LibGuides: History Resources: HIST 230: African American History

Secondary Sources

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Provides access to an archive of scholarly journals in all disciplines.
Project MUSE (Basic Undergraduate Edition) This link opens in a new window
Provides full text and citations to articles in the humanities and social sciences.
Wiley Online Library This link opens in a new window
Provides full text articles from and citations to journals published by Wiley

Primary Sources

Tips for Finding Primary Sources

Use the following terms to help you find collections of primary sources in the library's catalog:

Source
Papers
Diary
Reader
Document
Autobiography
Memoir

Use reference sources to find the names and titles of specific people, places, items, etc. Reference sources will help you establish a timeline and identify key figures, facts, and terms. They can also refer you to secondary and primary sources. Finally, refer to the bibliographies in your secondary sources to help you locate primary sources.

Magazines

Below are examples of magazines that you can use as primary sources. These, and many more, are available in print or microfilm on the second floor of the library. Search for these using the library's Full Text Finder:

The Crisis
- The official publication of the NAACP. A quarterly journal concerned about politics, civil rights, history, culture, and other issues facing African Americans. The archive of the collection is also available on Google Books.
Ebony
- A magazine that focuses on new, culture, and entertainment. Coverage includes fashion, politics, and the accomplishments of influential Black people. The archive of the collection is also available on Google Books.
Jet
- A magazine that focuses on news, culture, and entertainment related to the Black community. Find the full archive in Google Books.

Databases

Adam Matthew Digital Collections This link opens in a new window
Contains collections of primary sources dating from the 15th-21st centuries. Explore the following collections that are relevant to this course: African American Communities, Popular Culture in Britain and America, Race Relations in America.
African American Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Provides searchable full text with page and article images to the African American Newspapers collection
1827-1998
Archives of Sexuality and Gender: LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940 This link opens in a new window
This collection brings together approximately 1.5 million pages of primary sources from historical documents on LGBTQ history and activism, cultural studies, psychology, sociology, health, political science, policy studies, human rights, gender studies, and more.
New York Times (Historical) This link opens in a new window
Provides searchable full text with page and article images
1851 to 3 years ago
Readers' Guide Retrospective This link opens in a new window
Provides citations to articles on all subjects in popular and general magazines
1890-1982

Additional Online Sources

Below is a list of online archives and collections of primary sources. If your topic is more contemporary, considering looking for social media posts, blogs, YouTube videos, podcasts, etc.

Black Freedom Struggle in the United States
A website focused on Black Freedom, featuring select documents related to people and events in American history. Documents date from 1790-2000.
Black Power - National Archives
A subject page on the National Archives' website that focuses on the Black Power movement that took place from the 1960s-1970s. This is a part of the National Archives' African American History collection. The records in this collection focus on the Black Power Movement's relation to the Federal Government.
Eisenhower Presidential Library Online Documents
"The manuscript archives at the Library contains many documents that are of wide interest and may be useful to students and researchers working on historical papers, exhibit projects, media or dramatic performances. Archivists have digitized some of the most popular items, arranged by topic. All of these items are in the public domain."
National Museum of African American History & Culture
The collection held at this museum is dedicated to the documentation of African American history, life, and culture. The collection is now open access.

Where to Find Creative Commons-Licensed Material

Creative Commons Search
A tool that allows you to search for Creative Commons-licensed media and media in the public domain.
Flickr
Most images are free to use. Always double check the license information before including it in your project.
Noun Project
Search for icons and images that are free to use.
Shutter Stock
Search for royalty-free stock photos.
TinEye
An image search engine that allows you to find multiple versions of an image and possibly locate where the image originally came from.
The Internet Archive
"The Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, people with print disabilities, and the general public." Internet Archive provides access to millions of publicly available books and text, videos, images, audio recordings, and much more.
Wikimedia Commons
A large collection of media files that are free to use.
ccMixter
A music remixing site that features remixes and samples that are licensed under Creative Commons.
Freesound
A database where you can search for and download CC-licensed sounds.