African American Archives

March 1, 1784: Rhode Island Passes Gradual Emancipation Act

While the state of Rhode Island legally abolished slavery in 1652, it wasn’t until 1784 — after mounting public pressure to do away with the enslavement of other human beings once and for all — that the state passed the Gradual Emancipation Act.

Organizing Your Own: The White Fight for Black Power in Detroit

Book — Non-fiction. By Say Burgin. 2024. 304 pages.
Shows that the Black freedom movement never experienced a “white purge,” and offers a new way of understanding Black Power’s relationship to white people in United States.

Slavery by Another Name

Film. By Sam Pollard, Catherine Allan, Douglas Blackmon and Sheila Curran Bernard. 2012. 90 minutes.
Reveals the interlocking forces in the South and the North that enabled “neoslavery” post-Emancipation Proclamation.

New Amsterdam Map | Zinn Education Project

April 7, 1712: Revolt by Enslaved Africans in New York

Twenty-four enslaved Africans launched a rebellion in Manhattan, New York.

March on Washington | Zinn Education Project

Claiming and Teaching the 1963 March on Washington

By Bill Fletcher Jr.

August 28 marks the anniversary of the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Publicly associated with Dr. King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech, this march brought more than 250,000 people to the nation’s capital. The day went down in history as a powerful show of force against Jim Crow segregation. Over time this great event has risen to levels of near mythology. The powerful speech by Dr. King, replayed, in part, for us every January on Martin Luther King Day, has eclipsed all else — so much so that too many people believe that the March on Washington was entirely the work of Dr. King. It is also barely remembered that the March on Washington was for freedom and jobs.

How the Word Is Passed: Discussion Questions, Writing Prompts, and Teaching Ideas

Teaching ideas and discussion questions for How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith.

Lives in Our Lineage: A Lesson on Oral Histories

Teaching Activity. By Cierra Kaler-Jones.
In this lesson, students use key excerpts from How the Word Is Passed by Clint Smith as inspiration for a project where they tell their and their loved ones’ stories.

How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America

Book — Non-fiction. By Clint Smith. 2021. 336 pages.
An examination of how monuments and landmarks represent — and misrepresent — the central role of slavery in U.S. history and its legacy today.

book cover showing freedom riders protesting near a bus

A Young People’s History of the United States: Revised and Updated

Book — Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn, adapted by Rebecca Stefoff with additions by Ed Morales. 2022. 544 pages.
A young adult version of the best-selling A People’s History of the United States, ideal for 6th through 9th grade students.

Howard Zinn on Race

Book — Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. Introduction by Cornel West. 2011. 192 pages.
Includes some never before published writings, speeches and interviews that illustrate the evolution and fundamental principles around the story of race in the United States.

Colfax Massacre in Colfax, Louisiana | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

April 13, 1873: Colfax Massacre

The Ku Klux Klan carried out the Colfax Massacre in response to a Republican victory in the 1872 elections.

April 8, 1911: Banner Mine Explosion

An explosion at the Banner Mine in Alabama killed 128 men, almost all of them African American prisoners of the state who were forced to work in the mine under the convict leasing system.

Echoes of Enslavement

Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca.
Students discover “echoes of enslavement” in their own state — discrete sites of remembering, forgetting, honoring, lying, or distorting — in this lesson based on the book How the Word Is Passed by Clint Smith.

“Mrs. Francis E. W. Harper,” portrait with Frances Harper’s name misspelled, taken from page 748 in The Underground Railroad: A Record of Facts, Authentic Narratives, Letters… printed by Porter & Coates (Philadelphia, 1872).

April 14, 1875: Frances Harper on Grassroots Organizing During Reconstruction

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper spoke in Philadelphia at the Centennial Anniversary of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, urging African Americans to continue organizing for justice.

Your Plantation Prom Is Not Okay

Book — Fiction. By Kelly McWilliams. 2023. 320 pages.
This young adult novel introduces readers to the history of slavery and its legacy today, challenging the Lost Cause narrative offered to visitors at most plantations (prison labor camps).

April 4, 1967: Martin Luther King Jr. Delivers “Beyond Vietnam” Speech

Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his speech in opposition to the Vietnam War, calling for a “revolution of values.”

April 21, 1937: Congressman Ordered to Jim Crow Section of Train

Illinois congressman Arthur W. Mitchell was ordered to move to the Jim Crow car of the train once it entered Arkansas.

Birthright Citizens: A History of Race and Rights in Antebellum America

Book — Non-fiction. By Martha S. Jones. 2018. 266 pages.
The story of how African American activists remade national belonging through battles in legislatures, conventions, and courthouses.

Kin: Rooted in Hope

Book — Historical Fiction. By Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Jeffery Boston Weatherford. 2024. 208 pages.
A portrait of a Black family tree shaped by enslavement and freedom, rendered in poems and artwork.

Presidents and Slaves: Helping Students Find the Truth (Teaching Activity) | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

Presidents and the Enslaved: Helping Students Find the Truth

Teaching Activity. By Bob Peterson. Rethinking Schools. 7 pages.
How a 5th grade teacher and his students conducted research to answer the question: “Which presidents owned people?” Available in Spanish.

May 25: Memorial Day

Learn about the people’s history of Decoration Day (Memorial Day) and the Memorial Day Massacre.

May 26, 1956: Tallahassee Bus Boycott Sparked by Students’ Protest

Wilhelmina Jakes and Carrie Patterson sparked a city-wide boycott in Tallahassee, Florida when they were arrested for refusing to move from the whites-only seats of a segregated bus.

July 11, 1947: Anguilla Prison Massacre

A camp warden and guards shot dead eight prisoners being held at the Anguilla Prison in Georgia. The Anguilla Prison Massacre Quilt Project tells that story, drawing on records from the NAACP.

Bernice Johnson Reagon, ¡Presente!

Bernice Johnson Reagon (October 4, 1942 – July 16, 2024) was a song leader, composer, scholar, and activist.

collage of six Black abolitionists in the United States.

‘If There Is No Struggle…’: Teaching a People’s History of the Abolition Movement

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools. 16 pages.
In this lesson, students explore many of the real challenges faced by abolitionists with a focus on the American Anti-Slavery Society.

Teaching Activity by Bill Bigelow

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