All About African Americans: Black History Month Teaching Resources

Because of the meager amount of resources about black history available in textbooks and the time that teachers must spend to find them, I am posting some useful links to articles and videos about black history, biographies of influential black people, and related information.

Most outstanding is the Library of Congress's African American Mosaic [1], with information on all issues related to the study of black history and culture. Also notable are the Smithsonian Institution's resources, including its African American History and Culture [2] directory, and Digital History's online textbook African American Voices [3]. Also, the nonprofit African American Registry [4] is a great source of information about African American history.

As a teacher, I realize that time is a problem and that these resources are a little late coming to you. I hope, however, that you will find some windows of time to use them in meaningful ways.

I am reminded, even as I post this, that members of many of other minority groups will say, "Well, what about resources for me?" Thank heavens for Google -- with all the resources available on the Internet, we can, all through the year, be more multiculturally inclusive. For example, check out Ask.Asia [5] and the vast resources of the National Geographic Society [6].

A Sampling of Online Black History Month Teaching Resources

The Father of Black History Month

How did Black History Month start? The Chicago Public Library [7] and the Official Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League Web site [8] have information about writer and editor Carter G. Woodson.

The Buffalo Soldiers and the Civil War

A number of Web sites chronicle the African American experience during the Civil War, including Buffalosoldier.net [9]. (Did you know that there were female buffalo soldiers [10]?) The International Museum of the Horse [11] has information about daily life on the Western frontier, and Civil War @ Charleston [12] has information about the African American soldier experience [13] in the Civil War in South Carolina.

Great African American Leaders

MLK Online [14] has a biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a selection of his speeches, and other facts and information about him. The Black Collegian Online [15] has compiled profiles of notable African Americans.

Other Resources

• American Slave Narratives: An Online Anthology [16], created at the University of Virginia
• The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center [17]
• The Civil Rights Movement Veterans [18]
• The Million Man March pledge [19]
• AOL.com: Black Voices [20]
• The History Channel: Black History Month [21]
• Infoplease.com: Black History Month [22]
• Biography.com: Celebrating Our Black History [23]
• AT&T Knowledge Ventures: Patchwork of African-American Life [24]
• CNN.com: Black History [25]
• The New York Times on the Web Learning Network: Black History Month [26]
• PBS Online: Africans in America [27]
• BrightMoments.com: The Internet African American History Challenge [28]