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

A wood sculpture, painted black, in the form of a standing female figure with arms at sides apart from torso, hands on hips, and feet and legs apart; on her head there is a double-ax motif.

Yorùbá Oshe Shango Ceremonial Wand

19th or 20th Century

View this contemporary piece honoring a traditional Yoruba god.

A Black woman with black curly hair and red lipstick smiles at the camera. She wears a collared blue patterned shirt, and a suit jacket.

A History of the Enslaved Black Family

with Brenda Stevenson

Learn about the history of the Black family from the Middle Passage through Reconstruction.

Video

Letter written in brown ink in cursive on yellowing paper.

John Quincy Adams and the Amistad Case

1840

Read a letter written by John Quincy Adams about his role in supporting the Amistad captives’ petition for freedom.

Primary Source

1808 Engraving of the deck and hold of a slave ship illustrating how little space enslaved people had on board

The Middle Passage

1749

Scrutinize an image and a letter that address the experience of kidnapped Africans on a slave ship.

Primary Source