ENGL 4/5650 African American Writers Pre-20th Century: Internet Resources

The Archives holds a wealth of material documenting the Black experience. This page highlights these resources online, in programs, and through traditional and social media.

African-American (Black) genealogical and biographical researching essential historical records including federal census, slave and freed person registers, marriage and military records and AfriGeneas
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A collection of past African American history exhibits and digital collections at the Library of Congress

The New York Public Library's African American Women Writers of the 19th Century guide includes a digital collection of published works by 19th-century black women writers, biographies for each author, citations and much more

This website provides an opportunity to read a sample of narratives and to see some of the photographs taken at the time of the interviews. The entire collection of narratives can be found in George P. Rawick, ed., The American Slave: A Composite Autobiography (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1972-79).

A huge list of resources pertaining to African American History

African American newspapers sourced from nearly 19,000 global newspapers from 1704 to the present with full-text searching by topic, event, and eras.
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Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 contains more than 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves. These narratives were collected in the 1930s as part of the Federal Writers' Project (FWP) of the Works Progress Administration, later renamed Work Projects Administration (WPA). At the conclusion of the Slave Narrative project, a set of edited transcripts was assembled and microfilmed in 1941 as the seventeen-volume Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves. In 2000-2001, with major support from the Citigroup Foundation, the Library digitized the narratives from the microfilm edition and scanned from the originals 500 photographs, including more than 200 that had never been microfilmed or made publicly available. This online collection is a joint presentation of the Manuscript and Prints and Photographs divisions of the Library of Congress.

a variety of online resources, including a full-text collection of books by 19th Century African American female writers, as well as photo and audiovisual collections pertaining to African American history and the African diaspora.

a digital publishing initiative sponsored by the University Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, provides access to digitized primary materials that offer Southern perspectives on American history and culture.

The F.B. Eyes Digital Archive makes available for the first time a collection of 51 FBI files on prominent African American authors and literary institutions, many of them unearthed through William J. Maxwell's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Now part of the public domain as unrestricted U.S. government documents, these once-secret files are arranged on this site as they were at FBI national headquarters, under the names of individual authors and institutions.

A digital electronic book that can be read in HTML.

The Civil Rights History Project was created by an act of Congress in 2009, sponsored in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representative Carolyn McCarthy (NY) and co-sponsored by Representatives Sanford D. Bishop (GA), William Lacy Clay (MO), John Lewis (GA) and Mike Quigley (IL). "The fight for civil rights was one of the most significant social and cultural movements in our nation's history, and this project will help future generations understand the struggle to make the dream of equality and freedom a reality for all Americans," said Rep. McCarthy in proposing the legislation. In the Senate, the sponsor was Senator Dianne Feinstein, and the cosponsors were Senators Lamar Alexander (TN), Robert F. Bennett (UT), Thad Cochran (MS), Edward Kennedy (MA), Carl Levin (MI), and Charles Schumer (NY). The act was signed into law in May 2009 by President Barack Obama.

This is a comprehensive website on the life and legacy of Malcolm X.

The National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center near Dayton aims to educate the public about African American history and culture from African origins to the present through a variety of programs, including museum exhibits, research and publications, visiting scholars, oral and visual history, and adult and children's educational activities. This is the museum's digital collection.

The only museum dedicated to educating, preserving, and celebrating more than 50 music genres and styles that were created, influenced, and/or inspired by African Americans, including spirituals, blues, jazz, gospel, R&B, and hip hop. Our six distinct galleries feature artifacts, objects, memorabilia, clothing, and state-of-the-art technology designed to share a different narrative and a unique perspective on African American music and history.

Describes specific moments in the history of Ohio's African-Americans who lived during the time period 1850 to 1920 narrated in their own words.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. It was established by an Act of Congress in 2003, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans. To date, the Museum has collected more than 40,000 artifacts and nearly 100,000 individuals have become members. The Museum opened to the public on September 24, 2016, as the 19th museum of the Smithsonian Institution.

The archives of the Toledo Lucas County Public Library’s Local History and Genealogy Department preserve the voices and perspectives that document Toledo’s rich and complex Black history. In this exhibit you can explore photographs, oral histories, news stories, scrapbooks, and other resources that recount the lives and experiences of Black citizens in Toledo and shed light on the progress for Toledo’s Black community that remains to be made.

Scrapbook created by the Toledo Lucas County Public Library from newspaper clippings and photocopies on the subject of Toledo's Black community. Articles are drawn from the Toledo Blade, Toledo Journal, Sojourner's Truth, and other sources. (Part 1 of 2)

Scrapbook created by the Toledo Lucas County Public Library from newspaper clippings and photocopies on the subject of Toledo's Black community and local chapters of organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Links, Incorporated, the Greater Toledo Urban League, and others. Articles are drawn from the Toledo Blade, Toledo Journal, Sojourner's Truth, and other sources. (Part 2 of 2)