AP African American Studies Resource Archive | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

A photocopied cover of a curriculum catalog. At right, a black panther pouncing below the text "Black Studies Curriculum."

Black Studies: Its Origin and Place in the Twenty-First Century

by Abul Pitre

Develop an understanding of the birth and evolution of African American Studies, Black Studies, and other adjacent fields.

Essay

Front page of a newspaper, The Africo-American Presbyterian

African American Naming Conventions

by Claude A. Clegg III

Understand changes in nomenclature in the African diaspora.

Essay

Map of Africa in tan, with arrows in black, red, green, and yellow showing the spread of Christianity and Islam, Bantu migrations, and trade routes within and beyond the continent

Migrations in Ancient African History

from Exploring Africa, African Studies Center

Explore the spread of Bantu languages, Christianity, and Islam and trade routes throughout African kingdoms.

Thematic Map

Map of North America with routes on the Underground Railroad; The legend says that free states and territories are in green and slave states and territories are in tan. Underground railroad routes are in red, with arrows pointing north, west, and (from Georgia), south. The data is from the Atlas of African-American History and Politics.

The Underground Railroad in the Eighteenth Century

by Michael Siegel

Visualize the Underground Railroad in its earliest days through this map.

Thematic Map

Map of North America with routes on the Underground Railroad.

The Underground Railroad in the Nineteenth Century

by Michael Siegel and Rutgers Cartography

Visualize the Underground Railroad in the antebellum US through this map.

Thematic Map

A map of the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Atlantic Ocean with arrows noting African emigration from the United States to Canada, Europe, African, and the Caribbean and South America after the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 (post-Revolution in red, post-War of 1812 in blue).

African-American Migrations Post-Revolutionary War and War of 1812

by Michael Siegel

Visualize the trends in migration following two key moments in early American history.

Thematic Map

Map of the Caribbean, focused on Haiti, with arrows noting migratory trends from North America to Haiti, l'Il-a-Vache, and Hispaniola.

Emigration to Haiti, 1820s–1860s

by Michael Siegel, Rutgers Cartography

Explore another emigration pathway, and an aftereffect of the Haitian Revolution, through this map.

Thematic Map

Map of the East Coast of the United States featuring the sites of eight major maroon communities and nine revolts of enslaved people from New York City to the Louisiana bayous

Maroon Communities and Major Slave Revolts

by Michael Siegel, Rutgers Cartography

Visualize the major sites of marronage and uprising across the East Coast through this map.

Thematic Map

Map of Haiti showing key battle sites and selected towns noted with an inset map of the routes of Caribbean emigration from Haiti for enslaved, free, and slave-holding Saint Domingans before, during, and after the revolution

The Haitian Revolution, 1793–1809

by Michael Siegel

Visualize key events and trends before, during, and after the Haitian Revolution.

Thematic Map

Two maps of Africa identifying the territory of empires ca. 1000 BC–AD 1000 and ca. AD 1000–AD 1900, along with a timeline of these empires

Kingdoms and Empires in Africa, ca. 1000 BC–AD 1900

by Michael Siegel, Rutgers Cartography

Visualize the geography and chronology of African kingdoms and empires through this map.

Thematic Map

Color-coded map of Africa noting different vegetation zones

Vegetation of Africa

by Exploring Africa, Michigan State University

Visualize the varied vegetation zones of the African continent.

Thematic Map

A watercolor showing enslaved people picking cotton with an overseer nearby

Painting of a Plantation

ca. 1860

Explore an artist’s depiction of enslavement.

Secondary Source