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AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY


 African American medicine in Washington, District of Columbia : healing the Capital during the Civil War Era

Alexandria's Freedmen's Cemetery : a legacy of freedom
 Separate : the story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America's journey from slavery to segregation


 

DATABASES


  • America's Historic Newpapers
    Search and browse American newspapers published across three centuries.

  • Black Life in America
    A unique digital archive of news media that presents the broad sweep of African American history. Offers balanced coverage from diverse sources published from 1704 through present day.

  • Biography in Context
    Biographical essays on the world's most influential people.

  • Diversity Studies
    Explores cultural differences, contributions and influences in the global community. This collection includes more than 2.7 million articles from 150 journals, updated daily.

  • Heritage Hub
    A collection of U.S. obituaries and death notices for genealogical research, 1704 - today.

  • Mount Vernon Gazette
    Browse issues from 2002-present. From Newsbank.

  • U.S. History Collection
    Useful to both novice historians as well as advanced academic researchers, the database offers balanced coverage of events in U.S. history and scholarly work being established in the field.

  • Washington Post Historical Newspapers
    Digitized Wasington Post articles from 1877-2006.

 

GENEALOGY BOOKS

Black roots : a beginner's guide to tracing the African American family tree Free African Americans of North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina from the colonial period to about 1820 A student's guide to African American genealogy
 
Slave genealogy : a research guide with case studies Black Indian genealogy research : African American ancestors among the Five Civilized Tribes African American genealogical research : how to trace your family history

 

 

 

LOCAL HISTORY & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

African American Voter Registration in Alexandria, 1902-1954
This list contains close to 2,100 entries taken from microfilmed voter registration roll books in the Local History/Special Collections Branch. The original roll books are located in the City of Alexandria Archives and Record Center.

"News of Interest to Colored Readers," 1927-1928
A ten-month column from the Alexandria Gazette written by African American Estelle Lane about events in her community.

Volunteers for Freedom: Black Civil War Soldiers in Alexandria National Cemetery
This list was created after a careful review of Volunteers for Freedom: Black Civil War Soldiers in Alexandria National Cemetery by Edward A. Miller, Jr., located in Local History/Special Collections. Miller's sources included -- but were not limited to -- pension files, military service records, and hospital records. His research was published in Historic Alexandria Quarterly.

MANUSCRIPT MATERIALS

MICROFILM

  • Alexandria City Records Reel 00580 
  • Free Negro Registers. Reel 00548. 
  • Gladwin Record of Marriages and Deaths, 1863-68. Reel 00581 
  • People's Advocate. An African American newspaper published in Alexandria after the Civil War. Reel 00599 
  • Register of Freedmen, Camp Barker 1862-1864. Reel 00569 
  • Roberts Memorial United Methodist Church Records 1887-1913. Reel 00073 

  • Wilbur, Julia, Diaries 1844-94. A Quaker who came to Alexandria during the Civil War to work with freed slaves. Reel 00562

PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION

Photocopies of photographs from the library's many collections are arranged in binders by subject.

VERTICAL FILES

Includes clippings from newspapers and journals, brochures and unpublished reports. 

 

WEBSITES

Alexandria African American Hall of Fame
The Hall of Fame serves as an informational and inspirational reference for future generations to reflect on the efforts of Alexandrians whose will to succeed against all odds propelled them to prominence in diverse professions.

Alexandria Black History Museum
The mission of the Black History Museum is to enrich the lives of Alexandria's residents and visitors, to foster tolerance and understanding among all cultures and to stimulate appreciation of the diversity of the African American experience.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 
The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.

The King Center
Embracing Dr. King’s philosophy and strategy of nonviolence to eliminate poverty, racism and violence, The King Center is determined to have a positive impact on the continuing struggle to fulfill his great dream for America and the world.

Lives in the Freedom Struggle: Stories from the Civil Rights History Project
Civil Rights History Project (CRHP) is a Congressionally-mandated national initiative to capture the stories of veteran activists from the Civil Rights Era through oral history interviews. In more than one hundred full-length video interviews, participants reflect on subjects including nonviolence, self-defense, collective action, religious faith, music, and many more.  

African Americans -- Encyclopedia Britannica Article
An article from Encyclopedia Britannica contains video, pictures, and related links to other articles. 

National Museum of African American History and Culture
A museum that seeks to understand American history through the lens of the African American experience. 

Black History-National Archives
A collection of Black History resources from the National Archives. 

Black Freedom Struggle
Historical newspaper articles, pamphlets, diaries, correspondence and more from specific time periods in U.S. history marked by the opposition African Americans have faced on the road to freedom.

 

 

JUNETEENTH

The Library celebrates Juneteenth, an important day in the history of the United States. Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free.

"What is Juneteenth?", Many Rivers to Cross, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., PBS

"Juneteenth And The Complicated History Of Emancipation In The U.S.", Kojo Nnamdi, WAMU

"Honoring Juneteenth: Food As A Form Of Celebration", Kojo Nnamdi, WAMU

Library Books

 

KIDS & YA BOOKS

Never Caught, the story of Ona Judge : George and Martha Washington's courageous slave who dared to run away Dark sky rising : Reconstruction and the dawn of Jim Crow Reconstruction and the dawn of Jim Crow
 
The history of Juneteenth The bus ride that changed history : the story of Rosa Parks
 
A kid's guide to African American history : more than 70 activities This promise of change : one girl's story in the fight for school equality
 

 

Last updated: January 2024