The following are documents which have contributed to the shaping of African American history. These documents are a starting point for additional research and discussions that help further our understanding of the history of people of African ancestry in the United States.
“If We Must Die,” written in 1919 by Harlem Renaissance poet Claude McKay, became for many African Americans an anthem for resistance against the anti-black violence then sweeping the nation. His words appear below. If we must die—let it not be like hogs Hunted and … Read More“If We Must Die” (1919)
Bill Whitfield of the Kansas City Black Panther Party Serving Free Breakfast, April 16, 1969 Image Ownership: Public domain In the editorial below that first appeared in the Black Panther Party newspaper in April 1969, the leaders of the Party make the case for the … Read MoreThe Black Panther Party: To Feed Our Children (1969)
The Black Panther Party Ten-Point Program Written October 15, 1966 1. We Want Freedom. We Want Power to Determine the Destiny of Our Black Community. We believe that Black people will not be free until we are able to determine our destiny. 2. We Want … Read MoreThe Black Panther Party Ten-Point Program (1966)
"Image Ownership: Public Domain" Most scholars of today imagine Booker T. Washington as the major accommodationist and black political conservative of the era. There were others including Professor William Hooper Councill, the founder and first President of the Huntsville Normal School which today is Alabama … Read MoreWilliam Hooper Councill’s Letter to the White People of Alabama, 1901
Annually, throughout the month of February, known as Black History Month, Martin Luther King Jr.’s voice punctuates the airwaves like a public-service announcement, delivering his “I Have a Dream”’ speech at the 1963 March for Jobs and Freedom in Washington, D.C. What listeners usually hear … Read More(1998) Anne Wortham, “Martin Luther King’s Flawed Dream”
“Image Ownership: Pubilc Domain” Nineteenth Century black conservative William Hannibal Thomas was a Civil War veteran, Reconstruction era South Carolina politician, and U.S. counsel to Portuguese Southwest Africa (Angola). He is most famous however as the author of the 1901 book, The American Negro: What … Read More(1901) William Hannibal Thomas on the American Negro
Image Ownership: Public Domain Negro art “made in America” is as non-existent as the widely advertised profundity of Cal Coolidge, the “seven years of progress” of Mayor Hylan, or the reported sophistication of New Yorkers. Negro art there has been, is, and will be … Read More(1926) George S. Schulyer, “The Negro-Art Hokum”
"Image Ownership: Public Domain" August 11, 1955 Editor: I promised God and some other responsible characters, including a bench of bishops, that I was not going to part my lips concerning the U.S. Supreme Court decision on ending segregation in the public schools of … Read MoreZora Neale Hurston’s Letter to the Orlando Sentinel, 1955
Benjamin Banneker’s Letter to Thomas Jefferson, August 19, 1791 SIR, I AM fully sensible of the greatness of that freedom, which I take with you on the present occasion; a liberty which seemed to me scarcely allowable, when I reflected on that distinguished and dignified … Read MoreBenjamin Banneker’s Letter to Thomas Jefferson (1791)
Act of August 30, 1890, ch. 841, 26 Stat. 417, 7 U.S.C. 322 et seq. Chap. 841.–AN ACT To apply a portion of the proceeds of the public lands to the more complete endowment and support of the colleges for the benefit of agriculture and … Read MoreSecond Morrill Act of 1890