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

Map of the Americas with an inset map of the Caribbean and a list of countries providing the number of enslaved Africans who arrived in each country

African Arrivals in the Americas, 1501–1867

by Michael Siegel and Rutgers Cartography

Visualize the impact of the displacement of Africans resulting from the transatlantic slave trade.

Thematic Map

Map of the East Coast of the United States with modern state boundaries from New Hampshire to Georgia and red dots for key cities; callout boxes provide the year slavery was legalized along with African American population numbers for 1680 and 1740 for each state.

African Americans in the 13 Colonies, 17th–18th Centuries

by Michael Siegel and Rutgers Cartography

Explore the change in the African American population over time in the colonial era.

Thematic Map

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: John Rufus Gibson

with Samuel Collins III and Joan Marshall

Explore the life and legacy of a key figure in Texas Black history.

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

A broadside announcing "Valuable Slaves at Auction" in large type, with a list of enslaved people, their ages, and primary forms of enslaved labor below

Broadside Advertising “Valuable Slaves at Auction” in New Orleans

1859

Explore how the labor of enslaved people was advertised.

Primary Source

A page from a book reading "Laws of Virginia, Act XII."

Laws of Virginia, Act XII

1662

Read the act that established the doctrine of partus sequitur ventrem.

Primary Source

An engraving of White man with a gaunt face and long white hair, wearing a dark overcoat, jacket, and pants, his right hand holding a scroll and his left hand resting on a stack of books. "Chief Justice Roger Taney" printed below the image.

Dred Scott v. Sandford Majority Opinion

1857

Read Roger Taney’s majority opinion, overturned by the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments.

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

A map of the world, with arrows indicating movement of enslaved people out of Africa, with varying thickness for the number of enslaved people arriving at that location.

“Overview of the Slave Trade Out of Africa, 1500–1900”

by David Eltis and David Richardson

View the varying points of departure and arrival of enslaved people.

Thematic Map

A handwritten document with a beige ribbon on top

“Plea to the Jurisdiction of Cinque and Others”

1839

Read the statement to the court on behalf of the Africans taken on the Amistad.

Primary Source