African American Heritage

Our site focuses on links that answer the most commonly asked questions about people, events and places and important documents in African American history. These questions have been sifted from the thousands asked of librarians in the Montgomery County Libraries over the years. There are many more comprehensive sites on the Web that have multiple links to information of interest to African Americans, including portions on African American history.

Overview

Carter G. Woodson, Black History Founder
The story of the life of Carter Woodson, who first suggested Negro History Week in 1926. This observance later became Black History Month. From the Governor’s Office, the State of Florida.

Carter Godwin Woodson (1875-1950)
Founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Carter Woodson came from a childhood of poverty to graduate from Harvard. This is a detailed biographical essay about his life and his accomplishments in the field of education and scholarship. Mounted at the Association's website.

Britannica Guide to Black History-Timeline
This timeline is useful for an overview of black history because of the interlinks it provides to extensive articles on the subjects mentioned. From the Britannica Online Encyclopedia.

Comprehensive Sites

African American Mosaic
A Library of Congress resource guide for the study of black history and culture. Primary resources include pictures, newspapers, etc. Covers colonization, abolition, migration, and the Depression.

African American Perspectives
Pamphlet collection from the Library of Congress which can be viewed as text or facsimile. A little hard to use but worth it for the wonderful primary sources.

Black History Database
Search for Black History facts by month, year, or particular topic. Mounted at MIT.

African American Journey
A comprehensive site covering the history of African Americans from slavery through the Civil Rights Movement. From World Book Encyclopedia

African American Odyssey
Based on a Black History exhibit at the Library of Congress, this site provides a history from slavery to civil rights. Information on free blacks before the Civil War. Many primary documents.

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Collective Biographies

Biography Resource Center + The Complete Marquis Who's Who
A comprehensive database of biographical information on more than one million people throughout history, around the world, and across all disciplines and subject areas. ALL YOU NEED IS A MONTGOMERY COUNTY LIBRARY CARD. Can be searched by the term "African-American" under "ethnicity."

Gale Celebrates Black History Month: Biographies
Part of the publisher's mega-site in celebration of Black History Month. Many of the most requested names in Black History.

African Americans in History
Brief biographical sketches of 24 key figures in African American history. Compiled by the University of Georgia, Institute for African American Studies.

African Americans in the Visual Arts
Extensive biographies of African American artists, plus a historical overview with comprehensive information on the Harlem Renaissance at Long Island University.

History of African Americans in the Civil War
Gives a concise history of the African Americans who made up 10% of the Union Army during the Civil War. Describes Medal of Honor Winners. Can be searched by name. National Park Service.

Blacks in Technology: Past & Present
Links to biographies of famous black inventors.

Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences
Many links to biographies of African American scientists. Organized by discipline. Alphabetical index. Mounted at UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE.

African American Artists
Short biographies of 7 major African American artists with examples of their work.

Negro League Baseball Players Association Homepage
This site includes a general history of the Negro League, along with information on the teams and individual players. The Association’s goal is to honor and celebrate the significant contribution of Negro Leagues players to baseball and American history.

Time Magazine 100
In 2000, TIME magazine listed 100 people who had most influenced the Twentieth Century. Among them were six African-Americans:
Muhammad Ali
Aretha Franklin
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rosa Parks
Jackie Robinson
Oprah Winfrey

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Individuals

Frederick Douglass | Langston Hughes | Martin Luther King, Jr. | Malcolm X | Jackie Robinson | Rosa Parks | Sojourner Truth | Harriet Tubman

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) Teacher Resource File
Designed for teachers, this has a wealth of information about Frederick Douglass as well as many useful links. At James Madison University.

Frederick Douglass
A short sketch of Frederick Douglass, with links to his writings and to other sketches of his life, some quite extensive. From the American Studies Department, Keele University, UK.

American Visionaries: Frederick Douglass
This site tells about Frederick Douglass in the context of his home, now a museum, in Washington D.C. Many visuals, including a virtual tour of his home. From the National Park Service.

Langston Hughes

Find a Poet
Sponsored by the Academy of American Poets, this site has many examples of his work as well as a short essay about his life and works. Excellent bibliography.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Directory
One of the most comprehensive sites on the Web commemorating Dr. King. Originating at Stanford University.

A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Explores the impact of King's life on America. Includes images, a timeline of King’s life, a bibliography, and useful links. From Long Island University.

Malcolm X

Malcolm X: Our Shining Black Prince
Eulogy delivered by Ossie Davis at the funeral of Malcolm X.

Beyond Fad and Fashion: Understanding the Essence of Malcolm X
Excellent overview of the life of Malcolm X with a step by step review of his political and social ideas. Sponsored by the Black Collegian, an online source of job information for African Americans.

Jackie Robinson

Remembering Jackie Robinson
Famous sports writer remembers Jackie Robinson. Many excellent links to the National Archives webpage about Jackie, and the page sponsored by the Jackie Robinson Society.

Jackie Robinson
The site, at Pasadena City College, where Robinson was a student from 1937 to 1939, has a wealth of information and links to other well chosen sites which give a complete picture of his life and work as he broke the color barrier in baseball

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks
This page gives a short biography of Rosa Parks and a 2 page summary of her role in the bus boycott.

Rosa Parks
A site giving a profile, biography, interview, and photographs of Rosa Parks. From the Academy of Achievement a non-profit organization that brings students "into direct personal contact with the greatest thinkers and achievers of the age."

Rosa Parks, 92, Founding Symbol of Civil Rights Movement, Dies
NEW YORK TIMES article honoring Rosa Parks. Written at the time of her death.

Rosa Parks: The Woman Who Changed a Nation
This page, sponsored by Grand Times, a weekly magazine for seniors, gives information about Rosa Parks before the bus boycott and about what she is doing currently to further civil rights. Based on a 1996 interview.

Sojourner Truth

Who Was Sojourner Truth?
Anti-slavery advocate and speaker. Page sponsored by the Sojourner Truth Memorial Statue Committee.

The Narrative of Sojourner Truth
A biography dictated to Olive Gilbert by Sojourner Truth. Click on the picture to enter the biography. Olive Gilbert was an abolitionist Truth met in Northampton, MA in the 1840's. From the University of Virginia.

Sojourner Truth-"Ain't I a Woman"
Report of the speech given at the 1851 Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. Other links to biographical information and documents.

Harriet Tubman

The Life of Harriet Tubman
Concise biography of the famous "conductor" on the Underground Railroad. From the New York History Net.

Harriet Tubman
From the National Park Service. A brief chronology of Harriet Tubman's life.

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Facts and Figures

African-American History Month: 50 Years of Change
This is an extensive site from the Census Bureau in honor of the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Extensive demographic information as well as pictures and audio.

Genealogy

National Park Service Soldiers and Sailors System
About 10% of the Union Army was made up of African-Americans. The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System is a computerized database containing very basic facts about servicemen who served on both sides during the Civil War. If you know the regiment your ancestor fought in or his name, this site could be useful for genealogical research. Click on "soldiers" or "sailors" if you know a name or "regiment" if you have that information.

Christine's Genealogical Website
A website dedicated to listing links reflecting all aspects of African-American genealogy. A free registration is available under "Your Account." You need to register to see anything on the page.

Cyndi’s List of Genealogical Sites on the Internet-African American
An excellent place to find sources in your search for your African American ancestors. Over 250 links divided by category such as “how to” and census records.

AfriGeneas
This site is ”devoted to African American genealogy, to researching African Ancestry in the Americas in particular….” Of special interest is an online guide for beginners and a slave ancestry database.

Freedman’s Bureau Online
After the Civil War, the Freedman’s Bureau was charged with “relief and educational activities relating to refugees and freedmen, including issuing rations, clothing and medicine.” For this reason, they kept extensive records which might help in genealogical research.

Freedman’s Bank Records
The Freedman’s Bank Savings and Trust Company was chartered in 1865 with the primary objective to assist former slaves in keeping money safe from swindlers, as they transitioned from slavery to freedom. This site gives an overview of a new CD source available from Familysearch.org, sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The bank records contain a lot of personal information:

• Date the account was opened
• Age, place of birth, where raised, plantation, and current residence
• Name of former master or mistress, occupation and employer
• Names of members such as spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, and other relatives
• Other remarks such as assigned military units during the Civil War

In particular, remarks in many of the records document family relationships and relatives who were sold into slavery to other locations.

Important Events and Places

The Middle Passage | Life as a Slave | The Civil War | Abolition and Its Aftermath | Reconstruction and Its Aftermath | Civil Rights Movement

The Middle Passage

Middle Passage
The history of the Middle Passage told primarily in pictures from the book, Middle Passage by Tom Feeling. From the Juneteenth celebration website.

Captive Passage the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Making of the Americas
From the Mariners Museum, this site not only covers the horrors of the Middle Passage, but gives a wider understanding of the slave trade through information on
Africa before slavery, early European-African contact, etc. Most important is its emphasis on slavery in the New World as the first "race-based" slavery. Excellent choice as an overview site.

Transatlantic Slave Trade
12 million Africans were taken in bondage from Africa to the New World in 350 years. Clearly laid out and easy to navigate, this site chronicles this horrific journey in essays, maps, and images. From the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library.

Amistad Trial Home Page
Website developed by Professor Douglas Linder of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. About the mutiny aboard the slave ship and the ensuing trial. Many primary documents (trial record, arguments, etc.)

Life as a Slave

American Slave Narratives: An Online Anthology
During the Depression, over 2,300 former slaves from across the American South were interviewed by writers and journalists of the WPA (Works Progress Administration.) First hand accounts of living under slavery.

Black Resistance: Slavery in the United States
Virtual slavery exhibit by Afro-American Newspapers. Chronology of slave revolts.

Follow the North Star
Because this has a Canadian perspective, it has information on the final destinations of those fleeing slavery via the Underground Railroad. Click on "The Story" to enter the site. Notable is the map of black settlements in Canada under "Touring." Using the drop down menu, you can see where fugitives settled and what kind of lives they made for themselves. The "conductors" section gives information on many conductors who are not mentioned in American sites. The section on "symbolism" tells how quilts and songs gave coded information to fugitive slaves.

Melrose Interactive Slavery Environment
More than a year in the making, this site takes viewers into Melrose, a pre-Civil War estate near Natchez, Mississippi. You can experience Melrose from the perspective of those who were slaves there. All the print on this site is also read aloud, so it is a good site for reluctant readers. Lots of eye appeal as well.

Runaways
In the nineteenth century, it is estimated that at least 50,000 men, women and children ran away each year trying to make it to freedom. Beautifully laid out and easy to navigate, this site chronicles their struggle in essays, maps, and images. From the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library.

My Escape From Slavery by Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass' narrative of his escape first published in Century Illustrated Magazine, November, 1881.

Ordinary People and the Undergroung Railroad
At this site you can browse the alphabetical listing of people who were involved in the Underground Railroad- "enslaved and freed Blacks, Whites, Native Americans, and others." Not only are famous people listed, but everyday people, like Daniel Drayton, who were in the right place at the right time to help fugitives flee north. From the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

Slavery
Authoritative all-in-one resource which gives an overview of slavery in the New World. Includes primary source documents, study aids for students, visual resources, and a bibliography. From the Gilder Lehrman Institute which offers this website "to serve as a portal for American history on the Web; to offer high-quality educational material for teachers, students, historians, and the public."

Slavery-Black Voices
This site covers many aspects of slavery in the United States not covered elsewhere-family life, religion, childhood etc. After an initial overview essay, first person accounts by slaves themselves make up the bulk of the site. From the DigitalHistory website, mounted at the University of Houston.

The Underground Railroad
An interactive site that gives visitors the chance to escape on the Underground Railroad. Authored by the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC magazine.

The Underground Railroad
Short concise overview of the Underground Railroad from the PBS series Africans in America. Excellent links.

Statutes of the United States Concerning Slavery
Full texts of the statutes concerning slavery in the United States. Avalon Project of the Yale Law School.

Slave Rebellions
Not many slaves willingly accepted the fate of being owned. This site gives information on three major slave revolts in the South in addition to a description of the Amistad affair. Mounted at Washington State University.

North American Slave Narratives
This is a collection of electronic texts that documents the lives of “fugitive and former slaves published in broadsides, pamphlets, or book form in English up to 1920.” From the Documenting the American South Project from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The Civil War

Union Army-Colored Troops
Regimental histories of African American troops in the Civil War.

A House Divided
The website explores the United States under Lincoln-slavery, sectionalism, the Civil War and its aftermath. Clicking on the menu items takes you into an overview essay and following the forward arrows takes you to visuals and other primary sources. Mounted at the University of Houston.

History of African-Americans in the Civil War
A short essay on the role of African-Americans as soldiers in the Civil War. About 10% of the Union Army was made up of African-Americans. From the National Park Service Soldiers and Sailors System. The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System is a computerized database containing very basic facts about servicemen who served on both sides during the Civil War.

Abolition and Its Aftermath

Abolition
Overview of the Abolition movement. From the American Mosaic site created by the Library of Congress.

Juneteenth
Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. This site gives a history of the celebration from its beginnings in Texas after emancipation until today. Map with present day celebrations by state.

Emancipation Proclamation
President Lincoln's words freeing the slaves.

The History of Jim Crow
A long overview of the U.S. segregations laws that divided blacks & whites, how African-Americans coped, & how these laws were finally overthrown. From New York Life.

Jim Crow
Overview of the Jim Crow laws of United States and the reasons for their demise. Sponsored by Africana.com.

"Lift Every Voice and Sing" by James Weldon Johnson
Words to the Negro National Anthem. Written by James Weldon Johnson and his brother in 1900. The story of how the NEgro National Anthem was written. From NPR.

Black Cowboys Part I and Part II
Overview articles on African American cowboys in the West after the Civil War. Sponsored by Lest We Forget, a black history magazine.

Buffalo Soldiers
Famous African American cavalry units on the American frontier.

Reconstruction And Its Aftermath

America's Reconstruction
This site describes the turbulent period after the Civil War and the varied reactions to it-black and white, north and south. Special emphasis on politics and economics and their impact on the social goals of African-American freedom. From the DigitalHistory website, mounted at the University of Houston.

The Freedmen’s Bureau
A site, located at the University of Virginia, which outlines the role of the Freedmen’s Bureau in helping freed slaves to establish a new life. Browsing the records by topic helps you to see the problems faced by freed slaves. From the Valley of the Shadow project. Click on the "room" you are interested in.

Great Migration
Between 1910 and 1925 one-tenth of the country's black population moved north. Beautifully laid out and easy to navigate, this site chronicles this migration in essays, maps, and images. From the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library.

Reconstruction
Authoritative all-in-one resource which gives an overview of Reconstruction after the Civil War. Includes primary source documents, study aids for students, visual resources, and a bibliography. From the Gilder Lehrman Institute which offers this website "to serve as a portal for American history on the Web; to offer high-quality educational material for teachers, students, historians, and the public."

Redemption
The campaign of Southern whites to deprive newly freed slaves of their political and economic rights after the Civil War was called Redemption. This site covers Black Codes, voter disfranchisement, and the Supreme Court’s sympathy for Southern whites.

Brown vs. Board of Education

Brown vs. Board of Education
This landmark Supreme Court case settled the question of whether or not "separate but equal " in education should be the law of the land. Site gives background, the ruling, and the results of the ruling. PBS.org.

Opinion, Brown vs. Board of Education
Full text of the Supreme Court decision legally ending school segregation.

Brown v. Board of Education
This page outlines the case and decision and gives information on corresponding cases. For a concise treatment this is excellent. A facsimile of a handout from the National Historic Site, Monroe Elementary School. National Park Service.

Documents Related to Brown v. Board of Education
From the National Archives, this site outlines the segregated conditions leading up to the Brown v. Board. Scrolling down the page, you will find links to documents that shed light on the case. Also includes an interesting timeline.

Little Rock School Integration Crisis
The integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas was an historic test of the Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka ruling and school integration. This website gives a brief outline of the crisis and many documents which highlight President Eisenhower’s role in the crisis. From the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library.

Central High
An extensive treatment of the Central High desegregating crisis with picture, sound, and document links within the text. From the PBS website, Freedom: The Story of Us.

Brown@ 50
This site has three items of special interest. There are extensive biographies of those who crafted the legal strategy which led to the decision, coverage of cases before and after the decision which impacted it, and a well annotated list to civil rights sites of all kinds. From the Howard University School of Law.

Little Rock Central High 40th Anniversary
This site commemorates the integration crisis that centered around Little Rock Central High School in 1957-58. News clips of the time (use Quick Time to view) and texts of the school and city newspapers.

Civil Rights Movement

American Rhetoric
This site has a “database of 5000+ full text, audio and video (streaming) versions of public speeches, sermons, legal proceedings, lectures, debates, interviews, other recorded media events, and a declaration or two. “Click on “Top 100 Speeches” to hear Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speeches. Also included are speeches by Mary Church Terrell, Malcolm X. and Stokely Carmichael.

Charles Moore's Powerful Days
This man’s photographs of fire hoses and police dogs turned on peaceful protesters rocked the nation in the 50’s and 60’s. Tells of his life with excellent examples of his powerful work.

Sitting For Justice
From increase & diffusion, a Smithsonian web magazine, comes the history of the sit-in of the Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C. in February of 1960. Also includes audiolinks to civil rights protest songs.

We Shall Overcome; Historic Places of the Civil Rights Movement
AT first this site does not look too promising, for it is organized by historic places in the Civil Rights Movement, with very little tying these places together. However, it does have overviews which link the whole. From the National Park Service.
The Need for Change
The Players
The Strategy
The Cost
The Prize

Martin Luther King's, Letter from the Birmingham Jail
A letter which outlines King's philosophy of non-violent protest. From the University of Pennsylvania.

Politics of Black Liberation
Huge site of links with special emphasis on the Civil Rights Movement, Pan-Africanism, and black nationalism. From Binghamton University.

National Civil Rights Museum
This page gives a virtual tour of the museum, touching concisely on every important event in the Civil Rights Movement.

Montgomery Alabama Bus Boycott, 1955
Overview of the bus boycott that brought the struggle for African American civil rights to the attention of the nation. Covers many activists in addition to Rosa Parks.

Manifesto Project
Collection of manifestos and position papers issued by sixties-era organizations like SNCC and the Black Panthers. Mounted at Virginia Tech. Scroll down to find the link.

Memphis: We Remember
This page gives an overview of the Sanitation Workers' Strike, April 3, 1968. Martin Luther King, Jr. was in Memphis, supporting the strikers, when he was assassinated. Page includes the text of King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech. Located at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees site.

March on Washington, 1963
A sample chapter from the Abbeville Press book, The Civil Rights Movement: A Photographic History by Steven Kasner. This is an extensive essay on the march. Coverage also includes the politics behind the march with a section on J. Edgar Hoover’s efforts to scuttle the march and discredit Dr. King.

30 Years After The Kerner Report
Thirty-five years ago, the Kerner Report said that this nation was becoming two societies “one black, one white-separate and unequal.” This study by the Milton S. Eisenhower Foundations says that the Kerner Report is true. CNN story.

Oh Freedom Over Me
This site is filled with interviews of young people who took part in Freedom Summer in Mississippi in 1964. They had to be prepared to be beaten, abused and killed, as three young men eventually were. Listen to the program on RealAudio. Read their interviews- their stories in their own words. Slide show. From American Radio Works.

History of Core
This site outlines the history of the Congress of Racial Equality. The site is divided into links to key events and key people. The site opens with an audio narrative of the history which is very effective.

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A Lasting Legacy

Slavery: History in the Key of Jazz
This PBS site is a companion to Ken Burns' "Jazz." Slavery is discussed in terms of the effect it had on jazz and how African influences remained a distinctive part of jazz. The site includes audio and video segments, as well as links to jazz biographies

Overview of African Place Names in the United States
This is an amazing essay that documents African place name legacy in the American South. Using Mississippi as an example, Joseph E. Holloway, Ph.D. shows patterns of Africa dispersion. He has also written a similar article on Bantu Place Names in South Carolina http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/history/hs_es_placenames_sc.htm

The Impact of African Languages on American English
Exploring this essay, you will find just how many African words the average American uses in his speech. Find out how they were derived from the languages of the "five or six major cultural groups of West Africans enslaved in North America."

Literature, Art, and Music

History Of D.C. Hand Dancing
D.C. has its own brand of swing dancing, which originated in the mid-1950’s and is enjoying a revival today. It is the official dance of the District of Columbia. This history is from the D.C. Hand Dance Club.

African-American Contributions To Theatrical Dance
A history of the contributions of African Americans to American dance from the time of slavery to the swing dance era. Also gives a list and information on professional black dance companies.

Dance in America: Free to Dance
A companion site to a PBS documentary on the African American contributions to modern dance. Gives a timeline, biographies, and a history.

African American Literature: Voices Of Slavery And Freedom
Created by the World Book editors, this website consists of essays divided by time period. Many links within the essays go to authors' biographies and important cultural events. Related websites are listed, including many to online texts.

Red Hot Jazz Archive: Jazz before 1930
A site dedicated to the history of jazz before 1930. Information on jazz men and women and the bands. Note: navigation bar is small and on the bottom of the page.

Biographies from Jazz by Ken Burns
Read about and listen to jazz great at this PBS website.

History of Gospel Music
History of gospel music with information on groups, singers, etc. Also information on spirituals. Presented by Afrogen.com.

Local Sites

Lincoln Park History Project
Collaborative project that documents, preserves, and presents the rich cultural heritage of one of Rockville, Maryland's oldest communities. Bibliography of articles on Lincoln Park included.

Duke Ellington's Washington
Before the Harlem Renaissance, there was a flourishing African American artistic community in Washington D.C. It was in this community that Duke Ellington and many other black Washingtonians were nurtured. This is a companion site to the PBS special of the same name. Biographical sketches, a history of the U Street corridor in D.C., and information of the current revival of that area.

Sandy Spring Slave Museum & African Art Gallery
While the website is rather simple, the museum itself has some interesting exhibits, such as a cross section of a slave ship, a slave cabin, and an Arts Pavilion that contains "artifacts from across the African Diaspora."

VOA News - Historic Uncle Tom's Cabin Saved
Josiah Henson was one of the first slaves to write his memoirs after escaping to freedom. This inspired Harriet Beecher her 1852 novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin. Josiah lived much of his early life in Montgomery County, Maryland and his cabin has been bought by Montgomery County as a historical site. This Voice of America News report can be read or listened to or viewed.

African Americans in Maryland
From Sailor-Maryland information site, are multiple links to sites about African Americans in Maryland, past and present.

African American Heritage Trail
This site provides information on more than 200 important African American history sites in Washington, DC. It is searchable by keyword, in addition to neighborhood and subject. You can also browse by neighbor hood, or use the clickable map. From Cultural Tourism DC.

Blacks of the Chesapeake, an Integral Part of Maritime History
Part of the Blacks of Chesapeake project, this site helps …"introduce people to contributions that Blacks have made to maritime and seafood processing industries throughout the Chesapeake region." There is interesting information about crabbing and oyster tonging on the Bay, but two subjects of historical interest are the use of the Chesapeake's streams, swamps, and estuaries to escape slavery http://www.dnr.state.md.us/naturalresource/spring2000/chesapeake.html and the history of blacks on the Patuxent River http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/aapax.html.
This guide to African-American heritage sites on the Lower Patuxent tells the story of how blacks maintained their culture and made notable achievements despite slavery and repression.

Virginia Runaways
Nothing, other than slave narratives, makes the slave appear as a flesh and blood human being like these ads for runaway slaves in Virginia. This site is a comprehensive collection of advertisements for runaway and captured slaves and servants which were published in Virginia newspapers during the eighteenth century. The website can be searched by any word in the ad. A Project of the Virginia Center for Digital History.

U Street: City within a City
For the first half of the Twentieth Century, the U Street Corridor attracted some of the leading African Americans in the arts, business, medicine, and the law. It was a black city within a city, clustered around Howard University. This is a site of the U St. Heritage Trail which gives a complete history of the area, plus maps of the area landmarks, and an extensive bibliography. From Cultural Tourism DC.

The Walk to Canada: Tracing the Underground Railroad
In 1996, Anthony Cohen, a former Montgomery County resident, began a journey in Sandy Spring, Maryland; he walked one route that slaves took to freedom via the Underground Railroad into Canada. Located at the Menare Foundation, dedicated to preserving Undergrond Railroad sites.

Notable Black Washingtonians
The African American community in Washington nurtured many who made their mark on the nation in many walks of life. This site tells the story of these people. PBS.org

Tour Archaeology in Annapolis
Click on the Brice House and Carroll House links to see how African religions survived the oppression of slavery. Clicking on the Maynard- Burgess House link will give you information on "changes in African American lives that ran from slavery, to the Civil Rights movement, to the present day." From the Historic Annapolis Foundation.

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