Social Studies/Black History Sites

African American Art
http://www.artic.edu/artaccess/AA_AfAm/index.html
Here's another great website to help your students celebrate Black History Month. This site showcases one hundred years of African American art achievement . Artwork ranges chronologically from the Civil War era to the Harlem Renaissance, from civil rights struggles to the contemporary period. A click on a work of art produces notes about the author and his work. Art Access provides lesson plans for grades 6 through 12 and activities for families.

African-American Mosaic
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/intro.html

African American Odyssey
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aointro.html
Based on "The African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship," a major exhibit on display at The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., this site explores Black America's quest for equality from the early national period through the twentieth century. Content includes: the work of abolitionists in the first half of the nineteenth century; depictions of the long and still incomplete struggle for equality in employment, education and politics; strategies used to secure the vote; recognition of outstanding black leaders; and the contributions of sports figures, black soldiers, artists, actors, writers and others in the fight against segregation and discrimination.

African American Women Writers of the 19th Century
http://digital.nypl.org/schomburg/writers_aa19/
This collection of over fifty works by female African American writers of the 19th century ranges from slave narratives to collections of poetry to essays and biographies. A project of the Schomburg Center of the New York Public Library, this collection makes works written by this under-recognized group of writers easily available. There is also a biography of each writer . In addition, both the individual works and the entire collection are keyword searchable. This is a valuable collection for anyone studying African American literature, women writers, or 19th century literature.

Africans in America
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/home.html
This site is divided into four parts. Each part contains a Narrative that relates the history of the period and provides links to entries in the Resource Bank. The Resource Bank offers People and Events entries, Historical Documents, and Modern Voices. There is also a teachers' guide section.

African Voices
http://www.mnh.si.edu/africanvoices/

AFRO-American Almanac
http://www.toptags.com/aama/
The AFRO-American Almanac ® is an on-line presentation of the African in America. A historical perspective of a nation, its people, and its cultural evolution. From the beginning of the slave trade through the Civil Rights movement, to the present. Information that will give you a better understanding of the problems we face today as a nation.

Black History Month
http://www.galegroup.com/free_resources/bhm/index.htm  
This is Gale's Black History Month free resource site. Gale has assembled a collection of activities and information to complement classroom topics.

Black History Month: Pursuing the American Dream
http://www.mped.org/MarcoGrams/Feb2004.html
This year marks an important anniversary in the field of education -- the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, a pivotal court case in which the U.S. Supreme Court declared segregation in education to be unlawful. Join the MarcoGram in celebrating Black History Month with activities and lessons about the Underground Railroad, African-American poetry and much more. Use the warm-up activities below to help students learn about important people and events in African-American history, then scroll down for links to more lessons and resources.

Black History: Past to Present
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/BHM/bh_hunt_quiz.html
This is an interactive Treasure Hunt with resources to help students find answers to the questions. There is an essay writing activity they can complete after they have found all the answers.

Brown v. Board: Five Communities That Changed America
http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/121brown/index.htm
Here is an outstanding site dealing with a landmark Supreme Court decision. Loaded with critical thinking questions, picture prompts, and other thought-provoking features, the lesson plans found in this site will truly draw your students into the thinking that motivated African Americans in these communities to fight for their equality and help create today's laws. The site moves beyond mere data and delves into the personal decision-making that made up this dynamic time period in history.

Celebrate Black History Month
http://www.history.com/minisites/blackhistory/
The History Channel complied this archive of biographies of famous African Americans. Athletes, generals, musicians, abolitionists, scientists, and writers are profiled. Most articles offer links to events or associates of the person being written about. A special feature discusses 1944's Port Chicago Mutiny.

Cooking African American Style
http://library.thinkquest.org/10320/Recipes.htm
As discussed at this site written by students, "what we know as 'soul food' is the descendant of slave cooking. It is the brilliant masterpiece that derived from want." In addition to a brief history of African-American cooking styles, recepes are given here, divided into categories Soups, Salads and Vegetables; Main Dishes and Casseroles; Breads; and Desserts.

Culture & Change: Black History in America
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/  
Another great site from Scholastic Teacher's Online Activities section. Meet famous African Americans, listen to jazz music, and explore history with our interactive timeline. Amount of content varies by grade level. No teacher's guides. Set up in sections of varying sizes. Links to external resources.

Daguerreotypes by Augustus Washington, A Durable Memento
http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/awash/index.htm
Augustus Washington, son of a former slave, learned to make daguerreotypes in 1843 during his freshman year at Dartmouth College to offset his college expenses. Biographical notes and details about his work are provided in an annotated slideshow, which includes portraits he made in his first studio at Hartford, Connecticut, and those he made later after he had migrated to Liberia. This is a fascinating history of the life of an African American living free in a slave society. The site, the online version of an exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery, offers a Teachers Guide in PDF format.

Family Education Network: Martin Luther King, Jr.
http://fun.familyeducation.com/martin-luther-king-jr/holidays-and-celebrations/32832.html

From Canterbury to Little Rock: The Struggle for Educational Equality for African Americans
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/crandall/Crandall.htm  
This lesson is based on the National Historic Landmark files, "Prudence Crandall House" and "Little Rock High School," as well as other sources related to these two historic properties. From the Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) series which uses properties listed in the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places to enliven history, social studies, geography, civics, and other subjects. Standards-based lesson includes materials, student objectives, images, activities, maps, readings, and more.

Hall of Black Achievement Gallery
http://www.bridgew.edu/HOBA/Gallery.cfm
The goal of the Hall of Black Achievement is to spotlight the accomplishments of African-Americans in the U.S. It covers the famous (Harriet Taubman, Marian Anderson) as well as the less well-known (Roland Hayes, a musician and composer). The site gives a brief biography and a portrait for each profile.

History of Jim Crow
http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/home.htm
This site was designed by teachers and presents teachers with new historical resources and teaching ideas for the Jim Crow years. At this site, teachers will find historical essays, personal narratives and lesson plans. In addition, the site contains an image gallery, an American literature book list for middle school, high school, and college-level students; and an interactive encyclopedia that offers users access to terms, people, and events relating to the history of Jim
Crow.

Internet African American History Challenge
http://www.brightmoments.com/blackhistory/
The Internet African American History Challenge© is an interactive quiz that helps you sharpen your knowledge of African American History. It's an "open book" test. So if you're not sure of an answer, you can check their reference material for help. Level I is the easiest and has 7 questions while levels II & III have 10 questions each and are a bit more challenging.

Legends of Tuskegee (National Park Service)
http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/tuskegee/  
Who are the Legends of Tuskegee and what do they have in common? This three-part web exhibit highlights the achievements of Washington, Carver and the Tuskegee Airmen. Booker Taliafero Washington, George Washington Carver and the Tuskegee Airmen all came to Tuskegee and created their own legends. Tuskegee was a bold experiment and a site of major African-American achievements for over 100 years. The Tuskegee Airmen's achievements, together with the men and women who supported them, paved the way for full integration of the U.S. military.

Lest We Forget, The Triumph Over Slavery
http://digital.nypl.org/lwf/flash.html  
Available in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese, the web site was created to mark the United Nations General Assembly resolution proclaiming 2004 as the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition. Clickable vignettes along the bottom and sides lead to further explanations and photos.

Literature and Life
http://www.pbs.org/ktca/litandlife/toc.html
PBS explores African-American literature, from slave narratives to the work of contemporary artists. This comprehensive site explores the authors, era, and impact of the literature. There are also audio clip readings and video clip interviews.

Little Rock Nine: 50 Years Later
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2007/10/01/us/20071001_LITTLEROCK_GRAPHIC.html#
See current portraits of seven of the Little Rock Nine and listen to remembrances of their experiences as the first African Americans to enroll in the previously segregated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/special/mlk/
Celebrate the 72nd anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth with this tribute to the man, the movement, and the legacy. This resource features photographs and time lines of King's life and the civil rights movement, sound clips from his speeches, and discussion questions for students in grades 4 and up.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Crossword
http://www.surfnetkids.com/games/king-cw.htm
Work this online crossword puzzle about Martin Luther King, Jr., by Barbara J. Feldman, to see how much you know about his life.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute
http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/
The stated goal of Stanford University's Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute is to promulgate the ideals and goals which motivated this noted American. As part of its effort to assemble and distribute historical information concerning Dr. King, the site offers most of his papers, speeches, and sermons, as well as a biography and chronology of his life.

One More Once: A Centennial Celebration of the Life and Music of Count Basie
http://newarkwww.rutgers.edu/ijs/cb/index.html
To join in the celebration of Black History Month, here is a great site devoted to the life and music of Count Basie. A musicography tracks his creations through the decades of his life, and there are also photo essays to add interest to this excellent site.

Pilgrimage of Jesse Jackson
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/jesse/
Jesse Jackson is well known for his part in the civil rights movement and his work with Martin Luther King, Jr., but since the 1960's, he has also been working hard in politics. An interview with his biographer, a timeline of his life, and interviews with his friends and advisors provide extensive materials on Jackson's life and accomplishments.

Reporting Civil Rights (Library of America)
http://www.reportingcivilrights.org/  
Reporting Civil Rights presents the reporters and journalism of the American Civil Rights Movement and the efforts of various journalists, activists, and others to secure civil freedoms and liberties for African- Americans. An interactive timeline that chronicles the years 1941 to 1973. The Library of America companion site is a two-volume anthology that brings together nearly 200 newspaper and magazine reports, book excerpts, and features by 151 writers.

Rosa Parks Bus at Henry Ford Museum
http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/rosaparks/default.asp
Students can take a look at the bus that started the Montgomery Bus Boycott and learn what Rosa Parks had to do with it.

Rosa Parks: Pioneer of Civil Rights
http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/par0int-1
Most historians cite December 1, 1955, as the beginning of the modern civil rights movement. On that day, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. This site offers a brief biography and interview with Rosa Parks, who is often called "the mother of the civil rights movement." The main attraction of the site is the interview, which covers the bus incident in Alabama, her childhood, her influences and beliefs, and her association with Martin Luther King, Jr.

Stamp on Black History
http://library.thinkquest.org/10320/Stamps.htm

Time For Kids: Black History Month
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/specials/articles/0,6709,97217,00.html
Explore Black History Then to Now, The Fight for Rights History Challenge, Oh, Grow UP! (try to guess who they are from their kid pictures), Now Hear This (listen to some famous moments), and Special Spotlight: The Arts.

Underground Railroad
http://www.freedomcenter.org/
This website supports the mission of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinatti. The section on Slavery's Past is interesting. One feature (Places) is a clickable map showing locations of railroad stops. Another is the People section that contains stories of the work of people involved in the abolitionist movement and the Underground Railroad. Students can add locations or stories to these areas. Freedom Today will pose various questions to visitors of this website and allow them to respond.

Voices from the Days of Slavery (Library of Congress)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/voices/
Voices from the Days of Slavery: Former Slaves Tell Their Stories provides the opportunity to listen to former slaves describe their lives. These interviews, conducted between 1932 and 1975, capture the recollections of twenty-three identifiable people born between 1823 and the early 1860s and known to have been former slaves. Almost seven hours of recordings were made in nine Southern states and provide an important glimpse of what life was like for slaves and freedmen. The former slaves discuss how they felt about slavery, slaveholders, how slaves were coerced, their families, and, of course, freedom. They have much to say about living as African Americans from the 1870s to the 1930s, and beyond. As part of their testimony, several of the ex-slaves sing songs, many of which were learned during the time of their enslavement.

Voices of Civil Rights
http://www.voicesofcivilrights.org/
This is a strong, forceful site focusing on Civil Rights and can be used in the classroom as a resource for diversity and multiculturalism study. This joint project of AARP and the LCCR seeks to provide a common place for people to share their experiences from the turbulent historical beginnings of the civil rights' movement as well as contemporary insight. The "Stories of Hope and Courage by Ordinary People" are truly inspirational. These stories contain deep personal feelings never told before. Other inspiring aspects of this site include the "Unfinished Business" of the Brown v. Board of Education decision and "New Voices," about the young activists who seek to carry out the visions of the original leaders. The large compelling graphics, an interactive timeline, and a video of striking photos set to music make this a dramatic website.

With an Even Hand: Brown v. Board at Fifty (Library of Congress)
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/brown/  
On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court issued a decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, declaring that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." This decision was pivotal to the struggle for racial desegregation in the United States. This exhibition commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of this landmark judicial case. "With an Even Hand" is divided into three sections. The exhibition examines precedent-setting court cases that laid the ground work for the Brown v. Board decision, explores the Supreme Court argument and the public's response to it, and closes with an overview of this profound decision's aftermath. The exhibition features more than one hundred items from the Library's extensive holdings, including books, documents, photographs, personal papers, manuscripts, maps, music, films, political cartoons, and prints. A film compilation captures the historic events and highlights media coverage of the struggle for desegregation.