By Alexa Sanders, Electronic Resources Librarian | Walsh Library

In honor of Black History Month, the library would like to highlight a number of databases that focus on Black history. During this month, you may be interested in researching significant people or events related to Black history. The following databases offer a wide range of content exploring many facets of African American history.

Black Life in America 1704 – Today

With coverage starting in the early eighteenth-century, you’ll be able to explore African American history as it was written in this comprehensive collection of news media. Thousands of local, regional, national, and international news sources spanning hundreds of years are available for your research needs. You can find news stories that not only cover people and events, but also their achievements and impact. Explore Phillis Wheatley’s first published works throughout the 1770s to the birth of breakdancing in the South Bronx in the 1970s, or the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 to the fight to enact the Voting Rights Act one hundred years later.

Gale Primary Sources: Archives Unbound, African American Studies

Archives Unbound features an extensive list of primary source collections, including a series of collections that center on African American history. Learn about the emergence of civil rights campaigns with Grassroots Civil Rights and Social Action: Council for Social Action. Read the Transcripts of the Malcolm X Assassination Trial. Discover the correspondence of voting rights activist and civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer: Papers of a Civil Rights Activist, Political Activist, and Woman.  Primary source materials include newspapers, manuscripts, court documents, pamphlets, and photographs among many other types of documents to cover all of your historical research.

Historical Newspapers: Black Newspapers

For additional primary source content, explore this collection of thirteen distinguished black newspapers from across the country. With coverage from 1893-2010, you’ll be able to read from perspectives that have often been excluded from mainstream news media. This includes op-ed pieces about the Civil Rights Movement or reviews of horror movies. You can also find reporting on major events such as the Tulsa race massacre, the outbreak of World War II, and Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.

Music and Dance Online: African American Music Reference

Are you interested in music and music history? Take a look at this collection of music composed, created, or sung by Black Americans. Find sheet music of traditional spirituals or read about the political significance of hip hop. You can also explore the works of specific artists. Check out the discography of Ella Ftizgerald, Thelonius Monk, or Lead Belly.

Black Periodicals: From the Great Migration through Black Power

This collection, as part of JSTOR’s open access initiative, contains thousands of pages from periodicals throughout the mid-twentieth century that emphasize Black voices and the Black freedom struggle. The Black Politician is a journal that considers politics in the Black community during the 60’s and 70’s. Check out the Southern Mediator, a Black progressive newspaper from the mid-twentieth century, or the Radical Abolitionist newspaper from the 1850s. The collection is not yet complete, but content is continuously added and will contain tens of thousands of pages upon completion.  Additional content will include magazines from women’s organizations, newsletters from religious groups, and information from labor organizations.

Wherever your interests lie, the library encourages you to consider diversifying your research and reading from marginalized perspectives this Black History Month. You can find even more resources by checking out our catalog and list of databases, or, if you need help with your research, Ask a Librarian!