LibGuides: Black History Resources: Library Resources

Primary Sources for Black History

Black Thought and Culture is a landmark electronic collection of approximately 100,000 pages of non-fiction writings by major American black leaders—teachers, artists, politicians, religious leaders, athletes, war veterans, entertainers, and other figures—covering 250 years of history. In addition to the most familiar works, Black Thought and Culture presents a great deal of previously inaccessible material, including letters, speeches, prefatory essays, political leaflets, interviews, periodicals, and trial transcripts. The ideas of over 1,000 authors present an evolving and complex view of what it is to be black in America.

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Selected Collections and Titles from Black Thought and Culture:

The Black Panther (Newspaper)
The Black Panther was the official newspaper of the Black Panther Party. It began as a four-page newsletter in Oakland, California, in 1967, and was founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. It was the main publication of the party and was soon sold in several large cities across the United States, as well as having an international readership. The newspaper distributed information about the party's activities, and expressed through articles the ideology of the Black Panther Party, focusing on both international revolutions as inspiration and contemporary racial struggles of African Americans across the United States
Speeches and Addresses
Collected transcripts of speeches and addresses delivered by black thought leaders.
Assata: An Autobiography
Assata's memoirs, told in the frame work of the turbulent late '60s and '70s produces not only a autobiography or activism but a fascinating personal history of the period.
Black Music
Amiri Baraka explores results and future implications of jazz music by discussing the major artists, performances and compositions that shaped the genre.