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

The Life and Work of Phillis Wheatley

with Krystal Mackie, Jeanette Providence, and Sandra Trenholm

Discover the eighteenth-century poet who was enslaved, became free, and built a lasting legacy.

Video

Wooden staff in the form of a kneeling female figure holding a stylized snake in an inverted U over her head, topped by a pair of opposing triangles in a bowtie or double-ax form. Female figure has white beads around her neck and staff is pigmented in red, blue, and white.

Yoruba osé Ṣàngó

Mid-20th Century

Take a closer look at an example of syncretic cosmologies.

Primary Source

A color photograph of a young Black woman with arms outstretched, a surgical mask under her chin, wearing a white shirt bearing the emblem of black fist and the word Juneteenth with trees, tall buildings, and groups of people behind her

An Introduction to Juneteenth

by Graham Hodges

Explore the history and commemoration of Juneteenth.

Essay

A man with a beard, blue and white checkered shirt, and dark blue suit jacket smiles at the camera.

The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley

with David Waldstreicher

Explore the life of this Black, female poet who published a book of poems while enslaved, and learn about the reactions to her work at the time.

Video

Black and white print of Black men, women, and children reading the news of their emancipation.

The Union Army and Juneteenth

1865

Learn more about the origins of Juneteenth through this print.

Primary Source

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

A black-and-white photograph of a serious young Black man in a military uniform (dark coat, white gloves, light-colored pants with a dark racing stripe) holding a sheathed sword

Photograph of Charles Remond Douglass

ca. 1864

Frederick Douglass’s youngest son served in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry.

Secondary Source

A detail from a watercolor image showing a Black man in gray sixteenth-century dress holding a pony's reins and a spear; in front of him is a taller White man in red and orange pantaloons and jacket, carrying a helmet with a feather

Juan Garrido on a Spanish Expedition

1579

View this image that is believed to be Garrido alongside Hernán Cortés.

Primary Source

Hidden History: Celebrating That Freedom Day

with Michael Hurd

Take a deep dive into the first Juneteenth celebrations where it all began, in Galveston, Texas.

Video

Woodblock of ironing boards that resemble slave ships.

Stowage

by Willie Cole

View this work of art responding to images of slave ships.

Primary Source