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African Americans have made many contributions to the United States and the world. These links will connect you to these, as well as the historical experiences of African Americans.
“In February of each and every year, we celebrate Black History Month. This tradition was started by Carter G. Woodson. He was born 1875, a son of former slaves in New Canton, Virginia. Coming into the world just ten years after the 13th amendment was passed - abolishing slavery, he became a noted Black scholar and historian. In 1915, he founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. On February 12, 1926, he started the first "Negro History Week". He chose the second week of February to coincide with birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass because these men had such an impact on black history. Until 1976, the second week in February was celebrated as Negro History Week by African Americans. During the 1976 U.S. Bicentennial Celebration, Negro History Week was expanded into "Black History Month" and is widely celebrated each year by Americans. Carter G. Woodson died in April 3, 1950 but left a great legacy behind.” http://www.ancestorhunt.com/black_history_month.htm |
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Black Wings: African American Pioneer Aviators
From the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Exhibit "tells the story of how one group of Americans overcame enormous obstacles to break into aviation." |
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African American Inventors
From Encarta
“You can't get a blood transfusion, stop at a traffic signal, turn on a lamp, or even put on a pair of shoes without relying on technologies and devices first patented by African Americans. Here are just a few of the remarkable African American men and women who changed the way we live our lives.” Find out about the “real McCoy" on this site.
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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement
From the Seattle Times
Learn about Dr. King (Biography, His Words, Timeline, Study Guide, Lesson Plans, Resources) and gain different Perspectives (Roadways Across America, Student Essays, Class Conversations, Creating a Holiday, Reflection). |
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The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute
From Stanford University
What would Dr. King want to say to Barack Obama? This site includes information about the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Projects at Stanford University, the King Estate, the King Center, and a listing of other related web sites. |
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The National Museum of African American History and Culture
At the Smithsonian
On September 26, 2007, IBM and the Smithsonian Institution announced the virtual opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Smithsonian's 19th and newest museum. This online presence marks the first time a major museum has opened its doors on the Web prior to the construction of its building.
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African American Odyssey
From the Library of Congress
The exhibition The African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship, showcases the incomparable African American collections of the Library of Congress. Displaying more than 240 items, including books, government documents, manuscripts, maps, musical scores, plays, films, and recordings, this is the largest black history exhibit ever held at the Library, and the first exhibition of any kind to feature presentations in all three of the Library's buildings." |
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Capturing History
From Artsedge
"Through teacher-guided discussions and hands-on activities, students will understand the political and economic reasons for the African-American migration to Northern cities between the World Wars. They will discover the similarities and/or differences of life experiences in the South and the North through research, photographs, and artwork, as well as examine how these changes affected African-American life." |
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African-American Band Music and Recordings
From the Library of Congress
"Stock arrangements for bands or small orchestras of popular songs written by African Americans. In addition, a smaller selection of historic sound recordings illustrating these songs and many others by the same composers. Educational materials include short biographies of composers and performers of the time and historical essays. Over 300 performers and composers in the Browse tool." |
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The Underground Railroad
From National Geographic
“You are a slave. Your body, your time, your very breath belong to a farmer in 1850s Maryland. Six long days a week you tend his fields and make him rich. You have never tasted freedom. You never expect to. And yet . . . your soul lights up when you hear whispers of attempted escape. Freedom means a hard, dangerous trek. Do you try it?” |
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Culture & Change: Black History in America
From Scholastic
This site contains an Interactive Timeline. You can click on specific dates to get an information box with details as well as web links
for additional information. You can also find a multimedia History of Jazz (complete with audio samples), a bibliography for grades K-9, and features on Rosa Parks, Melba Patillo, and African American inventors. |
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Black History
From Time for Kids
Featuring Then to Now; The Fight for Rights: History Challenge; and Oh, Grow Up! |
African American History Month
From free.ed.gov
This site features more than 60 resources related to African American history. See photos and historic places from the civil rights movement. Learn about Frederick Douglass, the Harlem Renaissance, the 369th Infantry, Brown v. Board of Education, Martin Luther King, and Jackie Robinson. Find out about Oberlin, New Philadelphia, and more. |
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Lift Every Voice and Sing
From Artsedge
"How does a poem or a song express feelings and meanings? This lesson will explore the origins of "The Black National Anthem," which was originally a poem by James Weldon Johnson entitled Lift Every Voice and Sing. By analyzing the poem's figurative language, students will come to understand how the poem conveys a sense of hope and unity despite hardship. The poem was later set to music by the poet's brother, J. Rosamund Johnson, and became known as "The Black National Anthem." Students will also learn how the addition of music further enhances the messages of imagery of the poem's words, helping the song to become an anthem for African-Americans." |
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Black History
From Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica offers an extensive resource for teaching and learning about Black History. Teacher guides and five classroom projects are listed in Activities. |
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In Motion – The African-American Migration Experience
From the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
This New York Public Library site tells the story of those "voluntary movements of resourceful and creative men and women, risk-takers in an exploitative and hostile environment" providing a "new interpretation of African American history." From the 1450s to the present... |
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Patchwork of African-American Life
From PacBell
These "six Web sites were created as models to suggest ways to integrate the World Wide Web and videoconferencing into classroom learning. African-American History was chosen as a topic because of its importance, popularity and the wealth of Internet resources available on the topic." |
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Ruby’s Bridge from Child to Adult: A Little Girl’s Contribution to Civil Rights
From CBS News
“On Nov. 14,1960, 6-year-old Ruby Bridges became the first black child to integrate a public school in New Orleans. It was to become one of the most memorable images of the civil rights movement.” |
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Organizations That Create Change
From Artsedge
"How can a group change things for the better? In this lesson, students explore the function of organizations in our society. By studying various civil rights organizations and their accomplishments, students learn how groups of individuals can effect social change. Students then design a flyer for an organization that they belong to, or that they would like to join. The flyer's design must effectively communicate the organization's purpose." |
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Mary McLeod Bethune
From Profiles in Caring
"Mary McLeod Bethune, born to former slaves a decade after the end of the Civil War, devoted her life to ensuring the right to education and freedom from discrimination for black Americans. Bethune believed that through education, blacks could begin to earn a living in a country that still opposed racial equality. Bethune worked tirelessly until her death and would not rest while there was 'a single Negro boy or girl without a chance to prove his worth.'" |
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The Brownies' Book: Past and Present
From Artsedge
"This lesson will study the history of The Brownies’ Book, a children’s magazine published by the NAACP from 1920 to 1921. Students will explore the magazine’s role in the civil rights movement, and will then work collectively to create a class magazine based on an issue that is important to them." |
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Dr. King’s I Have a Dream Speech
Transcription of the Famous Speech
This site has Dr. King's famous speech that was given August 28, 1963, in Washington, D.C. It contains the exact text of the spoken speech, transcribed from recordings. |
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The Interanation Civil Rights Center & Museum
From the Sit-In Movement.org
"The International Civil Rights Center & Museum is an archival center, collecting museum and teaching facility devoted to the international struggle for civil and human rights. The Museum celebrates the nonviolent protests of the 1960 Greensboro sit-ins that served as a catalyst in the civil rights movement." This image illustrates the power of a few! "On that cold, first day of February, 1960, these young men sat down at the 'whites only' lunch counter and ignited America's sit-in movement." |
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African-American Quotations
From Information Please
Words to reflect upon and remember! "Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed." Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) in "Up From Slavery" (1901)
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Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Biography, Timeline, Quotes, and More
From Information Please
The federal holiday honoring the civil rights leader is observed on the third Monday in January. |
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African-American History Timeline
From Information Please
This contains a chronology of black history from the early slave trade through Affirmative Action. |
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Notable Speeches and Letters by African Americans
From Information Please
Primary Sources from Benjamin Banneker to Barack Obama! |
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Negro League Baseball
For the Sports-Minded!
History and key players in baseball's gone—but not forgotten—league! |
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Icing the Stereotypes
Professional Ice Hockey!
You can read about black hockey players in a traditionally white sport here. |
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Black Scientists & Inventors
Who was Thomas Jennings?
Benjamin Banneker, Thomas Jennings, other exceptional scientists can be found here. |
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Black History Milestones, Features, and Maps
From The History Channel
Including maps of
• African Slave Trade
• Atlantic Slave Routes
• Civil war Central States 1864
• Colonial Settlements
• Election 1860
• Major Civil Rights Events 1954-1968
• Missouri Compromise
• Public School Segregation by State 1954
• Reconstruction
• Secession of Southern States
• Status of Slavery in the Territories 1850-1854
• Underground Railroad |
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Reading Strategies and Black History
From Enchanted Learning
Printable books for early and fluent readers and Cloze Activities can be found here. |
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BIO Classroom
From Biography
"BIO Classroom features a thorough and image-rich website that is ideal for Black History Month projects, lesson plans, and activities. This site includes streaming video clips, short biographies of over 300 influential African Americans, quizzes, games, an interactive tour of the Apollo Theater, and many more engaging and entertaining resources for the classroom. The site also includes an interactive timeline which traces the lives of significant individuals from Phillis Wheatley to Sojourner Truth to President Obama. With compelling photographs and helpful web links, this site is an outstanding source for both educators and their students for research and projects." |
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"What's Your Life's Blueprint"
An Address to the Students of Barrett High School in Philadelphia, PA
"Don't allow anybody to pull you so low as to make you hate them. Don't allow anybody to cause you to lose your self-respect to the point that you do not struggle for justice---how ever young you are. You have a responsibility to seek to make your nation a better nation in which to live. You have a responsibility to seek to make life better for everybody. And so you must be involved in the struggle for freedom and justice." |
Civil Rights Movement – Discrimination and the Civil Rights Movement
For Grades 7-12
“Students will experience what discrimination is like and be able to brainstorm ways to end discrimination. This will lead into discussions about Brown v. B.O.E., Montgomery Bus Boycott, and Freedom Rides, along with the practice of Civil Disobedience and Non-Violent Demonstrations.” |
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Concept Formation Lesson: Equality under the Law
For Grades 8-12
Note: SWBAT = "Student Will Be Able To..." |
Voices of America
For Grades 10-11
Objectives: "For the students to see how a poet's attitudes, thoughts, and feelings towards America affects his poetry
For the students to convey their own attitudes, thoughts, and feelings towards America in poetry
For the students to see how gender and race influence a poet's views towards America"
Note: TSWBAT = "The Student Will Be Able To..."
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Adinkra Design High School
From Lesson Plans Page
"This lesson plan is designed as one activity within a unit on Black History Month and/or Africa. Activities prior to this would include general African-American History and/or introductory and background activities about Africa." |
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A Legacy of Black Talent
From CNN
A listing for almost every day of February! |
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The Internet African American History Challenge©
From Bright Moments
"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 our 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." |
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Benjamin Banneker: The First Negro Man of Science
From Think Quest
Maryland's African American Heritage: Benjamin Banneker "tells the story of the man who carved America's first functional clock." |
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Civil Rights Timeline Poster
From Tom Snyder
Print out a Civil Rights Movement Timeline Poster for your classroom. |
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The Underground Railroad
From USA People Search
This site was sent to me by Stephanie Harris, a Massachusetts middle school teacher, as a very helpful resource for her and her students. Thanks, Stephanie! |
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A Female Buffalo Soldier
An Exceptional Woman
Learn about Cathay Williams or William Cathay (Cathey), Private, Thirty-eighth U.S. Infantry 1866-1868, through documents!
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The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Legacy of Racial and Social Justice: A Curriculum for Empowerment
From the National Park Service
"Lesson Plans & Teacher Guides: The curriculum focuses on building on students' current civil rights knowledge and helping them to compare present-day realities to past struggles for justice in America and throughout the world." |
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The Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences
The Past, the Present, and the Future
Profiles of African American scientists who have contributed to the development of chemistry, biochemistry, physics, mathematics, and medicine, both past and present. |
February is African American History Month
From the Library of Congress
"The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society." |
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The Underground Railroad
A Web Quest
Students "will explore the Underground Railroad links and complete six tasks. Then, after the research is complete, students will create a PowerPoint presentation and share them with their class." |
Generations of Pride: African American Timeline
From the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
This is a selected chronology by Kathryn M. Harris of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and traces African Americans in the United States from 1619 to 2001. |
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200 Notable Icons
From Biography
Here you can read the biographies of African Americans in the following categories:
• Legal & Political Figures
• Scientists & Educators
• Activists
• Artists & Writers
• Athletes
• Entertainers
• Musicians & Singers |
Black History
From the National Archives
"Walter B. Hill Jr. has completed his publication, 'NARA Records pertaining to American Slavery and the International Slave Trade', just in time to make the information accessible to online researchers during February, Black History Month." Many incredible new resources have been added to this page! |
Black History Month Lesson Plans, Activities and Resources
From ThinkFinity
"Searching for Black History Month lesson plans, activities and resources? Listen to black scientists. Use social and behavioral science to study the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Trace the blues. And through it all, discover the contributions of African Americans to our nation's history." |
How to Write Lesson Plans for Black History Month
From eHow
"Black History Month is celebrated in Canada and the U.S. throughout February. The celebration of Black History Month grew out of a shorter celebration known as Negro History Week, which began in 1926. By 1976, the celebration had lengthened to an entire month and became known as the 'National Afro-American History Month.' Today, the celebration offers an opportunity for students to learn more about African-American history." |
Black History Month Lesson Plans
From Teach-nology
A plethora of ideas can be found here! |
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Black History Month Lessons & Resources
From the NEA
"Are you looking for some fresh ideas to introduce to your students for Black History Month?" Here you can find "lesson plans, activity sheets and other learning materials that are tailored for grade levels 5 to 12. The lessons can be used as a standalone history unit or can be linked with social studies, economics, math, art and literature lessons." |
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Curriculum Resources
From the NEA
"To celebrate MLK Day, here are a collection of curriculum resources — plus links to dozens of others! — to help students put in perspective Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life, his impact on the Civil Rights Movement, and his significance to American culture and history." |
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The NAACP: A Century in the Fight for Freedom
Primary Source Set
"The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, is America’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. Founded in 1909, it was at the center of nearly every battle for the rights and dignity of African Americans in the twentieth century. Today, the NAACP honors its heritage of activism and continues to work for civil rights." Here you can download a Teacher Guide and Primary Sources Analysis Tools. A fabulous resource! |
Do's and Don'ts of Teaching Black History
From Teaching Tolerance
"What every teacher should know and do to ensure students get the most out of black history and Black History Month..." |
Milestones to Remember
From Teaching Tolerance
"And Never Forget... The struggle for justice, equality and freedom did not end in 1964." Where will we be in the years to come??? |
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"America is not like a blanket – one piece of unbroken cloth, the same color, the same texture, the same size. America is more like a quilt – many patches, many pieces, many colors, many sizes, all woven and held together by a common thread.” Rev. Jesse L. Jackson |
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The Buffalo Soldiers
From USHist.com
"With the release of the movie 'Glory,' made by Tri- Star Pictures in 1989, we saw the first real interest in the part that Negroes played in our Military history. But this did not start with the Buffalo Soldiers or even the American Civil War. It started much earlier." |
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Buffalo Soldiers & Indian Wars
From Buffalo Soldier.net
"As a Buffalo Soldier, great-grandfather, Sergeant Henry Parker, and the U.S. army were a part of the Plains Indian's nightmare. As an American soldier, he served his country under the worst of conditions, showing the courage and bravery that has been the tradition of all fighting men, no matter their cause, no matter their sacrifice. It should be noted, that Regimental returns show that the Buffalo Soldiers were not involved in Indian massacres, though they were camped near the sites of two incidents and assisted those who survived. It is this author's stated belief, that the Buffalo Soldiers did not mistreat Native-Americans and were not responsible for their removal from reservations." |
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Female Buffalo Soldier
Cathay Williams
"Cathay was born into slavery around Independence, Missouri, in 1842. Her mother was a slave named Martha Williams and her father is unknown, some researchers believe he was a manumitted Negro." "Today, much is known about the life and times of this American heroine, as well as many other Buffalo Soldiers, because of the efforts of Gen. Colin Powell. In 1982, while serving as deputy Commander at Fort Leavenworth, then Brigadier General Powell originated 'The Buffalo Soldiers Project.'" |
Lieutenant Henry O. Flipper
From Old Mobeetie Texas Association
"Here you can learn about America's first black West Point graduate and first commissioned black officer; the Fort Davis 'buffalo soldier' who was unjustly coutmartialed, and recently pardoned by President Clinton on February 19, 1999." |
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Buffalo Soldiers
From Discovery Education
"Students will understand the following:
1. African American soldiers played a major role in the American military in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were known as buffalo soldiers.
2. Researchers are bringing more and more information about buffalo soldiers to light." |
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