LibGuides: HIS 203: African American History I : Websites & Primary Sources

evaluate websites

The following are some general, basic criteria to consider when evaluating resources:

Accuracy
Does the information presented seem accurate?
Are the facts verifiable?

Authority
Who is the author?
What expertise does he or she have on this topic?
Who sponsors the site?

Objectivity
What is the stated purpose of the site?
Examine the "About..." or "Mission" links on a web page.
What position or opinion is presented and does it seem biased?
What kind of sites does this one link to?

Currency
On what date was the page created?
Do you need more current information?
Do links on the site still work?

Use
Would you quote information from this site in a college research paper?

Edutopia: 8 Tips to Help Students Evaluate Websites

sites to get started

Black History: Facts, People & Month
From the History Channel; explore key moments, milestones and figures in Black History.
Immigration & Relocation in US History: African
From the Library of Congress, this gives a brief overview of those brought to this country against their will and forced into years of exploitation.
1619 Project
The 1619 Project launched in August 2019 with a special issue of The New York Times Magazine, including essays and creative works by journalists, historians, and artists. The project illuminates the legacy of slavery in the contemporary United States, and highlights the contributions of Black Americans to every aspect of American society. PDF
Understanding Slavery Initiative
Aims to support those teaching and learning about Transatlantic Slavery and its legacies using museum and heritage collections.
Slavery: History & Memory
Five-hundred years of transatlantic slavery, slave trading, and their legacies cannot be understood through one lens. Slavery and Remembrance embraces the intersections and differences among more than fifty sites and museums from across the globe.

primary sources

Library of Congress American Memory
A gateway to primary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States. Primary sources include images, moving images, sound recordings, music, and text. There are more than 9 million items to be found in 100 collections. Expand browsing search by clicking "List All Collections."
Slavery in America - Online Resources (American Historical Association)
This blog site contains links to a number of other sites all pertaining to slavery in America. Sites include the Digital Library on American Slavery from the University of North Carolina, the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Voyages from AHA, and so much more.
Abolitionism in America
Features rare books, manuscripts, letters, photographs, and other materials from Cornell’s anti-slavery and Civil War collections
Slavery Images
Visual record of the African slave trade and slave life in the early African Diaspora
BlackPast
Documents that have contributed to the shaping of African American history
North American Slave Narratives
The Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection at Cornell
Pamphlets documenting the anti-slavery struggle at the local, regional, and national levels
Sydney Howard Gay’s “Record of Fugitives"
Information about fugitive slaves, how and why they escaped, who assisted them, and where they were sent after arriving in NY
Black Abolitionist Archive
Collection of speeches and editorials by black abolitionists from the 1820s to the Civil War
Maps of Africa: An Online Exhibit
Digital collection of African maps from 1486-1994
The Avalon Project: Documents on Slavery
Legal, historical, and literary documents on slavery
SlaveVoyages
Explore the origins and forced relocations of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic world
Library of Congress: African American History Online
Digitized primary sources available at the Library of Congress
Library of Congress: Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project 1936-1938
More than 2000 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 photographs of former slaves
Library of Congress: Voices Remembering Slavery
Audio recordings of interviews with former slaves (recorded 60+ years after the end of enslavement)
Worlds of Change: The Sea
Ship logs and other documents offering glimpses of the slave trade
Robert S. Cox Special Collections: Antislavery
Collection of antislavery pamphlets and books pertaining to slavery and antislavery in New England 1725-1911. Includes speeches, sermons, proceedings and other publications.