Recently in african-american studies Category

In the second installment of the "Reference Special," I'd like to take a look at a new classic: African American National Biography, edited by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham (Ref. E185.96.A4466 2008 v.1-8 and online in the Oxford African American Studies Center (link to PSU subscription)).

First off, I became a big fan of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. after seeing the African American Lives program on PBS. I wrote about it here--you can check out African American Lives and African American Lives 2 on DVD from the library. Gates is a Harvard professor and prolific author, among many other accomplishments.

This set is a much needed companion to the classic biography reference set American National Biography (Ref. CT213.A68 1999 v.1-24 and online at American National Biography (link to PSU subscription)).

"African American National Biography presents history through a mosaic of the lives of 4,100 individuals, some known throughout the world and others all but forgotten, illuminating the abiding influence of African Americans on the life of this nation through the immediacy of personal experience." (AANB website)

One of the great features of the printed set are the rich indexes found in Volume 8. There is an Index by Birthplace, as well as an Index by Subject Area and Realm of Renown with topics ranging as broad as Art, Award [Winners], Business, and Sports, to focused areas like Slave Narratives, Music-Hip Hop, and Women's Activism. Finally, there is a quick reference section on "African American Prizewinners, Medalists, Members of Congress, and Judges."

For students interested in history, this is a great resource for exploring beyond the well-know figures. In addition to Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, W.E.B. Du Bois, Sojourner Truth--discover other activists, athletes, educators, soldiers, politicians (and the list goes on) that have contributed to our nation's rich history.

For example, I selected an entry at random and learned a bit about the life of Isaac D. Williams (1821-1898) as he struggled to find his way from slavery to freedom, ultimately becoming a successful businessman and entrepreneur (v. 8, pp. 324-325). Find out more about Williams by reading his narrative, Sunshine and Shadow of Slave Life, made available online by the University Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's North American Slave Narrative Collection in their Documenting the American South repository of primary sources.

There are many, many other fabulous resources for researching American, and specifically African American history. I'll recommend just one, the Oxford African American Studies Center (link to PSU subscription). Self-proclaimed to be "the online authority on the African American experience," this rich resource contains:

• more than 8,000 articles from numerous books
• over 1,750 images
• more than 300 primary sources (including commentaries)
• nearly 150 maps relevant to the content
• 150 charts and tables

And the research center continues to grow with new entries, presumably even before available in print. Finally, it is worth periodically checking back in on this resource for its Feature of the Month, currently "Blacks in Politics, Part 1." In the photo essay portion of the feature, the author refers to Barack Obama as "the first black and biracial man with a high chance of being the next President of the United States," which really struck me because I don't think I have ever heard the media refer to the Presidential candidate as biracial, only black, raising lots of questions about how we have historically, and continue, to perceive race on our society. (Note: Turns out a few media outlets are talking about it, sometimes in reader comments/reactions pointing out an oversight in the article. An interesting report on research related to this topic was published just today on Science Daily, "Does It Matter if Black Plus White Equals Black or Multiracial?"

I've wandered far from my original topic! But, I guess that only demonstrates how far a little research can take you.

In celebration of Black History Month PBS has been airing an absolutely fascinating program called "African American Lives 2." On this program Harvard professor of African and African American Studies Henry Louis Gates Jr. presents evidence of the "stories and lives" of the enslaved and freed ancestors of ten notable African-Americans and one "ordinary American" selected from a pool of 200,000 applicants.

Don Cheadle and Chris Rock's family stories were my favorites, but every single one is touching. You can see previews from each profile, examine samples of the documents used in the discovery, and see how researchers are using DNA to pick up where written records leave off on the PBS website--but do try to catch the whole program (see local listings) or find the DVD when available!

One thing I learned from this program is that there were 5 Native American tribes that held slaves.... and these slaves weren't freed until several years after the end of the Civil War.

Did you know that? What piece of African American History are you interested in learning more about? Find it at your library!

Watch how the 1946 and 1947 PSU football teams contributed to the civil rights movement in these Penn State Live videos.

In 1945 Wally Triplett and Dennie Hoggard became the first African-American football players to take the field in varsity football games at Penn State. Their race became an issue when the team was scheduled to play Miami in the segregated Orange Bowl in 1946.

Wally Triplett and Dennie Hoggard made history again in 1947 as the first African Americans to play in the Cotton Bowl. In 1947 an unbeaten Penn State football team faced an also undefeated Southern Methodist University team in Dallas.

Update: Links broken? See this post.

Keywords: college sports, discrimination in sports, history, football

Are you a young African-American student? How does your education compare to Calvin Waller's? Calvin H. Waller (BS Ag, 1905) was Penn State's first African-American graduate. Learn more about his experience at Penn State by watching this short video from Penn State Live. It would be more than 25 years before the first woman of African-American heritage would graduate from Penn State. Mildred Seller Bunton received a BS in Health and Human Development from Penn State in 1932. Both went on to have wonderful careers in their discipline.

Keywords: higher education, history, African Americans