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

Water-color nautical chart of the African continent including a skyline of an ancient African empire flanked by palm trees.

The Discovery of the Americas and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

by Ira Berlin

Explore the origins of the transatlantic slave trade and the plantation system.

Essay

A shirtless Black African royal holding a staff with two spear heads, wearing a red and blue tiered hat with fur flowing down the headpiece, gold armlets, bracelets, and anklets, and a blue loincloth with a long train.

The Catholic Church in Kongo

by John K. Thornton

Explore the history of Catholic conversion and syncretic practices in the kingdom of Kongo.

Essay

Group of African Americans, marching near the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

History of Race Relations in America

with David Blight, Kellie Carter Jackson, and Manisha Sinha

Explore the importance of Black history and the history of race relations in America in this panel discussion.

Video

A jet of water in a tiled water fountain labeled 'Yemoja" [also known as Yemayá] in a body of water, topped with a white bust of a woman and, above the bust, a dark neon sign reading "The Surprise."

“Yemayá”

by Grupo Abbilona

View and listen to an Afro-Cuban example of syncretic religious practices.

Video

A Black woman wearing a gold, red, and blue crown, blue necklace, and a green checked royal robe.

Queen Njinga

1830s

Take a different look at Njinga in this portrait.

Primary Source

A map of the Indian Ocean world — Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia — with red lines representing trade routes from the east coast of Africa. Blue arrows indicate typical monsoon seasons (November-February for East Africa, April-September for South Asia).

Map Showing Indian Ocean Trade Routes

by Willie Ryan and Lisa Vann

Explore the connection between the Swahili Coast and the Indian Ocean World.

Thematic Map

A black-and-white photograph of an elderly Black man in a white robe and black kufi hat sitting with eyes closed, plucking a guitar made of a calabash squash.

“Griot Basimana, Mali”

1970

View this photograph, an example of the persistence of African learning traditions.

Primary Source

Ruins of a large brick cathedral (the roof no longer present), with a green tree at right.

Kongo, Christianity, and the Diaspora

with John K. Thornton

Learn more about Kongolese cultural practices merging with Christianity and evolving across the Atlantic.

Video

A map on yellowed paper.

Kongo and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

with John K. Thornton

Explore the development and evolution of, and forms of resistance against, the Kongolese-Portuguese slave trade.

Video

A Black man in a multicolored robe and cape, a gold hat with a red frill, and silver earrings, looking upward.

Nzinga Mbemba to Portuguese King João III

1526

Read a letter from the king of Kongo to the king of Portugal negotiating the slave trade system.

Primary Source

From left to right: Fodé Lassana Diabaté, a Black man wearing a light-colored tunic and dark red shirt, playing the balafoon (a struck instrument similar to a xylophone); Hawa Kassé Mady Diabaté, a Black woman wearing a patterened cloth dress and red headscarf, singing with arms outstretched, and Chérif Keita, a Black man in a blue robe, smiling.

The Sunjata Story: Glimpse of a Mande Epic

with Fodé Lassana Diabaté, Hawa Kassé Mady Diabaté, and Chérif Keita

Explore the story of Sunjata Keita through this performance.

Video

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

Christianity and the Kingdom of Kongo

with John K. Thornton

Take a deep dive into Nzinga a Nkuwu (João), Nzinga Mbemba (Afonso), and the Kingdom of Kongo's move to Catholicism.

Video