- Fannie Lou Hamer
- Learn about this great American civil rights leader and voting rights activist.
- See: For Freedom's Sake: The Lfe of Fannie Lou Hamer
Black History Month
February is officially Black History month. Established in 1926 by noted African American historian Carter G. Woodson, it was originally called Negro History Week. It became a month-long event in 1976. February was selected because Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln have birthdays during the month.
The annual event provides an opportunity to learn about the history, traditions and contributions of African-Americans and to celebrate this nation’s ethnic diversity. Take time to visit these authoritative resources and reflect on our collective history.
Suggested catalog searches
- african american arts and artists
- african american civil rights
- african american primary sources
- african american politics
- african american scientists
- african american soldiers
- african americans (up to 1863)
- african americans (1863-1877)
- african americans (20th century)
- biographies of african americans
- black power
- civil rights movement
- civil war
- desegregation
- harlem renaissance
- obama
- slavery in the united states
PCC events
- 22nd Annual Cascade Festival of African Films
-
In honor of Black History month, this film festival will take place at a variety of North Portland locations including the PCC Cascade campus. This site features film clips, previews, and information about the festival and films.
Recommended Reading
- The birth of Black America: the first African Americans and the pursuit of freedom at Jamestown
- The first African Americans who arrived in Jamestown in 1619 were experienced farmers, cattlemen, and iron makers. The author details their contributions to America's founding.
- If we must die: African American voices on war and peace
- African-American perspectives on ten wars, from the Revolutionary War to the current war in Iraq, from such diverse figures as Molly Pitcher, Phillis Wheatley, Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, Malcolm X, Colin Powell, and more.
- Medical apartheid: The dark history of medical experimentation on Black Americans from colonial times to the present
- A group of almost 400 African American men were unwitting victims of a 40-year long public health project, which left them untreated for syphilis. As horrendous as the Tuskegee Syphilis Study was, it was neither the first chapter nor the last in the exploitation of Black Americans in U.S. medical research.
- Say it plain: a century of great African American speeches
- The transcribed speeches of great African American orators convey the power of the black freedom struggle, from the back-to-Africa movement to the Civil Rights Movement and the rise of black nationalism.
Related websites
- African-American Mosaic
- Library of Congress guide to the study of black history and culture includes primary documents relating to abolition, migration, and colonization of Liberia.
- African-American Odyssey
- Produced by NPR and PBS, this site contains profiles of prominent African Americans, historical events, racial and societal issues, and contributions to arts and culture. Includes NPR broadcasts on historical topics including Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, and PBS video segments of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin.
- Black Past
- An online reference center with a wealth of materials on African American history. Maintained by the University of Washington.
- Guide to Harlem Renaissance Materials
-
Presents full-text Library of Congress resources and links to external website's on the Harlem Renaissance movement.
- History.com - Black History
-
Includes this day in history, TV shows, video clips, interactive timeline, important speeches and more.
- In Motion: The African American Migration Experience
-
The Sc homburg Research Center presents thousands of pages of texts and illustrations of thirteen defining migrations that formed and transformed African America.
- Inaugural: A New Birth of Freedom
-
See President Obama's swearing in ceremony and inaugural speech.
- Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits (Smithsonian)
- A gallery of portraits from the National Portrait Gallery. The theme is African American resistance across 150 years of United States history.
- Library of Congress: African American History Month
- Includes speeches, images, collections, and audio/video of outstanding African Americans who have helped pave the way for ethnic multiculturalism.
- Voices of Civil Rights
-
A Library of Congress exhibition that features personal narratives of people who experienced the events.