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BLCK 480: Anti-Blackness and Human Rights

Primary sources

A primary source is the original record or first-hand account created at the time of an event and can therefore be used as evidence of the topic under study. Primary sources can either be the original document/item or published at a later date and accessible in any format (electronic, microfilm and printed collections). 

Examples of primary sources:

  • letters
  • interviews
  • diaries
  • memoirs
  • photographs, audio recordings, movies and videos
  • newspapers
  • maps
  • films 

For more examples and information on primary sources, go to the Primary Sources guide.

Digital primary sources

Black Studies Center
Black Studies Center is a fully cross-searchable gateway to Black Studies including scholarly essays, recent periodicals, historical newspaper articles, and much more. It combines several resources for research and teaching in Black Studies: Schomburg Studies on the Black Experience, International Index to Black Periodicals (IIBP), historical black newspapers, and the Black Literature Index. 

Black Thought and Culture: African Americans from Colonial Times to the Present
Black Thought and Culture is a collection of non-fiction writings by major American black leaders—teachers, artists, politicians, religious leaders, athletes, war veterans, entertainers, and other figures—covering 250 years of history.

Race Relations in America
Primary source documents related to prejudice, segregation and racial tensions in America. Subjects addressed include poverty and inequality, segregation, class, housing, employment, education, and government policy. 

Independent Voices
Independent Voices is an open access digital collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals, drawn from the special collections of participating libraries. Includes periodicals by Black Power advocates.

Black Freedom Struggle in the United States 
Features select primary source documents related to critical people and events in African American history. Designed for teaching and learning about the foundation of ongoing racial injustice in the U.S. – and the fights against it.

Civil Rights Digital Library
An online, open-access database of photographs and documents related to the Civil Rights and Black Power movements.