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

Five portraits of men (abolitionists in Brazil), below a portrait of Princess Isabel (wearing a blue dress with a white frill) and four shirtless Black men dancing next to a pole as a Black woman wearing a pink dress looks on.

Slavery and Freedom in Brazil

by Keila Grinberg

Explore the pervasive impact of slavery in Brazil, and the long fight to abolish the system of enslavement.

Essay

Seated, from left to right, a Black man wearing a white shirt, kente cloth robe, and glasses; a Black woman wearing a white shirt; Pat Nixon, a White woman, wearing a light-colored dress with a white collar and a white hat; Richard Nixon, a White man, wearing a dark suit, white shirt, and dark tie; and K.A. Gbedeman, a Black man, wearing a light-colored shirt and kente cloth robe.

“M. L. King Meets Nixon in Ghana”

1957

Read this piece from the Pittsburgh Courier that connects the Black Freedom struggles in Ghana and the US.

Primary Source

A typed act of Congress.

Maintaining the Freedmen’s Bureau

1866

Read the legislation that extended the life of the Freedmen’s Bureau.

Primary Source

People at right foreground and left background going up a set of stairs; in the center background, a multicolored glass mosaic of a city skyline with an elevated train, and below a tile mosaic reading "TO UP TOWN AND DOWN TOWN TRAINS."

“City of Glass”

by Romare Bearden

Explore the work of Romare Bearden in this posthumously completed piece.

Work of Art

A color photograph of two panels of perforated metal, buildings and the sky visible through the perforations

“Paroles Vagabondes/Wisdom Along the Way”

by Béatrice Lebreton

Explore a work of art in the New York City subway system honoring diverse Caribbean and African American perspectives.

Work of Art

A color photograph of an outdoor train platform with a wall of glass panels overlooking the street below; the images include a propeller airplane, a Tuskegee airman, a car, and horse racing.

“Illuminations”

by Darryl Westly

View a work of art on the Long Island Rail Road paying homage, in part, to the Tuskegee Airmen.

Work of Art

Four multicolored abstract mosaic panels on an outdoor subway platform.

“People’s Instinctive Travels: Homage to the Tribe”

by Eamon Ore-Giron

Explore an abstract piece in the New York City subway system paying homage to hip-hop history.

Work of Art

A panoramic image of a mosaic featuring spirals and circles on a blue field.

“Funktional Vibrations”

by Xenobia Bailey

Explore a mosaic connecting visual art with music.

Work of Art

A multicolored, abstract glass mosaic.

“Just Jazz”

by Moe Brooker

Explore a work of art on the Long Island Rail Road inspired by jazz musician John Coltrane.

Work of Art

A train platform with, at center, a wrought-iron sculpture of a man wearing a suit and hat while holding a suitcase.

“Hear the Lone Whistle Moan” / “copacetic”

by Alison Saar

View two pieces paying homage to the Harlem Renaissance.

Work of Art

A mosaic featuring a black and white portrait of Audre Lorde surrounded by bursts of gold, white, and black tiles.

“Audre Lorde” in “Beacons”

by Rico Gaston

View a mosaic portrait of Lorde installed in the New York City subway system.

Work of Art

A tile mosaic in a subway station of drum majors in white uniforms dancing in formation.

“PARADE”

by Derek Fordjour

View an homage to historic parades through Harlem in this mosaic created in the New York City subway system.

Work of Art