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

A black-and-white photograph of a serious-looking, dark-haired Black woman wearing a dark coat, dress with a white collar, earrings, and a white veil on the back of her head

Mary Ellen Pleasant, Freedom-Fighting Entrepreneur

by Lynn M. Hudson

An introduction to Mary Ellen Pleasant, an abolitionist and businesswoman who flourished on the East and West Coasts.

Essay

Oprah Winfrey addressing the audience at the Women's Summit on Empowerment, Entrepreneurship, and Engagement.

Black Women in Entrepreneurship

by Andrea Smith-Hunter

Learn about the challenges and opportunities Black women entrepreneurs face, from financial barriers to networking, mentorship, and growth.

Essay

Ayesha Rascoe, a Black woman, is smiling, wearing a tan suit with a white scoop neck shirt, teardrop earrings, and bright pink lipstick. The background is a bright yellow backdrop.

HBCU Made: A Celebration of the Black College Experience

with Ayesha Rascoe

Learn more about the experience of individuals who attended an HBCU.

Video

Prince Demah’s name written on the wooden stretcher of a painting

Painting Independence in Boston: Prince Demah

by Jennifer Van Horn

Learn more about an enslaved artist during the American Revolution.

Essay

A photograph of a bronze cast sculpture titled "Emancipation." The sculpture depicts male and female figures emerging from the tree of knowledge at the center.

Shaping the Public Imagination: The Sculpture of Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller

by Chenoa Baker

Read about the life and art of Fuller and some of her more famous pieces.

Essay

Laura Wheeler Waring, a Black woman, wearing an artist's smock and painting a portrait of a man with her right hand while holding a palette in her left. On the walls behind her are other portraits and artwork.

Laura Wheeler Waring: A Luminous Palette

by Cherene Sherrard-Johnson

Learn more about Laura Wheeler Waring’s portraiture, highlighting her luminous palette and contributions to African American art history.

Essay

Black-and-white photograph of an art gallery, with three men standing in the gallery: a white man in his Coast Guard captain uniform of dark double-breasted coat, white shirt, dark tie, and white cap with a dark brim); at center, a white man in a dark suit, light colored shirt, and dark tie; and at right, a Black man in his Coast Guard sailor uniform of dark shirt (with gold bands on the sleeves) and pants, light-colored scarf, and dark beret.

The Cubist Collage Aesthetic and the Historical Narratives of Jacob Lawrence

by Patricia Hills

Read more about Jacob Lawrence’s use of cubist collage aesthetics to depict historical narratives in his artwork.

Essay

Portrait of Paul Laurence Dunbar, a young Black man, wearing a dark suit and tie and white shirt.

“The Colored Soldiers”

1895

This poem, featured in Dunbar's collection Majors and Minors, recalls the impact of Black service in the Civil War.

Primary Source

An engraving of a Black man with mutton-chops wearing a dark jacket, dark vest, and white shirt, looking toward the right

Garnet’s Address in Context

by Jake Alspaugh

Understand the origins of Garnet’s speech.

Essay

Harriet, the Moses of Her People

1886

Read an authorized description of Tubman’s escape written by a White woman who had interviewed Tubman.

Primary Source

Title page of The Refugee: or the Narrative of Fugitive Slaves in Canada

Harriet Tubman’s reflection in The Refugee

1856

Read Tubman’s memories of enslavement and freedom in her own words.

Primary Source

Map of the East Coast and Midwest of the United States with the size of the free Black population in each state and territory in 1800 (in blue) and 1830 (in red), with a bar chart at left showing the change in free Black population from 1790 to 1860

Free African American Population, 19th Century

by Michael Siegel

Explore the change in free Black populations over time across the North, South, and Midwest.

Thematic Map

AP African American Studies Resource Library