LibGuides: AFR 370: The Black Figure in American Art and Popular Culture / Evans: Find Primary Sources

Select Primary Source Databases

Black Studies in Video This link opens in a new window
Coverage varies. Unlimited users.
This collection is a black studies portfolio that brings together seminal documentaries, powerful interviews, and previously unavailable archival footage surveying the black experience. The collection contains 500 hours of film covering African American history, politics, art and culture, family structure, gender relationships, and social and economic issues.
Chicago Defender (Historical) This link opens in a new window
1910 - 2010. Unlimited users.
Includes the full image of articles published in the Chicago Defender from 1910 to 2010. You can browse individual issues by clicking Publications at the top of the screen, or search by keyword(s), author(s), article title, date ranges, and more. Includes illustrations and advertisements. The Chicago Defender was the most influential African-American newspaper of the 20th century. With the majority of its readership outside the Chicago region, it served as the de facto national black newspaper in the U.S. The Defender covered events in the South, such as lynchings, that Southern black newspapers could not safely report. The paper was a major influence for the Great Migration of African Americans to the North in the early 20th century. Later issues of the Chicago Defender are in the Ethnic NewsWatch database.
HistoryMakers This link opens in a new window
1801-present. Unlimited users.
This resource’s unique content is primarily composed of video oral histories recording the African American experience in the first-person. Testimonies captured in The HistoryMakers Collection interviews are conducted in homes and offices across the United States and abroad. The interviews reveal the broad scope of narratives of African American men and women who have made significant contributions to American life, history, and culture during the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.
New York Amsterdam News (Historical) This link opens in a new window
1922 - 2010. Unlimited Users.
Full page and article images of various editions of the New York Amsterdam News newspaper, with combined coverage from 1922 to 2010. The newspaper offers primary source material relevant to the study of American history and African-American culture, history, politics, and the arts. Coverage includes news stories, editorials, letters to the editor, obituaries, birth and marriage announcements, photos, and advertisements. Later issues of the New York Amsterdam News are in the Ethnic NewsWatch database.

Chicago Defender (Historical) This link opens in a new window
1910 - 2010. Unlimited users.
Includes the full image of articles published in the Chicago Defender from 1910 to 2010. You can browse individual issues by clicking Publications at the top of the screen, or search by keyword(s), author(s), article title, date ranges, and more. Includes illustrations and advertisements. The Chicago Defender was the most influential African-American newspaper of the 20th century. With the majority of its readership outside the Chicago region, it served as the de facto national black newspaper in the U.S. The Defender covered events in the South, such as lynchings, that Southern black newspapers could not safely report. The paper was a major influence for the Great Migration of African Americans to the North in the early 20th century. Later issues of the Chicago Defender are in the Ethnic NewsWatch database.
Dallas Morning News (Historical) This link opens in a new window
1885 - 1984. Unlimited users.
Provides comprehensive coverage for one of the largest daily newspapers in Texas. Accessible by keyword and date searching. Documents major events in Texas, the United States, and the world, providing valuable primary source information. Includes classified and display advertising, photos and graphics.
Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window
1985 - present. Unlimited users.
Updated monthly. Provides full-text coverage of newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press in America (some international coverage). Includes more than 400,000 full-text articles from 200 publications.
Houston Chronicle (Historical) This link opens in a new window
1901-1985. Additional coverage may be available for 1996-2017. Unlimited.
Research Houston history through the Houston Chronicle Historical Collection. Study trends, issues, events, advertisements, companies and more through historical and current full newspaper pages, full-text articles and content only published online. Available remotely 24/7 on any device. Includes full newspaper pages.
Houston Post (Historical) This link opens in a new window
1886–1995. Unlimited.
Research Houston history through the Houston Post Historical Collection with coverage from 1886 – 1995. Primary source information to examine events, issues and daily life in the context of the historical period, featuring archived full newspaper pages. Available remotely 24/7 on any device. Includes full newspaper pages.
New York Amsterdam News (Historical) This link opens in a new window
1922 - 2010. Unlimited Users.
Full page and article images of various editions of the New York Amsterdam News newspaper, with combined coverage from 1922 to 2010. The newspaper offers primary source material relevant to the study of American history and African-American culture, history, politics, and the arts. Coverage includes news stories, editorials, letters to the editor, obituaries, birth and marriage announcements, photos, and advertisements. Later issues of the New York Amsterdam News are in the Ethnic NewsWatch database.
New York Times (Historical) This link opens in a new window
1851 - 2018. Unlimited users.
Updated annually. Includes all the articles published since the first issue of the paper in 1851. Provides full text and full image articles with digital reproductions of every page, every article and every issue in PDF format. In addition to news stories, includes editorials, letters to the editor, obituaries, birth and marriage announcements, photos, and advertisements.
More recent years are also available in other full text resources.

African American Communities (AAC) This link opens in a new window
Unlimited.
Presents multiple aspects of the African American community through personal diaries and scrapbooks, pamphlets, newspapers and periodicals, correspondence, official records and in-depth oral histories.
Women and Social Movements (U.S.) This link opens in a new window
1600 - 2000. Unlimited users.
Updated quarterly. Organized around the history of women in social movements in the U.S. between 1600 and 2000. A resource for the teaching the history of women in the United States. Consists of 74 editorial projects with more than 2200 primary documents intended for use in high school and college history classrooms. Also includes a major collection of links to related websites and a search engine that permits users to do full text searching of all the primary documents mounted on the site.
African American Periodicals This link opens in a new window
Unlimited users.
African American Periodicals, 1825-1995, features more than 170 wide-ranging periodicals by and about African Americans. Published in 26 states, the publications include academic and political journals, commercial magazines, institutional newsletters, organizations bulletins, annual reports and other genres.
African American Newspapers, Series 1 This link opens in a new window
Unlimited users.
Updated regularly (until completed). When completed, will provide online access to approximately 270 African American U.S. newspapers. Features papers from more than 35 states. The newspapers were scanned from the collections of the Wisconsin Historical Society, Kansas State Historical Society and the Library of Congress.
African American Newspapers, Series 2 This link opens in a new window
Unlimited users.
Updated regularly (until completed). When completed, will provide online access to approximately 270 African American U.S. newspapers. Features papers from more than 35 states. The newspapers were scanned from the collections of the Wisconsin Historical Society, Kansas State Historical Society and the Library of Congress.
Independent Voices This link opens in a new window
Dates of coverage vary. Unlimited users.
Independent Voices is an open access digital collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals, drawn from the special collections of participating libraries. These periodicals were produced by feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Hispanics, LGBT activists, the extreme right-wing press and alternative literary magazines during the latter half of the 20th century.

African American Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Unlimited.
Collection of African American newspapers that contains a wealth of information about cultural life and history during the 1800s, first-hand reports of the major events and issues of the day, early biographies, vital statistics, essays and editorials, poetry and prose, and advertisements all of which embody the African-American experience.
African American Newspapers, Series 1 This link opens in a new window
Unlimited users.
Updated regularly (until completed). When completed, will provide online access to approximately 270 African American U.S. newspapers. Features papers from more than 35 states. The newspapers were scanned from the collections of the Wisconsin Historical Society, Kansas State Historical Society and the Library of Congress.
African American Newspapers, Series 2 This link opens in a new window
Unlimited users.
Updated regularly (until completed). When completed, will provide online access to approximately 270 African American U.S. newspapers. Features papers from more than 35 states. The newspapers were scanned from the collections of the Wisconsin Historical Society, Kansas State Historical Society and the Library of Congress.
African American Periodicals This link opens in a new window
Unlimited users.
African American Periodicals, 1825-1995, features more than 170 wide-ranging periodicals by and about African Americans. Published in 26 states, the publications include academic and political journals, commercial magazines, institutional newsletters, organizations bulletins, annual reports and other genres.
Atlanta Daily World (Historical) This link opens in a new window
1931-2010. Unlimited users.
Full page and article images of Atlanta Daily World (1931-2010) and Atlanta World (1931-1932), with searchable full text. Users can study the progression of issues over time by browsing issues of this historic Southern Black community newspaper, including news articles, photos, advertisements, classified ads, obituaries, editorials, cartoons, and more.
Chicago Defender (Historical) This link opens in a new window
1910 - 2010. Unlimited users.
Includes the full image of articles published in the Chicago Defender from 1910 to 2010. You can browse individual issues by clicking Publications at the top of the screen, or search by keyword(s), author(s), article title, date ranges, and more. Includes illustrations and advertisements. The Chicago Defender was the most influential African-American newspaper of the 20th century. With the majority of its readership outside the Chicago region, it served as the de facto national black newspaper in the U.S. The Defender covered events in the South, such as lynchings, that Southern black newspapers could not safely report. The paper was a major influence for the Great Migration of African Americans to the North in the early 20th century. Later issues of the Chicago Defender are in the Ethnic NewsWatch database.
New York Amsterdam News (Historical) This link opens in a new window
1922 - 2010. Unlimited Users.
Full page and article images of various editions of the New York Amsterdam News newspaper, with combined coverage from 1922 to 2010. The newspaper offers primary source material relevant to the study of American history and African-American culture, history, politics, and the arts. Coverage includes news stories, editorials, letters to the editor, obituaries, birth and marriage announcements, photos, and advertisements. Later issues of the New York Amsterdam News are in the Ethnic NewsWatch database.

Digitized Magazines

Black Enterprise
Online version of Black Enterprise digitized by Google. African American business publication since 1970.
Black World/Negro Digest (1961-1976)
Founded in 1943, Negro Digest (later “Black World”) was the publication that launched Johnson Publishing. During the most turbulent years of the civil rights movement, Negro Digest/Black World served as a critical vehicle for political thought for supporters of the movement.
Colored American Magazine
From 1900 to 1909, during a period of intensifying racial violence and Black disfranchisement in the United States, the Colored American Magazine served a vital role in promoting the development of African American literature, protesting injustice, and contesting dominant representations of African American culture and history.
Commerorator Newspaper (1991-2012)
Newspaper printed in South Berkeley from 1990-2013 by the Commemoration Committee for the Black Panther Party.
Crisis Magazine (1910-2011)
The Crisis, founded by W.E.B. Du Bois as the official publication of the NAACP, is a journal of civil rights, history, politics, and culture and seeks to educate and challenge its readers about issues that continue to plague African Americans and other communities of color.
Ebony (1959-2008)
Founded in 1945 by John H. Johnson, it still maintains the highest global circulation of any African American-focused magazine.
Ebony Jr. (1973-1985)
Created by the publishers of Ebony. During its years of publishing it was the largest ever children-focused publication for African Americans.
Essence (1970-2005)
Jet Magazine (1951-2005)
Weekly source of African American political and entertainment news.

More Primary Source Databases

How to Analyze Primary Sources

While primary sources are often desirable for the raw, non-interpreted information they provide, it is important to analyze them for your research. Ask yourself these questions:

Who is the creator and what was their relationship to the event or issue?
Why did the creator produce this source?
Was the source for personal use? For a large audience?
Was the source intended to be public (newspaper) or private (correspondence)?
Everyone has biases. What biases or interests might have influenced how the source was created?
Can the source be substantiated by other primary sources? Can you confirm what the creator is saying?