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Posted by: Amber Paranick
Chronicling America provides free access to more than 16 million pages (and growing!) of historic American newspapers. Below is a sampling of guides we’ve created over the years that help you explore African American history in our digital newspaper collections. Stay tuned: we have big plans to add more guides – if you have any …
Posted in: African American History, Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers
Posted by: Heather Thomas
Two days after Mississippi is readmitted to the Union on February 23, 1870, Hiram Revels, a schoolmaster and preacher, becomes the first African American to serve in the U.S. Senate.
Posted in: African American History, Biography, Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers
Posted by: Malea Walker
In a time of extreme racism and yellow journalism, documenting and speaking the truth about lynchings in the South was a rare and dangerous act. But that did not stop journalist Ida B. Wells.
Posted in: African American History, Biography, Digitized Newspapers, Journalism, Women's History
Posted by: Arlene Balkansky
Events in Rosa Parks' life are chronicled in newspapers and comic books and reinforce her well-justified iconic status. At times, though, their simplified coverage perpetuates the myth of Parks as the quiet seamstress who was too tired to stand to give up her seat.
Posted in: African American History, Biography, Comic Books, Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers, Women's History
Posted by: Arlene Balkansky
See hundreds of issues of newspapers edited by African American abolitionist Frederick Douglass, one of the most significant writers and orators of the 19th century, on the Library of Congress website.
Posted in: African American History, Digitized Newspapers
Posted by: Malea Walker
Take a look at some of the amazing items that we acquired during 2019! From a 300 year-old newspaper to rare comic books.
Posted in: African American History, Comic Books, Holidays, Newspapers
Posted by: Arlene Balkansky
Abhorrent in their treatment of people as property, these brief descriptions of African-Americans who escaped enslavement bear witness to the bravery and unique characteristics of individuals who defied a massively powerful system allied against them.
Posted in: African American History, Digitized Newspapers, U.S. Presidents
Posted by: Amber Paranick
Cyclist Marshall W. “Major” Taylor was the fastest man on earth. He won thousands of dollars as a bicycle racer and became the most famous African-American in the United States. This was the golden age of cycling, and bicycle racing was a premier sporting event. Thousands of fans packed indoor velodromes to watch races and many …
Posted in: African American History, Biography, Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers, Sports
Posted by: Heather Thomas
Sissieretta Jones sang for kings, presidents, and to audiences around the world, becoming the highest paid African-American entertainer of the late 19th century. She headlined at Carnegie Hall and was hailed as one of the greatest sopranos of her time, yet she never performed on the operatic stage. She was born Matilda Sissieretta Joyner in …
Posted in: African American History, Biography, Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers, Women's History