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

A tiled mosaic of three masked human figures dancing in long-fringed, multicolored body suits

“Each One, Every One, Equal All”

by Nick Cave

Explore the work of Nick Cave and his Soundsuits represented in this mosaic in the New York City subway system.

Work of Art

Hidden History: Jack Johnson

with Samuel Collins III, Linda Heywood, and Bob Spagnola

Explore the life and legacy of the “Galveston Giant” and champion boxer.

Video

Hidden History: African American Women During Reconstruction

with Rebecca Czuchry

Explore responses by Black Texan women to racial violence in the wake of the Civil War.

Video

“Dr. Charles Drew and Freedman’s Hospital”

1945

Explore a notable event in Black medical history captured in a newsreel.

Video

Three young Black men wearing tracksuits and white gloves dancing as another young Black man inverts his body on a piece of cardboard. Behind them is a graffitied wall.

Breakdancers in New York

1984

View an example of b-boy culture from 1980s New York.

Primary Source

A dark abstract painting of a mask with horns

“Les Fétiches”

1938

View Loïs Mailou Jones’s painting, which brought Négritude from literature to art.

Work of Art

Title of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) pamphlet on "Structure and Leadership."

“Women in the Movement”

1964

Read this anonymously written memo calling out gender inequality and tokenism in the SNCC.

Primary Source

A lobby card for the movie "The Betrayal". The card is comprised of a black-and-white image of a man and woman standing in a room in front of another man lying on the carpet on the floor. The man on the floor appears to be dead. The woman is wearing a dark shiny dress and is holding a gun at her side in her left hand. Her right hand is resting on her chest and her face appears to be in a state of shock. The man standing next to her is wearing a light colored suit and hat and is extending his hand toward her

Lobby card for “The Betrayal”

1948

View a lobby card from Black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux’s last film.

Primary Source

Several Black men in three rows (sitting, kneeling, standing), all in dark flight suits, boots, and goggled helmets, in front of biplanes. Some men's signatures are next to their photograph.

Flight Instructors at Tuskegee Army Air Field

1945

View this photograph of the Tuskegee Airmen near the end of World War II.

An abstract painting of people in masks with oversized hands and feet.

“The Jungle (La Jungla)”

1942–1943

View this painting by Afro-Cuban painter Wifredo Lam.

Work of Art

Three of the San Francisco 49ers football team kneeling (right knee on ground, arms balanced on left knee) during the pregame performance of the national anthem, as their teammates, coaches, and staff stand, some with hats or hands on their left breast, behind them. The three Black men kneeling are wearing the 49ers uniform of red jerseys, gold pants (with red-white-red stripes along the leg), and either red or white socks.

San Francisco 49ers Protest

2016

View a contemporary example of sports as a platform for protest.

Seven Black women with Afros raising their right fists.

Black Panther Women in Oakland, CA

1968

View an example of women organizing and protesting in the Black Panther Party.

Primary Source