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

The sign for The Crossroads, featuring a ring of three blue guitars (each facing a different direction) on the bottom and the highways 61 and 49 signs above.

Clarksdale: Myth, Music, and Mercy in the Mississippi Delta

by Shelley Ritter

Read about musician Muddy Waters, the blues, and the historical exhibits at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Essay

Photograph of a mural of Robert Johnson (a Black man holding a guitar while wearing a dark suit, white shirt, dark tie, and dark hat), painted in black and white and framed by wisps of smoke, on a purple wall.

Robert Johnson and the Rise of the Blues

by Elijah Wald

Read about Robert Johnson and the rise and evolution of blues music.

Essay

Scan of a page from Phillis Wheatley's book of poems, 1773.

Phillis Wheatley’s poem on tyranny and slavery

1772

Take a deep dive into one of Wheatley's best-known poems.

Primary Source

A white tile mosaic mural of several Black people airborne above buildings.

“Flying Home: Harlem Heroes and Heroines”

by Faith Ringgold

View a fantastical homage to Harlem history through this work of art in the New York City subway.

Work of Art