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Related Databases
Use these resources from home, school, or work with a Chicago Public Library card.
*African-American History Online » teen pick
Find biographies, encyclopedia articles, primary sources, timelines, images, maps, and charts from over 60 reference works covering the African American experience.
*Biography Resource Center » teen pick
Biography Resource Center contains full-text biographical overviews from such works as Contemporary Black Biography, Notable Black American Men, Notable Black American Scientists, Notable Black American Women, and Who's Who among African Americans, among others.
Chicago Defender Historical Archive »
The Chicago Defender Historical Archive allows one to search the complete text of this nationally significant African American newspaper. The database covers the years 1910 to 1975, and work continues to incorporate earlier issues back to the paper's beginnings in 1905.
Oxford African American Studies Center »
Oxford African American Studies Center offers sources for the study of African American culture and history, including encyclopedia articles, primary sources, images, maps, and charts.
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Featured CPL Collections and Programs
- Celebrating Diversity: African American History Month »
Every February, the Chicago Public Library (CPL) celebrates the achievements and contributions of African Americans through events and exhibits and by highlighting select library resources.
- The Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature »
Located in the Woodson Regional Library (9525 S. Halsted Street), the Harsh Research Collection houses the largest collection in the Midwest of materials for the study of African American history and literature. A particular focus of the collection is African American history in Illinois.
View a selection of materials relating to the Chicago Renaissance from this collection. - Harold Washington Archives & Collections »
The Harold Washington Archives & Collections, housed in the Special Collections and Preservation Division of the Harold Washington Library Center, document the political career of Chicago's first African American mayor, Harold Washington. These collections contain nearly 400 linear feet of printed and manuscript material, more than 10,000 photographs, audio and video cassettes as well as artifacts. A selection of photographs from these collections is available online.
Helpful Websites
- African American Sites in the Digital Collections of the Library of Congress »
This site presents material from numerous Library of Congress online exhibits and collections, gathered together in one place and presented in chronological order. Find images, pamphlets, letters, maps, and more from exhibits such as The African American Mosaic, The African American Odyssey, and America's Story as well as online projects such as Today in History.
- The Anacostia Community Museum »
The Anacostia Community Museum, part of the Smithsonian Institution, "explores American history, society, and creative expression from an African American perspective." Resources on their website include the diary of Adam Francis Plummer, who was born into slavery in 1819, and online exhibitions about the role of communities of faith in African American life and African Americans in the food service industry.
- Black Voting Rights: The Creation of the 15th Amendment »
Contemporary articles from Harper's Weekly along with commentary, a timeline, and biographies offer insight into the historical context and debates surrounding this landmark legislation. Also available are sites on the Thirteenth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment. From HarpWeek, publisher of digitized historical issues of Harper's Weekly.
- The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute »
Online resources offered by the Institute include an online encyclopedia, the text of King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail," and an audio recording and transcription of King's "I Have a Dream" speech at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
- Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture »
Part of the New York Public Library, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is dedicated "to collecting, preserving and providing access to resources documenting the history and experiences of peoples of African descent throughout the world." Of particular interest are Digital Schomburg, which offers rich collections of photographs of African Americans from the 19th century, and the Online Exhibitions, which include exhibits on African Americans and politics, Malcolm X, African American migrations, slavery, and more.
- Voices of Civil Rights »
This collection of thousands of personal stories and oral histories of the Civil Rights Movement is the world's largest archive of personal accounts of civil rights history. It is a joint project of AARP, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and the Library of Congress.