- Tacoma Community College Library
- Tacoma Community College Library
- African American History
- The Great Migration & Harlem Renaissance
African American History
Harlem Renaissance & The Great Migration
"Black Opals, an African American literary journal published in Philadelphia from 1927 to 1928. The journal was associated with the Harlem Renaissance. It was co-founded by Nellie Rathbone Bright and Arthur Fauset, and included contributions from Mae Virginia Cowdery, Jessie Redmon Fauset, Marita Bonner, and Gwendolyn B. Bennett. Allan Randall Freelon was the magazine's artistic director."
-Image and quotation cited below (click on image to enlarge)
Featured Websites & Collections
Linked below are websites, online exhibits, and other digital collections with resources on topics related to African American history in the US
- Migrations and the Black ExperienceFrom the National Archives - "This subject guide highlights records of federal agencies and collections that relate to people of the African Diaspora who migrated to and throughout various stages in United States history. With every mass movement, Black people would profoundly change the nation’s demographic makeup, influence culture, and effect changes on local and national laws, economy, and labor force."
- 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"
- Sweet Home Chicago: Blues and African American LifeThis interactive display of articles, artifacts, and images is from the Google Arts and Culture collection and the Chicago History Museum.
- Library of Congress: The African-American Mosaic"A Library of Congress Resource Guide for the Study of Black History & Culture"
- Confronting the Issue: Roosevelt and RaceA PDF of a once online interactive display from the FDR Presidential Museum and Library. Includes many primary source letters in connection to FDR and the New Deal.
- The Great Migration Home Movie Project"The Great Migration is a unique digitization service program that partners the National Museum of African American History and Culture with individuals and organizations across the United States to preserve their important analog audiovisual media."
- Moving North, Heading WestFrom the Library of Congress course materials collection "Immigration and Relocation in U.S. History", this webpage features a short article and primary source images on the topic.
- An Artistic RebirthA section from the Library of Congress Classroom Materials, this page features an article and primary source content about the topic
- The Harlem Renaissance"An introduction tracing the groundbreaking work of African Americans in this pivotal cultural and artistic movement." - From the Poetry Foundation
Featured Videos
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
- Crash Course: Arts and Letters of the Harlem RenaissanceA video from Crash Course series on Black American History
- Crash Course: Political Thought in the Harlem RenaissanceA video from Crash Course series on Black American History
- The Great Migration: Diverse Reasons Why Black Americans Moved NorthA short video by HomeTeam History
- The Great Migration Home Movie Project"The Great Migration is a unique digitization service program that partners the National Museum of African American History and Culture with individuals and organizations across the United States to preserve their important analog audiovisual media."
- Jim Crow of the North | Redlining and Racism in MinnesotaThe Full Documentary (~60-minutes) from Twin Cities PBS
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.
- 15 Minute History: The Harlem Renaissance"uest Frank Guridy joins us to discuss the multifaceted, multilayered movement that inspired a new generation of African-Americans—and other Americans—and demonstrated the importance of Black culture and its contributions to the West."
- 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"
- The Harlem Renaissance: Restructuring, Rebirth and Reckoning [Podcast]An episode of the podcast Teaching Hard History
- Icons: Harlem Renaissance in Motion"Travel back in time and be enthralled by unheard, unseen voices of The Harlem Renaissance as they are brought to life in half-hour radio dramas written by playwrights of color."
- Legacies of the Great Migration: The Podcast "To celebrate our exhibition A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration, this podcast series explores conversations with Mississippians on both sides of the Great Migration: those that left and those that stayed. This limited series dives deep into how the U.S. has evolved due to this historical phenomenon that saw more than six million African Americans leave the South. Food, music, and literature are just a few of the topics to be highlighted. Brought to you by the Mississippi Museum of Art, in partnership with the Mississippi Arts Commission and Mississippi Public Broadcasting."
- The New Deal, Jim Crow and the Black Cabinet [podcast]An episode of the Podcast Teaching Hard History
- Music Reconstructed 1: Jason Moran, Jazz and the Harlem Hellfighters [podcast]The first of a 4 part series from the podcast, Teaching Hard History. Find links to the following episodes on this podcast website.
Sources used on this page:
"Black Opals literary journals" is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Wikimedia Commons (Ed.). (n.d.). [Description]. Retrieved May 4, 2023, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Black_Opals_literary_journals.jpg
Featured Books & eBooks
Use the arrows to scroll through titles; click on the titles for more info and/or access
Except where otherwise noted, the content in these guides by Tacoma Community College Library is licensed under CC BY SA 4.0.
This openly licensed content allows others to cite, share, or modify this content, with credit to TCC Library. When reusing or adapting this content, include this statement in the new document: This content was originally created by Tacoma Community College Library and shared with a CC BY SA 4.0 license.
Tacoma Community College Library - Building 7, 6501 South 19th Street, Tacoma, WA 98466 - P. 253.566.5087
Visit us on Instagram!