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

Political cartoon of an enslaved Black woman (wearing a white dress), a baby in her left arm, holding the left hand of an older boy (wearing a dark jacket and lighter-colored pants) in her right hand, as White men chase after her.

The Backlash Against the Fugitive Slave Act

with Lois Horton

Explore the responses to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

Video

Photograph of a man with graying, curly hair, smiling at the camera in front of a wooden wall. He wears a dark suit jacket, a blue collared shirt, and a red and blue paisley tie.

Slavery and the Early American Economy

with Edward L. Ayers

Consider how contemporary events affected American slavery at different points in history.

Video

Betye Saar, a Black woman, wearing a white shirt with black streaks, her arms crossed. Prints of her art are in the background behind her.

Black is Beautiful: “Something to Behold ... Something One Could Do”

by Elizabeth Carmel Hamilton

Learn more about the works of Betye Saar, Elizabeth Catlett, and Toni Morrison in the context of Black is Beautiful.

Essay

Mary McLeod Bethune seated at her desk in Bethune-Cookman College.

Mary McLeod Bethune’s Impact

with Noliwe Rooks

Learn about Mary McLeod Bethune’s life, her involvement in politics and civil rights, and her work’s lasting impact.

Video

Hidden History: Jessie McGuire Dent

with Tommie Boudreaux, Samuel Collins III, Diane Henderson, and Faye Williams

Explore McGuire Dent’s role in fighting racial discrimination and organizing the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

Video

George Clinton, a Black man, wearing a bright red wig, dark blue vest, and multicolored shirt with skulls and crossbones, playing the keyboard as other musicians surround him.

Let’s Talk about “Black Panther” and Afrofuturism

with Steve Vasquez

Learn more about the history of Afrofuturism upon the release of the 2018 Marvel film.

Video

An abstract multicolored mural above a bus depot, with a blue and white bus pulling into the depot in the right foreground.

“Mother Hale’s Garden”

by Shinique Smith

Explore the life and career of an activist and community organizer through this work of public art.

Work of Art

“The Souls of Black Folk”

1903

Read excerpts from W. E. B. Du Bois’s foundational book, in which he explains his ideas of “the veil” and “double-consciousness.”

Primary Source

A silhouette head-and-shoulders portrait of Paul Cuffe, above a sailboat and within an octagon with the text "Captain Paul Cuffee, 1812."

The Nineteenth-Century Emigrationist and Anti-Emigrationist Movements

with Nemata Blyden

Explore the key figures, sites, and concepts of both the emigrationist and anti-emigrationist movements.

Video

An engraving showing a hall with benches, a speaker at a rostrum in front and several Black men and women in formal wear looking for seats.

Emigration, Anti-Emigration, and Transatlantic Abolitionism

with Nemata Blyden

Learn more about the impact of the Fugitive Slave Act, the Dred Scott decision, and the Civil War on emigration.

Video

A black historical marker with white text and the seal of the Georgia Historical Society at top.

White Supremacy in the Early Twentieth Century: Causes and Responses

with Adriane Lentz-Smith

Take a deep dive into the proliferation of white supremacist violence in the 1910s and 1920s, and responses from Black communities.

Video

Martin Luther King Jr. in a dark suit and tie and white shirt, looking out from a balcony at the street below.

Essential Methods of the Major Civil Rights Organizations

with Hasan Kwame Jeffries

Learn more about the major civil rights organizations of the 1950s and 1960s and their typical day-to-day operations.

Video

AP African American Studies Resource Library

The Backlash Against the Fugitive Slave Act

with Lois Horton

Slavery and the Early American Economy

with Edward L. Ayers

Black is Beautiful: “Something to Behold ... Something One Could Do”

by Elizabeth Carmel Hamilton

Mary McLeod Bethune’s Impact

with Noliwe Rooks

Hidden History: Jessie McGuire Dent

with Tommie Boudreaux, Samuel Collins III, Diane Henderson, and Faye Williams

Let’s Talk about “Black Panther” and Afrofuturism

with Steve Vasquez

“Mother Hale’s Garden”

by Shinique Smith

“The Souls of Black Folk”

1903

The Nineteenth-Century Emigrationist and Anti-Emigrationist Movements

with Nemata Blyden

Emigration, Anti-Emigration, and Transatlantic Abolitionism

with Nemata Blyden

White Supremacy in the Early Twentieth Century: Causes and Responses

with Adriane Lentz-Smith

Essential Methods of the Major Civil Rights Organizations

with Hasan Kwame Jeffries

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