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

A color photograph of four people in a park: a Black woman wearing a black shirt and headband; a Black man wearing a white t-shirt, chain with large star, black undershirt, glasses, and backward black baseball cap; a Black man wearing a red polo shirt, black plastic-frame glasses, and a red New York Yankees cap; and a Black man with a black vest and t-shirt, two chains, sunglasses, and a black baseball cap.

Hip-Hop in Cedar Park

by NYC Parks

Hear from DJ Kool Herc and others as they remember the early days of hip-hop in the Bronx.

Video

Fannie Lou Hamer, a Black woman, speaking while wearing a floral-patterned dress.

Black Women’s Leadership and Organizing in the Civil Rights Movement

by Keisha N. Blain

Explore the civil rights leadership of JoAnn Robinson, Ella Baker, and Fannie Lou Hamer.

Essay

Map of the Kongo River.

Afonso and the Slave Trade

by John K. Thornton

Explore the origins and evolution of the slave trade in Kongo and Portugal.

Essay

Map of Africa in tan, with arrows in black, red, green, and yellow showing the spread of Christianity and Islam, Bantu migrations, and trade routes within and beyond the continent

Migrations in Ancient African History

from Exploring Africa, African Studies Center

Explore the spread of Bantu languages, Christianity, and Islam and trade routes throughout African kingdoms.

Thematic Map

Color portrait of a smiling, bare-chested Black man, with grayscale vignettes of the same man shown in a boxing ring facing an opponent, and standing facing out wearing boxing shorts and gloves; at the top are the words "Jack Johnson: The Galveston Giant"

Jack Johnson

by Eddie Flier

View this artistic homage to boxing champion Jack Johnson.

Work of Art

A typed list of Black and Puerto Rican Studies courses for the Fall 1972 semester, pale blue ink on white copy paper

Schedule of Courses for Black and Puerto Rican Studies

1972

View one of Hunter College‘s earliest African American Studies course catalogs.

Primary Source

An ivory and metal mask of a woman, with a tiara and necklace

Queen Mother Pendant Mask: Iyoba

16th Century

View a mask that was a symbol of the wealth of Benin in this period.

Primary Source

Stylized clay sculpture of an armored soldier on a horse

Mali Equestrian Figure

13th–15th Century

View this sculpture of a horseman with a quiver, an artifact of the Mali empire.

Primary Source

A wooden crucifix sculpture with three crosses stacked vertically, each with a Christlike crucified figure

Triple Crucifix

1500s–1800s

View this example of syncretic religious practice in the kingdom of Kongo.

Primary Source

Queen Nzinga, at right, wearing a gold crown, pink bandeau, pink, blue, and red skirt, and holding a multicolored bow and arrow, followed by an entourage of shirtless men and women.

Queen Nzinga with Military Entourage

1665–1668

View this depiction of Queen Nzinga (also spelled Njinga) from the viewpoint of an Italian missionary in Matamba.

Primary Source

The cover of a conference program of green text on a black background reading [diagonally] "Black Studies: Paradox With a Promise" at left, and a large green question mark with "Who," "Where," "When," and "How" written in the mark. "Black Studies National Conference: Southeastern, U.S.A." at the top and "University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, N.C., March 18-21, 1975" at the bottom

First National Council for Black Studies Annual Conference

1975

Get a greater sense of questions and issues in the field of African American studies through this conference program.

Primary Source

A round stone tower next to a tree, flanked on all sides by stone walls

Great Zimbabwe

by Nancy Demerdash

Take a closer look at the kingdom of Zimbabwe and its greatest surviving architectural achievement.

Essay