• Black History Links
    From Professor Cunnea

    Last updated June, 1998

    • This document was created by Professor Cunnea and is maintained by Professor Small of the Academic Assistance Center at America Online for the convenience of students using that service and others using the Internet for their personal education.  (Keyword AAC at AOL).   This site doesn't pretend to be a comprehensive listing of Black History resources on the net.  It is meant solely as a homework helper for students from the primary grades up to the collegiate level.  Links with AOL in the title will usually only respond to AOL users.  All other links should work for everyone; please let me know if they don't.

      Offline bibliographical info is provided help students locate books via interlibrary loan if not on the shelves of their school or public libraries.  This is meant to help students locate the books, not drop in to the backs of their research papers in lieu of actual research.  Therefore, in most cases, some bibliographic data has been intentionally withheld, or not presented in standard bibliographical format.  

      The topic headings might not seem to make sense to anyone doing systematic cataloging, but were chosen to reflect the topics most often assigned to students during Black History Month.  Anyone with ideas about how to organize this material better should write to Professor Small!  Click on any topic to be taken to that part of the site:   

    • Women

    • Biographies (by group, by occupation such as "scientists", or by name)

    • Famous Laws, Cases, and Issues (includes Dred Scott, Brown, Scottsboro Boys, affirmative action, etc.)

    • Slavery (including Underground Railroad)

    • Harlem Renaissance

    • General (including Black History Month, Kwanzaa, and links to modern issues)

    • Black Panthers

    • Military (including Buffalo Soldiers)

    Women

    Bibliography on Women of Color
    The holdings of a small college make a nice resource list; not limited to black-white racial issues.  It's only a bibliography -- the texts are not online.
    Black Women's Narratives from Slavery to the Harlem Renaissance
    Presents schedule of readings with author names and titles, but not the texts of the readings themselves.  Valuable only to someone who can access the same books. Based on a course taught at Marquette University, though this page is on the Georgetown server.
    African-American Women and Womanist Studies
    A small page of links to ISIS and a few other African-American resources.
    Black Women on the Net
    Charming page put together by a student with her own commentary on the links.
    Black, White, and Cosmetics
    A fascinating and provocative site on skin-color prejudice within the Black community as well as outside it.
    On The Question Of Sexism Within The Black Panther Party
    A short essay by Safiya Bukhari-Alston putting the sexism of the Black Panthers in the context of the heritage of slave laws, and pointing out that the BPP Platform itself spoke against the denigration of women.
    Offline
    Books on Black women in the military -- look at the end of the Military section below, where I've included a few excellent books regarding Black women, particularly in World War II.
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    Biographies

    General biography sites to check first -- not Black-specific:
    AAC Knowledge Database (AOL users only)
    Notable Citizens of Planet Earth
    Group biographies, by gender, occupation, time period, etc.
    African American Historical Figures
    Prominent African American Women
    Famous Black Americans from Teacher Oz
    Links on Women from Professor Cunnea
    If you are trying to locate a specific Black woman in history, check the individual biographies and the biographical dictionaries at this racially-inclusive women's site.
    The Blacklist
    A list of Black personages who are also gay or bisexual.
    African-American Historical Figures of the 19th Century
    Pictures or drawings of twelve historical figures and short biographies on same.  Seven men and five women:  Mary Church Terrell, Mary Elizabeth Bowser (Union Spy), Mary Ann Shadd, Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman.
    Strong [Modern African-American] Men and Women  
    Includes Mae Jemison, Johnetta Cole, Hazel O'Leary, Barbara Jordan, Michael Jordan, Douglas Wilder, Colin Powell, and many others. Also includes art -- group portraits of famous Black Americans.
    Pioneers of Black History
    Not western pioneers -- they mean pioneering accomplishments.
    Black Politicians
    Part of the Political Graveyard site. Lists living as well as dead.
    NetNoir Profiles of Past & Present Black Musicians on AOL
    Negro Leagues of Baseball Online Archives
    History of Black Athletes on AOL  
    African American Heroes: Biographies on AOL
    Famous African Americans on Stamps
    African-American Hall of Fame by NetNoir via AOL
    Black Achievers: Short Biographies of Twenty Achievers
    Black History at AOL: People by Occupation
    Major Contributions: Black Engineering and Invention via AOL
    Black Inventors
    Black Inventors of the Past
    A collection of six famed black engineers and inventors of the past, with a short, thoughtful introduction by a modern black engineer.  http://www.users.fast.net/~blc/xlhome1.htm
    African American Science Timeline
    Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences
    Individuals in Alphabetical Order by Surname:
    Marian Anderson by U. Penn
    Mary McLeod Bethune  
    George Washington Carver
    Angela Davis Photo from early 1970's
    This photo is of Davis with the parents of Jim Grant at a Committee to Free Jim Grant fundraiser in Hartford, CT in the early 1970s.  There's no backlink to the Connecticut State University World History Archives, which is the host site for this photo.  If you want to see the host site after viewing the photo, you'll have to get to it from here because you can't get there from the photo URL. For her bio on a completely different site,  try here.
    Frederick Douglass on Yahoo
    Frederick Douglass: Universal Suffrage
    Corbis --> Bio & Portraits --> Civil War --> Frederick Douglass  (AOL users only)
    Jean Baptiste Point du Sable: Chicago 1779
    The first non-Native American settler of the Sauk Indian trading post we now call Chicago.
    The Marcus Garvey and UNIA Papers Project, UCLA
    A Few Words From Marcus Garvey
    Fine photo of Marcus Garvey and several pages of text from him.
    Healy, Patrick and James, priest and Ph.D.
    bell hooks:  Killing Rage, Ending Racism
    CSPAN provides chapter one of the titled work by this prominent Black feminist.
    Shirley Jackson, Scientist
    Katherine Johnson: African-American rocket scientist
    Katherine G. Johnson: Physicist
    Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. (Urban League Photo on AOL)
    Philosopher All-Stars: Martin Luther King
    AOL Keyword: King ("A Hero Remembered")
    Martin Luther King Web Links from AOL
    Martin Luther King Weblinks from Stanford University
    Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project at Stanford University
    Martin Luther King from National Civil Rights Museum
    Martin Luther King, City by City
    Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (with link to photos of grave)
    Martin Luther King Day & News on Yahoo
    Martin Luther King on Yahoo
    Corbis  --> Bio & Portraits --> Forces of Change --> M.L. King  (AOL users only)
    James Lafayette Biography & Photo
    Samella Lewis, artist
    Has bio and timline of her life against society-wide civil rights benchmarks.
    Rosa Parks
    Rosa Parks Interview
    Rosa Parks Bus Boycott Flier
    Rosa Parks Portrait
    Rosa Parks on the Bus: Photo
    Beautiful and evocative 1956 photo of Parks on an integrated bus.  There's no backlink, but this is part of the Emi Online AntiWar Anthology of graphics.
    Justice Thurgood Marshall
    Thurgood Marshall by MIT
    Elizabeth Phillips, Black Woman War Reporter in WW II
    Mabel Keaton Staupers: Black Nurse Integrates Army (scroll down)
    Tituba of the Salem Witch Trials (short history)
    A short bio of Tituba, the Afro-Caribbean slave whose stories started the panic, emphasizing her Black heritage more than her Carib ancestry.
    Nat Turner:  Confession and Bounty
    This site has the Confession of Nat Turner and the proclamation of the governor against him, as well as a photo of the tree from which Turner was hanged.  Warning:  a typo in the governor's proclamation reads "1921" when the date must be 18__.
    Malcolm X
    Malcolm X on CNN
    Malcolm X And Black Power
    Malcolm X: Our Shining Black Prince
    The Malcolm X Interview
    Madame C.J. Walker by Afro-American Newspaper
    Corbis > Contemporary Issues > Muticulturalism > U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (AOL only)  
    Corbis > Bio & Portraits > Forces of Change > Booker T. Washington (AOL only)  
    Ida B. Wells on Yahoo
    Roy Wilkins (Urban League Photo)  (AOL only)  
    Corbis > Bio & Portraits > Forces of Change > Malcolm X (AOL only)  
     
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    Famous Laws, Cases, & Legal Issues

    This is a small selection of cases that might be of interest to students of Black History. The numbers after each case provide the information you need to look the case up in a regular library.  For example, in Yick Wo below, you will find the case printed up on the 356th page of the 118th volume of the U.S. Supreme Court Reports, which most public libraries either have, or can tell you where to find.  The number in parentheses (1886) is the year the case was decided.  Most of these sites will give you a syllabus as well as the full text of the decision.  A syllabus is a short summary of the case.
    In addition, I've included links to sites containing most U.S. Supreme Court decisions.  The Supreme Court sites are searchable, if a student wanted to see cases having to do with Black issues not included here; for example, equal opportunity, zoning, restrictive covenants, jury composition, or voting rights.  The cases listed here are those most likely to be included in high school Black History curricula.  The comments on each website are my own.
    Black Judges On Justice
    Many judges' essays are included in the print version of this work, but Chapter One, written by famed legal scholar Leon Higgenbotham, is online.
    The United States Constitution
    See Article I, Section 2, Paragraph 3:  Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.
    See Article I, Section 9, Paragraph 1:  The Migration or Importation of such persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight.
    See Article IV, Section 2, Paragraph 3:  No Person held to Service or Labour in One State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour; but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour shall be due.
    See Amendment XIII, Amendment XIV, and Amendment XV.
    An Act Respecting Fugitives From Justice... (1793)
    The Second Congress, Session II, Ch. 7 (1793) passed "An Act Respecting Fugitives from Justice, and Persons Escaping from the Service of their Masters," which reads in part "The Clause in the Constitution of the United States, relating to fugitives from labour, manifestly contemplates the existence of a positive, unqualified right on the part of the owner of the slave, which no state law or regulation can in any way qualify, regulate, control, or restrain."  "Qualify" here means the same as "limit."  I am looking for a weblink for the full text of this Act.
    Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
    Passed as an amendment to the Act of 1793, see above, the Thirty-First Congress, Session I, passed the Fugitive Slave Law on September 18, 1850.
    Scott v. Sandford (1856)
    More on Dred Scott
    The infamous case which established that African-Americans were property, not citizens.  This case helped put the nation on the road to the Civil War.
    Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
    The infamous "separate but equal" case, which permitted government and private groups and businesses to discriminate on the basis of race.  The case can be found at 163 U.S. 537 in law libraries.
    Scottsboro Boys by Afro-American Newspaper
    Boys and men accused of rape by two white women who were told that they would be prosecuted for prostitution if they did not agree to say they were raped.  Students serious about this as a research project must look up the case in Against Our Will:  Men, Women, and Rape by Susan Brownmiller, available in most collegiate and public libraries.
    Scottsboro Boys Case (short summary)
    Scottsboro Boys Case:  Powell v. Alabama (1932)
    The case that finally reached the Supreme Court.  It can be found in law libraries at 87 U.S. 45.
    Berea v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (1908)
    This is not the case itself, but it's a nice explanation of it and a very good lead-in for students studying Brown, below. In Berea, the state passed a law making race-mixing at schools criminal.  Berea College, which had been open to all races, fought the new law -- and lost!  The person who prepared this article concludes it with a very nice explanation of how racial discrimination cases went from Plessy's "separate but equal" doctrine on up to Brown's 1954 declaration that separate could not be equal.  The Berea case itself can be found at 211 U.S. 45, 29 Sup. Ct. 33.  Unfortunately, I have been unable to find the text of the decision itself online. Neither the college site nor any of the usual free case law sites carries it.
    Brown v. Board (1954)
    Brown v. Board (1955)
    The famous school desegregation cases from the Cornell website.
    Brown v. Board of Education
    An alternative site for one of the cases above.
    Brown v. Board of Education
    Sidwell site
    Dictionary: Brown v. Board of Education
    Sidwell site's glassary to help students with unfamiliar concepts and terminology.
     
    Brown vs. Board of Education: An Interactive Experience
    Has link to audio of the argument!
    Is Affirmative Action Reverse Racism? Atlantic Monthly
    Historic Supreme Court Decisions: Affirmative Action
    For students confused about the difference, "equal opportunity" means giving people equal opportunities to obtain jobs and promotions.  "Affirmative action" means a firm which takes some affirmative action -- some special effort -- to attract or consider applicants from traditionally disadvantaged or excluded groups.  Among other things, the affirmative action may be special advertising campaigns for job vacancies, or special consideration during the hiring/promotional process for qualified candidates from the traditionally disfavored group.
    AOL users only:  Keyword Urban League -->Resource Library --> Download Files --> Affirmative Action
    Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967)
    The case which finally decriminalized interracial marriage in the 29 states which still considered this "miscegnation" and forbade it by law.
    Famous Law Cases: Yick Wo, Racial Impact
    This site contains Yick Wo v. Hopkins (118 U.S. 356)(1886), in which a facially "neutral" law which had a disparate impact on a racial minority was found UNconstitutional. I provide it here for students to contrast with the Employment Division v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990) case, which held the opposite in order to restrict Native American use of peyote. Reading Yick Wo, students may ask themselves whether they believe the result in Smith to have been due to the lack of political power of Native Americans, or to the overwhelming political pressures of the 1990s to hyper-criminalize all drug use.  Similar cases affecting Black Americans have been the use of "profiling" by police who claim in court that their profiles identifying Black drivers as likely drug couriers are actually "neutral" and the hyper-criminalization of crack cocaine (used mainly by Black Americans) versus the lighter penalties for powder cocaine (used mainly by White Americans).  In all such 1990's cases of which I am aware at this time, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided against the rights of Black people not to be punished or targeted for their skin color and in favor of the allegedly "neutral" laws.
    Historic Supreme Court Decisions - by Topic
    This site will let you look up any case prior to 1990 by topic.  However, most people will do better using the "search" feature there if they know other keywords relevant to their case, such as "African American voting" or "Black voting."
    Historic Supreme Court Decisions - by Party Name
    This site will let you look a case up by name of the party, if you know it -- but only cases up to 1990.
    Supreme Court Decisions AFTER 1990 - by Topic
    This site lets you look up cases after 1990, by topic on the page the link takes you to, and by name on a page you can reach from there.
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    Slavery

    Slave Narratives
    The lives of slaves in their own words. Excellent site.
    Texts in African American History
    In their own words: slave narratives.  Another excellent site.
    Slave Consultant's Narrative of 1712
    WARNING:  This site contains a 20th-Century fake!  Purporting to be written by a slavemaster named "Willie Lynch," this forgery is out on the web for no sensible reason at all.  I mention it here to warn students NOT to rely on it for anything.  Example:  the document refers to "King James" as a living person, AND refers to the King James Bible.  The King James Bible was not referred to that way while James was alive.  Remember, students!  Check your sources!!!  And don't believe everything you see on the web.  I have disabled the weblink from that site to this one and mention it here ONLY as a warning to students who may encounter it in a Yahoo or AltaVista-type websearch.
    Black History Trail of Boston, Massachusetts
    A site by the AfroAmerican Museum which gives an online tour of important slavery and abolition sites.
    Census: "Free Colored Population"
    A site from Harvard University giving census data.
    "The Role of the Free Negro in Missouri History"
    A chapter of THE ROLE OF THE NEGRO IN MISSOURI HISTORY, 1719-1970, an official handbook of the State of Missouri from the 1970's, it covers the state's persecution "free negroes" and give statistics re the numbers of free versus slave blacks in 1860. Details the legal presumption of slavery and the requirement of licensing for free blacks.
    Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
    This is the federal law that amplified the political divisions between North and South before the Civil War.  The Act required Northern police officials to assist slave-catchers, and punished Northern citizens for assisting slaves escaping to Canada.  For more on laws and cases affecting slaves, click Famous Laws, Cases, and Issues to find a list elsewhere on this web page.
    Underground Railroad History Sites
    Underground Railroad History and Links
    The Underground Railroad Teachers' Guide and Links
    Black History (Underground RR, Buffalo Soliders, etc) Lest We Forget
    The Walk to Canada Tracing the Underground Railroad
    In the spring of 1996, a man attempted to duplicate the Underground Railroad route from Washington, DC to Canada, on foot.
     
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    Harlem Renaissance

    Harlem Renaissance on NetNoir
    Harlem Renaissance on AOL
    Harlem Renaissance on Circle's Page    

    General Resources

    Negro National Anthem:  "Lift Every Voice and Sing"
    Websites and Timelines for Black History
    Today in Black History from The Munirah Chronicles
    A Black Heritage Timeline
    Important Dates in African American History
    Juneteenth on Yahoo
    Sixties Project: Primary Documents
    Wonderful site for students!  Contains the primary documents, charters, and platforms of the Free Speech Movement, Black Panthers, SNCC, Diggers, etc.  Highly recommended!!  
    Texts in African American History
    In their own words: everyone from Revolutionary War soldiers to Malcolm X.
    African American History Archives
    Wonderful site, links to many petitions for abolition of slavery in 18th centry, resources on Black women, black blue-collar struggles, on the World War II Port Chicago Mutiny, SNCC, Malcolm X, Black Panthers, 1968 slaughter of Black activists in Orangeburg, SC. Second section of page has series of links on statistics on American Blacks, the Bell Curve controversy, Castro, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and the Million Man March.
    100 Black Facts (1957)
    A reprint of a 1957 book refuting myths of white superiority and making assertions about the role of black people in history. Some of the assertions will startle readers, for example, the claim that Beethoven was mulatto. Others are well-supported by recent research, such as the assertion that famed ancient Egyptian priest/prince Imhotep was black.
    Stamp on Black History index
    Black History with Illustrations (Excellent Site! Good topics)  
    Urban League Sponsors U.S. Stamp (AOL site)
    African American History
    Mississippi State University archives page, with links to genealogy, history, heritage. Links include Gullah, Scottsboro Boys, Canadian blacks, holocaust of blacks, regional history, military units, King, Dubois, and major resources.
    American Colonization Society Daguerreotypes
    Photos from the days of the Back to Africa Movement.  Beautiful portraits.
    AOL users only:  Northern Ghetto (Chicago 1935-1939) Urban League Photo
    AOL users only:   Corbis --> Vintage Gallery --> The Thirties --> Black Family
    AOL users only:   Corbis --> Vintage Gallery --> (some in every decade listed)
    AOL users only:   Corbis --> Contemporary Issues --> Civil Rights
    AOL users only:   Corbis --> Contemporary Issues --> Urban Issues
    Black History at Interlog
    Crediting Black History Month WebLinks
    An excellent site, continaing slave narratives (on the life of slaves and on a slave auction), a day in the life of a Buffalo Soldier, and many other interesting links.
    African Missouri  
    Pennsylvania Black History
    Black History in Missouri
    Official State of Missouri manual on THE ROLE OF THE NEGRO IN MISSOURI HISTORY, 1719-1970. Published in 1973, it's an excellent chapters on slavery, free negroes, Reconstruction, blacks in both world wars, civil rights 1940 - 1970, and biographical profiles. The biography page includes data on famous figures of the past and gives a host of names of 1970's-era black physicians, lawyers, and preachers. However, in all the long list, only three women are mentioned: one pediatrician, one early school teacher, and Josephine Baker. The biography page also includes a couple of paragraphs on the state's black newspapers and broadcast outlets.
    Detroit News: African American History
    African-American Manuscript Collections in Virginia
    African-American History and Resources
    Maintained by Loyola University in Chicago, contains links to black newspaper history, traditionally black colleges, black-link pages at other universities, African-Americans in the Sciences page. Contains another section with major black links, and a section after that on music.
    American Studies Web: African-American
    Panthers, pioneers, King, civil rights, scientists, voodoo, and many more standard links.
    The African-American Mosaic
    Library of Congress exhibit with many fine links and photographs. Slavery, Abolition, Migration North, WPA, Liberia. High-quality site.
    Films about Native Americans and Black Americans in US History
    This is an excellent source for teachers and students who wish to order films for classroom or personal use.  Browsing their catalog is an education in itself, and can give students ideas for research papers.  Students interested in the historic interactions of Black Americans with Native Americans should also see the Buffalo Soldiers in the Military section of this webpage, or the Black listing at Native American Links from Professor Cunnea.
    Black Film Center Archives
    March On Washington (Urban League Photo on AOL)
    The Civil Rights Movement (StudyWeb Site)
    Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (not very useful for students)
    National Civil Rights Museum
    Welcome to The Black World Today  
    Black History Month Site from Atlanta
    Black History Month on WB 17
    Black History Month on AOL
    Black Studies & Issues on AOL
    Learning & Culture: Black History on AOL  
    Black History Reference Center at AOL  
    CNN - Celebrating Black History 1997
    Black History on Yahoo
    Hill's African American Site List
    African American Webliography
    Black Cultural Directory (Bibliography)
    Teaching African-American History
    The International Kwanzaa Expo: Celebrate Kwanzaa
    Gives some information on the background of Kwanzaa. Additional information is found on the mission page of the same site, http://www.tike.com/mission.htm
    KWANZAA Information Center
    Explains Kwanzaa, the black/red/green flag, and other African-American symbols and customs. Their interpretation of the flag -- blood for military redemption, black for skin, green for land -- is not the one I was taught, which was blood for //past// struggle, black for the land, green for growth and hope. Their interpretation of the red stripe is as a promise of military re-conquest of the colonial influences.
    THE RISE OF DAVID DUKE
    Chapter One of this 1994 work by by Tyler Bridges, University Press Of Mississippi, Jackson.  Presented here for use of students of Black History investigating the backlash against Black progress.
    CNN News: Black English (12/96)
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    Black Panthers

    Afrolinks, great site, Islam, Panthers, History
    The Black Panther Coloring Book Index
    Black Panther Page at Brandeis
    Brief History of the Black Panther Party at Oberlin
    Black Panther Site by Afro-American News  
    Black Panthers at Curtis-Park Site  
    Nice photograph and short history of the Party, including the Platform.  There's supposed to be an interactive puzzle featuring Angela Davis, but I couldn't get it to work in March of 1997.
    The Black World Today presents A History of the Black Panther Party
    Written by the national editor of The Black World Today, Herb Boyd. The history, presented in ten chapters, begins by lionizing the Panthers. The tenth chapter is blunt about the personal failings of the Party's leaders and the torture-murder of its accountant. The history contains information on many of the leaders: Bobby Seale, Huey Newton, Elaine Brown, and the conflicts among them.
    Speak Out: Black Panther Party Photography Exhibit  
    This site doesn't have the exhibit; it just provides teachers and libraries a way to order "Serve the People: Images of a Vision," 70 black-and-white framed photographs capture the spirit and vision of the Black Panther Party as expressed through the slogan "Serve the People." The exhibition includes a descriptive narrative.  This site also provides links to a speakers' bureau to hire famous lecturers, such as Angela Davis.  It is of minimal use to students unless they want to talk their teachers into renting the photos for their school.
    Peter's Black Liberation E-Texts
    Texts of the black liberation movement and many articles on the Black Panthers, Black Americans in prison and as political prisoners, George Jackson (one of the famous Soledad Brothers), and links to activists of many colors and times who worked for racial justice, including famed anarchist Emma Goldman.
    The Sixties Project: Primary Documents
     This site contains links not only to Black Panther documents, but also to other civil rights organizations such as the SNCC. Very useful to students!
    AFROAM-L Archives November 1994:  Re: Black Panther Groups
    A very short note from a user at the AfroAmerican Listserv regarding the relationship between the original Black Panthers and its current incarnations and offshoots, such as the Black Cat Collective, the New African American Movement, and defense committees of various prisoners whom the Black Panthers still consider political prisoners of war.  The note gives the writer's email address.  
    On The Question Of Sexism Within The Black Panther Party
    A short essay by Safiya Bukhari-Alston putting the sexism of the Black Panthers in the context of the heritage of slave laws, and pointing out that the BPP Platform itself spoke against the denigration of women.
    Interview with Black Panther Leader Elaine Brown
    Brown wrote a book, Taste of Power, in the 1990's about her experience as the leader of the Black Panther Party during the 1970's.  Brown also addresses the question of sexism in the Party.
    CNN News Media Vault:  Huey Newton Obituary  
    This excellent site contains CNN's report on the death of Huey Newton.  The undated report aired August 22, 1989 (Students, take note!  You need the date to cite it in your homework.  Don't be fooled by the 1996 copyright date.  You need the date the report actually aired). The site has a transcript of Greg Lefevre's report on the death, including a short history of Newton after the Party, a photo of Newton, and AVI and Real Audio clips of the report itself.
    The Bobby Seale Foundation Home Page
    The site sponsored by the Black Panther Party itself.  An excellent site, it opens with the famous photo of Seale in the wicker chair and then goes on to give details of the Panther's history and an email address to contact the Black Panther Party.
    Bobby Seale's Homepage, Black Panther Party Founder  
    This page really does have a photo tour!  Forty-five photos of Party leaders and Party activities, such as outdoor rallies and the free breakfast program.  You have to page through them one by one by pressing on the light gray arrow buttons; no index.  All but one of them have captions (students beware! Some important names are misspelled, such as Stokeley Carmichael, Marlon Brando, and Jerry Rubin).  Photo #39 is a rare and blurry one of female Panther Ericka Huggins. The site opens with Seale's photograph and his story in his own words (very short).  The site also provides an email address to contact Seale. 
    Black Panther Party Founder Bobby Seale Visits KSU  
    This is an article from the newspaper of Kansas State University about the 1995 visit there of Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Black Panther Party.  It gives an update on his current activities with more detail than his own site, as well as some additional history:  "Along with Huey Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, Seale organized one of the first Black Student Unions in the United States in 1965."
    Black Panther Party Newspaper Reviewed
    This site is a college journalism paper on the newspaper of the Black Panther Party, written by Anthony Van Moppes.  Van Moppes explains the role of the paper in recruiting and promoting the party, and in tying the Panther agenda to world-wide progressive movements.  (Students can view copies of the paper's headlines in Photo 33 and Photo 35 at the Bobby Seale Phototour described above).
    'Panther' Fails as Chronicle of Black History
    A sharp criticism by the cinema reviewer of USA Today of the movie directed by Mario Van Peebles from a script by his father, Melvin Peebles.  "Panther is a simplistic take on a complicated topic," rife with factual and philosophical errors, says this reviewer, echoing the contemporary objections of historians and scholars.
    Panther: The Movie
    This is a home page for the Mario Van Peebles movie, and has some nice photos and facts about the fictionalized film.  However, some of the "go to" sections are missing or useless, such as "commentary" and "when and where."  Useful for students in a limited way, as long as you remain cautious about the difference between fictionalized history and the real thing.
    Passin' It On: Another Black Panther Movie
    This small independent film tells the story of Black Panther leader Dhoruba Bin Wahad (Richard Moore) convicted in 1971 of shooting of two NYC police officers. In 1990, after serving 19 years in prison, Dhoruba's conviction was overturned and he was released.  The film includes archival news footage, personal accounts, and recent interviews with those involved at the time, including Dhoruba, his attorney,  the former Deputy Police Commissioner, and members of the jury. There are internal links to interviews and an excellent bibliography.
    Police Abuse: 25th Anniversary of the Panther 21 
    This is a ticket solicitation and a press release.  Read past the ticket paragraphs, it's worth it. The press release is valuable to students because it contains an expanded version of the Curtis-Park site above, giving stats on the COINTEL-PRO program asserting that 90% of government resources devoted to investigating Black activism was targeted on the Black Panther Party.
    Frontline News Service on the Acquittal of the Panther 21 
    A short review of COINTEL-PRO oppression of the Panthers in honor of the 25th Anniversary celebration in 1996.  "On May 13, 1971, after the longest political trial in New York's history, all 21 New York Panthers were acquitted of all charges in just 45 minutes of jury deliberation. On May 14, 1996, the Committee to Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Acquittal of the New York Panther 21 hosted a program at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, located at 515 Malcolm X Boulevard."
     
    Passin' It On:  Black Panther Bibilography
    A nice bibliography for students to print out and take to their libraries. Some of the books are long out of print, such as Juror Number Four: The Trial of 13 Black Panthers as Seen From The Jury Box by Edwin Kennebeck (W.W. Norton & Company, New York, NY, 1973), and will have to be located through interlibrary loan.  Also includes citations for a few news items, but not the items themselves.
    Offline bibliography
    Elaine Brown.  Taste of Power.
    Stokely Carmichael and Charles Hamilton.  Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in America.
    Eldridge Cleaver.  Soul on Ice.
    Angela Davis.  With My Mind On Freedom:  An Autobiography  (1974).
    Jim Haskins.  Power to the People: The Rise and Fall of the Black Panther Party. (Simon & Schuster, 1997). Aimed at pre-collegiate students, it gives the history of the Party's formation and its leadership, including the eventual decline of Huey Newton.
    August Meier and Elliott Rudwick, eds. Black Protest in the Sixties.
    Bobby Seale. Seize the Time.  
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    Military

    This section is very incomplete and will be augmented as time goes on.  A special warning to students researching "Buffalo Soldiers" -- the Buffalo Soldiers were African-Americans used in the U.S. war against Native Americans.  The web has numerous sites on the Buffalo Soldiers.  Students using the web to research this topic need to know that the "Buffalo Soldiers" moniker was applied to Black U.S. soldiers in several wars after the wars against America's native peoples.  Don't be confused if you search the web and come up with units from World War I, World War II, or Korea.  
    The first Buffalo Soldiers were the 9th and 10th Cavalries, formed by the U.S. Army in 1866 and mostly composed of freed slaves and Civil War vets. The patrolled the Mexican border, participated in the Spanish-American War, and in the U.S. expedition to the Philippines. They were disbanded in the 1950's when President Harry Truman integrated the armed forces. A television movie called "Buffalo Soldiers" starring Danny Glover was made in 1997 and may be available to students on video. It aired on TNT. Set in New Mexico Territory in 1880, it is a fictionalized account of the conflicts between the Buffalo Soldiers and the Native Americans they were ordered to destroy.
    African American Warriors
    Always start with this site; it covers Black participation in most U.S. military actions.
    Proclamation for Freedom: African Americans in the Revolution
    Texts in African American History
    In their own words: everyone from Revolutionary War soldiers to Malcolm X.
    Royal Ethiopian Regiment
    The British Royal Governor of Virginia issued a declaration in 1775 that any enslaved black person or indentured white person "or others" (probably referring to Native American slaves) who could bear arms and would agree to fight to preserve British rule over the American colonies would immediately be freed. Enough black men volunteered to create several units. They were promised farms as payment, which were never given. Most famous of these soldiers is Thomas Peters, who later went on to found a town in Sierra Leone.
    Blacks in the American Revolution
    The African American Civil War Memorial in Boston
    An explanation of the Black Heritage Trail in Boston and the Black Civil War memorial to the famous 54th Civil War regiment.  The 54th Massachusetts Infantry is best known to modern students as the subject of the movie "Glory" -- see Slavery section above.
    National Park Service African-American Civil War Sites
    Exactly what it says it is!  Nicely illustrated with portraits of Black soldiers and political leaders of the Civil War, and good explanations of important units and battlefields.
    Portraits in Black-The Buffalo Soldiers (see note in italics at start of Military section above)
    The Buffalo Soldiers on the Western Frontier
    Black History (Underground RR, Buffalo Soliders, etc) Lest We Forget
    Films about Native Americans and Black Americans in US History
    Black Cowboys, Old Cowtown
    366th Infantry HomePage
    Afro-American Newspaper Reporters in WW II
    Mabel Keaton Staupers: Black Nurse Integrates Army (scroll down)
    Forgotten Heroes of WWII - U.S. News 4/27/96
    Tuskegee Airmen by Afro-American Newspaper
    555th Paratroopers
    This was a segregated unit of paratroopers during WW II.  Called the "Triple Nickel," some of them wore charms made of three buffalo nickels -- once again, buffalo soldiers!  Due to their color, they were denied the opportunity to win medals and promotions in the European theater.  Instead, they were assigned to highly dangerous "fire jumping" duty, putting out fires in the U.S. west.  At the time, it was suspected that these dangerous brush and forest fires were being set by Japanese saboteurs.  After the war, the 555th was broken up and the men were distributed among white paratroop units.  See the websites below for more and different information.  If you're doing a web search, search "Triple Nickel" AND "Triple Nickle," since there's a lot of confusion out there as to the preferred spelling of nickel.
    Triple Nickle: The 555th Parchute Infantry Association, Inc. (wonderful logo)
    Triple Nickle: An Airborne Legacy (the 555th)
    Black Paratrooper Remembers the 505th & 555th (news story, very good!)
    The Day The Color Barrier Fell:  555th Integrated The Army (news story, very good!)
    WW II Honors Granted Black Paratrooper (555th) (yet another good news story!)
    Official Military Site:  555th Parachute Unit
    SunSite Military History: Bibliography for 555th Paratroops (scroll to bottom)
    The 555th Fighters: Modern Reactivation
    This is the story of a DIFFERENT 555th, a (presumably white) bombardment group that worked in Europe during WW II, not the all-Black paratrooper unit.  Both groups were called Triple Nickel, which adds to the confusion. There's also an Air Force military band called the Triple Nickel; lots of chances to mix things up!
    Ethnic Information: African Americans in the Modern Military
    AOL users only:  Corbis --> War & Conflict --> African American Soldiers (many wars)
    Offline bibliography provided by Professor Cunnea to help students locate books via interlibrary loan if not on the shelves of their school or public libraries.  Students who can afford the cost and the delay may purchase some of these books from online sources such as Amazon Books, or use the bookseller's search feature to locate additional titles on this topic.
    Susie King Taylor.  Reminiscences of My Life in Camp with the 33rd United States Colored Troop.  This book by a former slave was printed in 1902.  I haven't found a recent edition, and would like to know if anyone has information on whether and where it has been reprinted or anthologized.
    Noah Andre Tucker.  Like Men of War:  Black Troops in the Civil War, 1862-65.  This 1998 book received glowing reviews for its detailed recounting of the difficulty of getting the Union to use Black troops; the recruitment of escaped slaves; and the automatic death penalty applied to Black prisoners of war by the Confederates.  There were over 100 regiments of Black Americans by the end of the war, engaging approximately 180,000 Black men in over 449 battles.  (I do not know if the book covers the Confederate use of Black Americans in the rebel army).  
    Charity Adams Earley.  One Woman's Army:  A Black Officer Remembers the WAC. (College Station:  Texas A&M University Press, 1989).
    Michael L. Cooper.  Hell Fighters: African American Soldiers in World War I. (Lodestar, 1997). This book concentrates on the all-black 369th Regiment of the U.S. Army, which served on the Western Front longer than any other American unit --191 days. None were captured, but more than half died in combat.
    Edwin Dorn.  Who Defends America?  Race, Sex, and Class in the Armed Forces.  (Washington, DC: Joint Center for Political Studies, 1989).
    Jack Foner.  Blacks and the Military in American History.  (New York: Praeger, 1974).
    Jesse Johnson.  Black Women in the Armed Forces:  1942 -- 1974.  (Hampton, VA:  Jesse Johnson, 1974).  Being privately published, this book might be tough to locate.  Students should ask their librarian to check library systems in Virginia.
    Brenda L. Moore. To Serve My Country, to Serve My Race:  The Story of the Only African American WACs Stationed Overseas During World War II.  (New York:  New York University, 1996).  The story of the 6888th Women's Army Corps, the first unit of African-American women to serve overseas.  They were stationed in France and Britain.  The book is a wonderful resource, with a history of black units prior to the 6888th, interviews, photos, a roster, and bibliography.
    Graham Smith.  When Jim Crow Met John Bull:  Black American Soldiers in World War II Britain.  (New York:  St. Martin's, 1988).
     
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     visitors since March 5, 1997.  

    Other pages maintained by Professor Cunnea:  

    • Maps and "This Day in History" Links from Professor Cunnea
    • Native American Links from Professor Cunnea
    • Women's Legal Issues in Africa
    • A Timeline of Women's Legal History in the U.S. from Professor Cunnea
    • 1996 Charter of the National Organization for Women (with some women's history links)
     
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