FREE: Federal Resources for Educational Excellence March 11, 2009

http://free.ed.gov/index.cfm

This is a fantastic site that “makes it easier to find teaching and learning resources from the federal government.  More than 1,500 federally supported teaching and learning resources are included from dozens of federal agencies. New sites are added regularly.” 

The site is extremely well-organized and easy to search.  Choose a topic from the subject list and find great information about everything ranging from  scientists, countries of the world, history, and jazz to ethnic studies and literature.

A View From the Mountaintop January 23, 2009

http://media.myfoxmemphis.com/mlk/index.html

Memphis television station WHBQ offers this site as an archive of footage that their reporters made of the sanitation strike in Memphis in 1968, which includes footage of press conferences, marches, and events which occurred after Dr. King was killed.  There is also other information on the Civil Rights movement, the post Civil Rights era, and the Obama era.

W. E. B. Du Bois: Online Resources January 20, 2009

http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/dubois/index.html

The Library of Congress offers links to its digital collections relating to W. E. B. Du Bois on this site.  The site also includes links to external sites that have information on Du Bois.

An Era of Progress and Promise : Education and Religion in Post-Emancipation America January 3, 2009

http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/dimp/digital/era/index.html

“An Era of Progress and Promise is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of education, the development of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the Negro Business League, religion in the United States, or African-American society in post-Emancipation America.”–From the web site.  You can read the book online here in this database, as well as find profiles of signifigant institutions like churches and schools, and find biographical information on some influential African-Americans from this period of American history.

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database December 22, 2008

http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/index.faces

“The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade database has information on almost 35, 000 slaving voyages that forcibly embarked over 10 million Africans for transport to the Americas between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. It offers researchers, students and the general public a chance to rediscover the reality of one of the largest forced movements of peoples in world history.”–From the web site.  The principal sponsor of this project is the National Endowment of the Humanities, and the projcect is an Emory University Digital Library Research Initiative.

Guide to African American Documentary Resources October 30, 2008

http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/elw25/aa_digital_archiveshome.htm

“Many information centers are beginning to reveal and promote materials relating to African American history that are housed in their respective facilities. In hopes of enhancing access, dozens of institutions are digitizing such materials. This website reviews several existing websites and digitization projects and lists noteworthy digitization projects that are forthcoming.”–From the web site.  Cornell University Library offers this web site and includes a link to what it considers the best African American digital collections.

Digital Schomburg Images of 19th Century African Americans July 31, 2008

http://digital.nypl.org/cgi-shl/vsc30b.exe/schomburg/images_aa19/toc.html?E+nyplbeta

The New York Public Library offers this collection of photographs of 19th Century African Americans as a Digital Schomburg collection.  The photographs can be searched by by category, and visitors also have the option of searching the photographs by keyword.

African American Sites in the Digital Collections of the Library of Congress March 21, 2008

http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/afam/afam-home.html

Materials, including images, pamphlets, letters, maps, and more, from the diverse Library of Congress digital collections,  on the contribubutions made by African Americans  to the arts, education, industry, literature, politics, and other areas are found on this site. 

LOC’s African American History Month Site February 16, 2008

www.loc.gov/topics/africanamericans/

The Library of Congress has created this central starting point for those interested in accessing the many resources they have.  Be sure to check out the “Collections” section to view all of the library’s digital collections.  Images and multimedia resources are also available.

A Digital Collection Celebrating the Founding of the Historically Black College and University February 14, 2008

http://contentdm.auctr.edu/

“The HBCU Digtal Collection provides electronic access to the archives and special collections of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This unique collectin of digital images opens the door to the treasures of HBCUs that have a special and historic legacy in the education of Black Americans. The digital library will foster research and teaching opportunities for scholars in fields of African American Studies, the American South, American Democracy, cultural pluralism and in other related academic disciplines.”–About the Site.

We Shall Overcome : Historic Places of the Civil Rights Movement February 4, 2008

http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/

A partnership project produced by the U. S. Department of Interior, National Park Service, U. S. Department of Transportation, The Federal Highway Administration, and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, this site offers a map of important Civil Rights locations on the National Register of Historic Places, information about the locations, and links that provide more information about the Civil Rights Movement.
 

Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits January 30, 2008

www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/motto/index.html 

The exhibition “Let Your Motto Be Resistance” consists of 100 photographic portraits of prominent African Americans. The portraits were selected from the collections of the National Portrait Gallery as part of the inaugural exhibition of the new National Museum of African American History and Culture. The show will begin a national tour in October 2008. The web site is designed for browsing in chronological order, beginning with Frederick Douglass and ending with Wynton Marsalis. Short biographies, caption information, and larger views are available with each picture.

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2008. http://scout.wisc.edu

Black History Month/MLK Day Resource January 14, 2008

http://origin.admin.ccny.cuny.edu/library/blacks.html

This is a compendium of annotated resources on or about Black history created by the City College of New York Libraries.  There are specific categories such as The Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Tuskeegee Airmen, Central High School, Brown v. the Board of Education,  and many more, which provide links to web sites where extensive information can be found on the topic.  The texts of the important Civil Rights laws can be found here and much, much more.

StoryCorps Blog November 14, 2007

Thanks to Darletha Matthews (South) for alerting us to this site!

www.storycorps.net/blog/

The staff of StoryCorps update the public on their journey, the people they meet, the stories they hear, and much more!  Read about what they’re learning right outside our front door, and listen to stories they’ve recorded.

RACE: Are we so different? March 16, 2007

www.understandingrace.org

This is a really well-designed site from the American Anthropological Association.  A section on History covers race issues from 1600 to the present, with chronologies and articles on topics such as Civil Rights, Immigration Reform and the Indian Wars.  The Human Variation Section examines the spectrum of race, its connection with DNA and the health implications of racism.  The Lived Experience section allows users to explore others’ experiences and test their own impressions of race.