African American Studies: Web Resources

a selection from the over 500,000 pieces in the Sheet Music Collection at Brown University, with a concentration on the period 1840-1950.

Intended as a teaching adjunct to a six-hour public television series covering the history of slavery in the US from its beginning to the end of the Civil War, this well-organized site is divided into four sections. The first, The Terrible Transformation, deals the period between 1450 and 1750, followed by The Revolution (1750-1805). Brotherly Love (1791-1831) illuminates the world of the free blacks using the Philadelphia community as an example. The last section, Judgment Day (1831-1865) traces the more familiar story of slavery during the years leading up to and during the Civil War.

Read or listen to transcripts of speeches by famous African Americans.

This collection contains over a hundred pamphlets and books concerning the difficult and troubling experiences of African and African-American slaves in the American colonies and the United States. This site is searchable by key word or browse by subject, author, or title index.

The Southern Poverty Law Center was founded for the purpose of winning equal rights for minorities and poor people through legal action. Today the Center continues to pursue action against those who would attack the freedoms of others, while also promoting tolerance, understanding, and justice through education and publicity. This site is well organized and leads the user to a wealth of material related to civil rights and civil liberties.

An online full-text database of all publications issuied by the Commission between its beginning in 1957 and 2010.

-Created as a companion to the documentary film on Johnson by Ken Burns, this site both discusses the film project and gives detailed background on the Progressive era and its attitudes.