Starting Points: Guide to Black History

Nonfiction   l  Reference   l  Videos  l   Additional Material  l    Web Sites
  ______________________________________________________________________________________
  

Nonfiction - 3rd Floor  

Runaway Slaves – Rebels on the Plantation - 305.567 Fra                          

Writings (by DuBois) - 305.896 DuB                                       
 

A Pictorial History of Black Americans - 305.896 Hug                          
 

Voices of Freedom - 305.896 Voi                   

Carry Me Home - 323.4 McW           

The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. - B King M   

Taylor Branch Trilogy (also available in audio)
Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63 - 973.92 B         
Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years, 1963-65 - 973.92 Bra                         
At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68 - 973.92 Bra 

Reference - 1st Floor  

The African American Almanac - R 305.896 Afr

A thorough overview of African American history via 29 broad subject headings.   

Civil Rights in the United States - R 323.4 Civ

The people and events in US civil rights, from the 1790 Naturalization Law to the present.    

International Dictionary of Black Composers  - R 780.92 Int

  Lives and works for185 musicians and composers. Includes discographies.                                                  
 

African American Lives - R 920.0092 Afr

Over 600 biographies of 1,000 – 3,000 words covering 500 years of Blacks in North America. Hundreds of illustrations and photos.                          

Black Women in America – An Historical Encyclopedia - R 920.0092 Bla

Covers 17^th century slave women to contemporary times. 450+ photos. 

Videos - 3rd Floor

America Beyond the Color Line - Video 305.896 Ame

Eyes on the Prize - Video 323.4 Eye   
 

I'll Make Me a World - Video 700.9 I'l                                

4 Little Girls - Video 791.4372 Fou    
 

First Person Singular - Video 907.2 Franklin 
 

Paul Robeson – Here I Stand - Video B Robeson P

Finding Additional Material

Dewey Decimal browsing numbers: 305.5, 305.8, 323.4, 920, 973
In addition to reference books, you may also want to search for other books and materials (videos, audiobooks, etc.) related to African American history.  You can access the online Library catalog from the Library or at home by going to our Web page (www.wppl.org), then go to Search Our Catalog.  The following are a few examples of catalog searches: Subject Searches: African American; slavery; civil rights. 

eBooks
Visit EBSCOhost to search the collection of thousands of eBooks the Library has to offer. Library card required. Contact a reference librarian for additional details.

Articles
The following sources can be used to find magazine articles dealing with your topic:

·            The Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature - Adult Reference  R 050 R
       Search for articles on a subject within any given year.

       EBSCOhost and Infotrac Onefile  - Access from the Library or at home using your library card number at www.wppl.org.  Search
       for full-text articles in these online databases using your choice of keywords. You can limit the search to a certain year or even a certain
       magazine.

Web Sites

About.com’s African-American History: Multi-linked and organized, this site is a rich source for Black history.     
     
The African American Mosaic: A Library of Congress resource guide for the study of Black history and culture.      
 
African American Voices – Digital History: Dozens of topics including an categorized overview of slavery.                                                          
Black History Quest: African American history, culture, and Black studies resource.
        
Infoplease’s Black History Month: Many excellent links, timelines, encyclopedias and more.                                       
                       
LII’s Black History: Over 300 links to all aspects of Black history from the Librarian’s Index to the Internet.                                                          
      
Smithsonian’s African American History & Culture: Dozens of sites from the nation’s foremost institute for the study of US culture and history.   

[top of page]