Check Out Some Great Biopics!
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Websites
- Black Freedom Struggle in the United States: Challenges and Triumphs in the Pursuit of Equality
ProQuest database of open primary source documents. Find historical newspaper articles, pamphlets, diaries, correspondence and more from specific time periods in U.S. history marked by the opposition African Americans have faced on the road to freedom.
- Credo Reference via NC Live This link opens in a new windowSearch NC Live for "African American explorers" will result in articles and eBook sources including THE AFRICAN AMERICAN ALMANAC which provides in-depth biographical descriptions of famous African-Americans.
Library card required.
- Black Americans in Congressfrom the U.S. House of Representatives History, Art & Archives website
- African American FirstsFrom the Biography Channel.
- African American Poetry This link opens in a new windowNC Live database on the early history of African American poetry. Library card required.
Prince Hall, abt. 1735-1807
- A Forgotten Black Founding Father
by Danielle Allen | The Atlantic, March 2021 issue.
" . . . Prince Hall, a free African American and a contemporary of John Adams. From his formal acquisition of freedom, in 1770, until his death, in 1807, Hall helped forge an activist Black community in Boston while elevating the cause of abolition to new prominence. . . . "
Frederick Douglass 1818-1895
- The "Composite Nation" Speech
A CNN article about the optimism and forward thinking expressed in Douglass' little-remembered speech of 1869.
Harriet Tubman
- Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park
The National Park Service website offers a short biography, as well as an opportunity to Travel with Tubman through the new travel guide on NPS App that connects visitors with sites associated with Harriet Tubman.
Phyllis Wheatley (1753-1784)
- National Women's History Museum
"Despite spending much of her life enslaved, Phillis Wheatley was the first African American and second woman (after Anne Bradstreet) to publish a book of poems." Short biographical sketch edited by Debra Michals, PhD. - Poets.orgRead poems by Phyllis Wheatley.
Joseph Bologne de Saint-Georges (1745 - 1799)
- Biographical Sketch of Joseph Bologne de Saint-Georges
[Article from Artaria Editions] A contemporary of Haydn and Mozart, Saint-Georges, violinist, composer, and swordsman, was "widely regarded as the most accomplished man of his age." Artraria.com, a publishing website, offers sheet music in pdf format for sale.
Librarian
Collected Biographies
Reference & Historical Resources
Try searching our Catalog by Keyword for: Black* Biography or African American* Biography; you can also search for the name of a specific person (for example: Rosa Parks).
The African American National Biography by Call Number: R920 AFR (Reference Collection)ISBN: 9780195160192Publication Date: 2008-02-18- Who's Who Among African AmericansCall Number: R301.451 WHO (Reference Collection)Publication Date: 1996 - 2011
- African Americans in Gaston County North Carolina byCall Number: 975.677 YOU NCC (North Carolina Collection)
- From faith to glory : Historical perspectives on African Americans in the Springfield Community of Stanley, North Carolina byCall Number: 975.677 BAR NCC (North Carolina Collection)
The Negro Motorist Green Book Compendium by Call Number: R910.89 GRE (Reference Collection)ISBN: 9781949996067Publication Date: 2019-01-11
Forgotten Patriots by Call Number: 973.34 GRU NCC (North Carolina Collection)ISBN: 9781892237101Publication Date: 2009-01-01
An Index of African Americans Identified in Select Records of the Bureau of Refuges, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands by Call Number: 929 .1 LAW NCC (North Carolina Collection)ISBN: 0788402919Publication Date: 2008-01-01
The Free Negro in North Carolina, 1790-1860 by Call Number: 975.6 FRA N.C. (North Carolina Collection & Circulating copies)ISBN: 0807845469Publication Date: 1995-12-11
African American Hospitals in North Carolina by Call Number: 362.1 POL NCCISBN: 9781476667249Publication Date: 2017-09-29
A Better Life for Their Children by Call Number: 371.82 FEIISBN: 9780820358413Publication Date: 2021-05-01
Civil Rights Leaders
Brave Leaders and Activists by Call Number: j323.092 MILISBN: 9781427128089Publication Date: 2021-01-01
- PBS: Civil Rights IconsBe inspired by the men and women of the African American Civil Rights Movement. Each of the stories is a window into the lives these momentous figures, including rare interviews with Martin L. King Jr and Malcolm X. Venture back into history with PBS to explore the men and women of The Civil Rights Movement.
Authors
- From Harlem to Paris : Black American writers in France, 1840-1980 by Call Number: 810.98 96073 FABISBN: 025201684XPublication Date: c1991
Inventors & Scientists
African Americans in Science, Math and Invention by Call Number: R509.2 SPAISBN: 0816048061Publication Date: 2003-02-01
Explorers
Crossing the Continent 1527-1540 by Call Number: 970.01 GOOISBN: 9780061140457Publication Date: 2009-09-22
- Robert Lawrence: First African-American Astronaut
Explore NASA's website for articles on Mae Jemison and other African American pioneers in space exploration. Click here to download NASA's African American Astronauts Fact Sheet [pdf], or Go To: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/african_american_astronauts_fs.pdf
Artists, Musicians, & Performers
History of African-American Artists by Call Number: R704.0396073 BEA OVER (Reference Collection)ISBN: 0394570162Publication Date: 1993-10-26
Athletes
Rising above: Inspiring Women in Sports by Call Number: j796.082 ZUCISBN: 9780399547478Publication Date: 2018-02-20
Citation
Author: Gaston County Public Library
Title: African American History & Biography Resources
URL: https://gastonlibrary.libguides.com/african-american-history-biography
Revised 15 November 2022