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. This exhibition draws from the thousands of personal stories, oral histories, and photographs collected by the “Voices of Civil Rights” project, a collaborative effort of AARP, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), and the Library of Congress, and marks the arrival of these materials in the Library's collection.
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)Established in 1909, the NAACP stands strong today as one of the leaders in fighting racism. Find resources and information on their website.
- National Museum of American History: Greensboro Lunch CounterA small online exhibit featuring some items and info on the Greensboro Lunch Counter sit in - from the American History Museum
- Race Riots of 1919 - The Red SummerAn interactive map that "depicts some of the race riots that occurred during the Spring-Autumn months of the year 1919"
- Separate Is Not Equal - Brown v. Board of EducationFrom the Smithsonian national museum of American history, this online exhibition was created to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of education.
- 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."
- Unchaining Civil Rights"You can call it what you want to, it's still Jim Crow" This online collection features some articles, with primary source materials embedded, on topics of employment, education, enfranchisement, and Equality
Featured Websites & Associations
Linked below are websites, online exhibits, and other digital collections with resources on topics related to African American history in the United States.
- Anti-Defamation League (AD)"ADL is the leading anti-hate organization in the world. Founded in 1913, its timeless mission is “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of antisemitism and bias, using innovation and partnerships to drive impact. A global leader in combating antisemitism, countering extremism and battling bigotry wherever and whenever it happens, ADL works to protect democracy and ensure a just and inclusive society for all."
- The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social ChangeThe Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis promotes its mission of teaching, studying and promoting civil rights and social change primarily through teaching, research, innovative campaigns, and community engagement. For more than twenty years, the Hooks Institute has developed an impressive track record of educating, engaging and empowering the community.
- BlackPast.orgThis is a great resource for information on a wide variety of topics pertaining to African American History, Global African History, current events, and more. Find videos, audio, images, interactive timelines, biographical articles, and more.
- The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for FreedomAn online exhibition from the Library of Congress
- Equal Justice Initiative"The Equal Justice Initiative is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society."
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)Established in 1909, the NAACP stands strong today as one of the leaders in fighting racism. Find resources and information on their website.
Featured Videos & Oral Histories
Linked below are videos both freely online through websites like YouTube or TED, as well as from the library's collection in such databases as Kanopy, Films on Demand, or Academic Video Online. Click or hover your cursor over the icon to learn more about each item.
- The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, Episode 5, Rise!: 1940-1968Streaming on Alexander Street
- America Explained, 58, The Tulsa Race MassacreA short video from Untold History - streaming on Alexander Street
- Crash Course: Malcolm X and the Rise of Black PowerA video from Crash Course series on Black American History
- Crash Course: Randolph, Rustin, & the Origins of the March on WashingtonA video from Crash Course series on Black American History
- Crash Course: School Segregation and Brown v BoardFrom the Black American History series from Crash Course
- Crash Course: Student Civil Rights ActivismA video from Crash Course series on Black American History
- Crash Course: Women and the Black Power MovementA video from Crash Course series on Black American History
- Reflections on the Greensboro Lunch CounterA 2020 video from the National Museum of American History
- Reframing The March on WashingtonA 9+ minute video about the March on Washington from PBS' American Experience
- 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.
- Young People Shake Up Elections (History Proves It): Civic ActionA short video from the National Museum of American History
- The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, Episode 6, A More Perfect Union: 1968-2013Streaming on Alexander Street
- America Explained, 58, The Tulsa Race MassacreA short video from Untold History - streaming on Alexander Street
- The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, Episode 1, The Black Atlantic: 1500-1800Streaming on Alexander Street
Featured Podcasts
Linked here are full podcasts or podcast episodes, as well as short audio recordings from news programs such as National Public Radio (NPR) and the like.
- ACLU: At Liberty - Black Women Take the Supreme CourtAn 34-minute episode of the ACLU podcast called "At Liberty"
- School Colors [Podcast]School Colors is a narrative podcast from Brooklyn Deep about how race, class, and power shape American cities and schools.
- Dreams of Black Wall Street [Podcast]"A podcast that takes a deep dive exploration into a period in history of great promise and great disappointment for Black Americans who dreamed of and struggled for the promise of community and full citizenship in America."
- Building Black Institutions: Autonomy, Labor and HbcusAn episode of the Podcast Teaching Hard History
- The New Deal, Jim Crow and the Black Cabinet [podcast]An episode of the Podcast Teaching Hard History
Sources used on this page:
Kibibi Mack-Shelton, P. (2017). Great Events From History: African American History. Salem Press. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,uid&db=e000xna&AN=1484848&site=ehost-live.
"We March With Selma cph" by Stanley Wolfson, New York World Telegram & Sun is in the Public Domain
Featured Books & eBooks
Use the arrows to scroll through titles; click on the titles for more info and/or access
Women of color and the reproductive rights movement
Chapters include: Race, class, and sexuality
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