The African American Encyclopedia. Ed. by Michael W. Williams. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1993.
(REF E185 A253 1993)
"Entries on people, organizations, landmarks, professions, entertainment, military activity, religion, family life, politics, court cases, cultural movements..." 6 volumes.

Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, 2nd edition. Ed. by Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. NY: Oxford University Press, 2005.
(REF DT14 A37435 1999)
Covers many aspects of Africa and the African diaspora. Entries examine the history of African nations; the political and social history of African people in Africa and the New World; literature, the arts, music, and culture; ethnic groups; and notable people. 5 volumes.

Encarta Africana 2000. Ed. by Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Microsoft, 1999.
(ERC Reference Software  DT14 M527 2000)
A multimedia encyclopedia with more than 3600 articles and 2900 media elements (videos, audio clips, maps and photographs). 2 CD-ROMs.

Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History. Ed. by Jack Salzman, David Lionel Smith & Cornel West. NY: Macmillan Library Reference, 1996.
(REF E185 E54 1996)
6-volumes set including scholarly essays that examine important events in African-American culture and history such as the Civil War, the various civil rights movements, and the role of religion in the lives of African-Americans. Also includes numerous biographical entries, and entries on events, eras, culture, professions, sports, and places.

Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895: From the Colonial Period to the Age of Frederick Douglass.  Ed. by Paul Finkelman. NY: Oxford University Press, 2006.
(REF E185 .E545 2006)
3-Volume Set covers an extraordinary range of subjects including major topics such as "Abolitionism," "Black Nationalism," the "Civil War," the "Dred Scott case,"  plus hundreds of fascinating entries on less obvious subjects, such as the "African Grove Theatre," "Black Seafarers," "Buffalo Soldiers," the "Catholic Church and African Americans", and brief biographies of important African Americans and white Americans who have played a significant role in African American history.

Encyclopedia of African-American Society. Ed. by Gerald D. Jaynes. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2005.
(REF  E 185 E546 2005)
Provides 700 articles on the foundations of African American culture and the turbulent historical events that have shaped the African American experience including slavery, segregation, the "separate but equal" doctrine, affirmative action, etc.

Encyclopedia of African American Military History. William Weir. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2004.
(REF UB418.A47.W45 2004)
Entries on notable individuals and their contributions over the course of U.S. military history. The encyclopedia also offers entries on significant battles and events spanning the dates from the American Revolution to the present.

The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Civil Rights: from emancipation to the twenty-first century. Ed. by Charles D. Lowery and John F. Marszalek. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003.
(REF E 185.61 .E54 2003)
2-volume set that explores the The African American struggle for freedom and equality from emancipation to the beginning of the 21st century. An impressive range of subjects covers everything from W.E.B. DuBois to early legislative acts, constitutional amendments of the mid-1800s, "Black Is Beautiful," the tumultuous events of the 1960s, Al Sharpton, the Million Man March, and Adam Clayton Powell. Primary documents--personal vignettes, court cases, newspaper articles, and speeches--provide firsthand accounts and supplement the A-to-Z entries. An extensive timeline highlights key events

Atlas of African-American History. James Ciment. New York: Facts On File, 2001.
(REF E185 C55 2001)
100 black-and-white photographs, 20 color photographs, 67 maps, and 26 line illustrations and graphs chronicle important events in African-American history.

Black History Month Resource Book, 2nd edition, edited by Mary Ellen Snodgrass, Detroit : Gale Research, 1998.
(REF  E 184.7 .B53 1998)
Outlines hundreds of activities, special events and displays that celebrate African-American history. The Resource Book also includes an essay on Black History Month; selected bibliography and listings of black organizations; and three indexes — subject, age/grade level and budget

For additional encyclopedias in this library, browse the Reference Collection (REF E 184.7 through REF E 185.97) and see our subject research guide to American History: Reference Sources.

The African American National Biography, ED. by  Henry Louis Gates, Jr.,  and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham. NY : Oxford University Press, 2008.
(REF E185.96 .A4466 2008)
Eight volume set providing the largest scholarly reference project covering African American lives and history ever undertaken. Contains 4,000 biographies and 1,000 images of notable black Americans Entries written by more than one thousand scholars and experts. Includes a Directory of Contributors, an Index of Subjects by Category or Area of Renown, and an Index of Prizewinners, Medalists, Members of Congress and Judges .

African American Lives, Ed. by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham.New York : Oxford University Press, 2004.
(REF E185.96 .A446 2004)
More than 600 biographies of noteworthy African Americans, ranging from Esteban, the first known African in North America, right up to the continuing careers of Venus and Serena Williams.
 
American National Biography. Ed. by John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
(REF CT213 A68 1999)
While not limited to African-Americans, this 24 volume set provides excellent 2-3 page biographies. Entries are arranged alphabetically by last name. Additionally, the Cumulative Index by Occupations and Realms of Renown includes the following useful categories: Abolitionists; Black Nationalists; Civil Liberties Activists; Civil Rights Activists.
 
Dictionary of Literary Biography. Detroit: Gale Research, various dates.
(REF PS 129 D5)
Biographies range from brief entries of secondary literary figures  to comprehensive coverage of prominent writers.  Individual volumes are organized by topic, period, or genre; vols. 33, 38, 41, 50, 51, 76 are devoted to African-American writers.

Black Women in America: 2nd edition. Ed. by Darlene Clark Hine. NY: Oxford University Press, 2005.
(REF E185.86 B542 2005)
This 3-volume set includes several hundred biographical entries on individual African-American women plus substantial topical essays that explore Black women's experiences through American history. There is a special emphasis on women about whom information cannot be easily found in other reference books. Also included here are 163 entries dealing with organizations, topics and places significant to African-American women. Photographs throughout.

Notable Black American Men. Ed. by Jessie Carney Smith. Detroit: Gale Research, 1999.
(REF E185.86 N68 1999)
Focuses on the lifetime accomplishments of the approximately 500 African-American men included. Geographical and occupational indexes are in the back. Photographs throughout.

For additional biographical works in this library, browse the Reference Collection (REF E 184.7 through REF E 185.97). Also search the Ely Library Catalog by subject for African-Americans Biography and for Afro-Americans Biography, or search for the name of a particular person, e.g. King, Martin Luther, Jr.

Black Literature Criticism: excerpts from criticism of the most significant works of Black authors over the past 200 years. Edited by James p. Draper. Detroit: Gale Research, 1992 -
(REF  PS 153 .N5 B556 1992)
Articles about prominent African-American authors throughout history. A discussion of their works is also included with literary criticism excerpted from scholarly journals and books.

Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance. Edited by Cary D. Wintz. New York: Routledge, 2004.
(REF NX512.3.A35.E53 2004)
A two-volume work of articles of on prominent authors and artists, locations, topics, and notable works which contributed to the Harlem Renaissance era.

Masterpieces of African-American Literature. Edited by Frank M. Magill. New York: Salem Press, 1992
(REF PS 153.N5.M264 1992)
Entries for notable works of African-American literature, including plot summaries, critical analyses, and a discussion of each work's context in society, culture and the arts.

Oxford Companion to African-American Literature. Edited by William Andrews. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
(REF PS 153.N5.096 1997)
Extensive and brief articles on authors, themes, and movements over the history of African-American literature, with a bibliography at the end of each article for further reading.

Historical Dictionary of African American Cinema, by  S. Torriano Berry, Venise T. Berry. Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2007.
(REF  PN1995.9.N4 B433 2007):
Covers hundreds of films which includes everything from The Birth of a Nation to Crash. In addition to the films, brief biographies of African American actors and actresses are provided.. Through a chronology, a list of acronyms and abbreviations, an introductory essay, a bibliography, appendixes, black-&-white photos, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on actors, actresses, movies, producers, organizations, awards, film credits, and terminology, this book provides an understanding of the role African Americans played in film history.

Historical Dictionary of African-American Television, by Kathleen Fearn-Banks. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2006.
(REF  PN 1992.8 .A34 F43 2006)
Covers all aspects of African American TV --animation, documentaries, sitcoms, sports, talk shows, and variety shows--and performers such as Muhammad Ali, Louis Armstrong, Bill Cosby, and Oprah Winfrey. Also covers general issues, ranging from African American audiences and stereotypes through the related networks and organizations. Contains hundreds of cross-referenced entries, plus an extensive chronology that shows who did what and when. the introduction traces the often difficult circumstances African American performers faced compared to the more satisfactory present situation.

Health

The Library of American Civilization contains pamphlets, periodicals, biographies, literary works, and many rare books relating to all aspects of American life and literature from their beginnings to the outbreak of World War I. These materials are available on microfiche stored in a cabinet in the Reference Area of Ely Library. A printed, four-volume guide includes author, title, and subject catalogs, and a Biblioguide Index. The Biblioguide Index is divided into 29 chapters.

Chapter 13 of the Biblioguide Index is devoted to the topic of Afro-Americans, and lists approximately 1,500 distinct items in the microfiche collection that are relevant to the study of African-American history.

For more information about using this collection, please see our Search Guide, or ask a Reference Librarian for assistance.

Ely Library Catalog. For books and videos in Ely Library.
(Internet Site: http://catalog.lib.wsc.ma.edu/)

Seach by the following headings in the Subject browse of our catalog to find books on African-American history.

African-Americans History	African-Americans	African-Americans in Literature	African-Americans Social Conditions
African-Americans Civil Rights	Afro-Americans  (main subject heading prior to 2001)	Black Race  (anthropological theory)	Harlem Renaissance
Civil Rights Movement	Negro Leagues	Black Muslims	Black Nationalism United States

For more information on using the library catalog, see our guide to Searching the Ely Library Catalog.

History Resource Center: U.S.     Limited to WSC community use
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#History Resource)
This database provides comprehensive coverage of the most important events in African-American history. Coverage includes primary source documents, periodical articles in full text, and topic overviews. For more information on using this database, see our Search Guide.

JSTORLimited to WSC community use
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#JSTOR)
This database contains the PDF full text of many scholarly journals that include retrospective collections of African American Studies and History journals, including Journal of Negro History (1916-1999), American Historical Review (1895-1999), Journal of American History (1964-1999), and Journal of Black Studies (1970-1999). For more information on using this database, see our Search Guide.

In the First Person
(Internet Site: http://www.inthefirstperson.com)
A database indexing primary source documents available in digital repositories. This database indexes letters, diaries, oral histories, and personal narratives relating to all subjects and eras of American History. These documents can be searched by keyword or subject. The online files available include audio, video, and text versions of the accounts.

Expanded Academic ASAP     Limited to WSC community use
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Expanded Academic)
A multi-disciplinary database that contains thousands of articles under the subject African-Americans and its many subdivisions. Many articles are available in full text. For more information on using this database, see our Search Guide.

Academic Search Premier     Limited to WSC community use
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Academic)
A multi-disciplinary database that includes many articles in full text. Use keywords to search for articles on aspects of African-American history, society, and culture. For more information on using this database, see our Search Guide.

WWW - Virtual Library: African-American History
(Internet Site: http://vlib.iue.it/history/USA/african-american.html)
Links to web gateways, online archives, research centers, museums, and many other online resources listed under historical time periods such as Slave Unrest, The Underground Railway, African-Americans in the Civil War, The Harlem Renaissance, Marcus Garvey and the UNIA, and The Black Panthers.

African-American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship
(Internet Site: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/aohome.html)
Through this virtual exhibit, documents held by the Library of Congress are available in digital form. From this page, you can also link to other Library of Congress Web Sites devoted to African-American history.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
(Internet Site: http://www.nypl.org/research/sc/sc.html)
A Research Library of the New York Public Library, the Schomburg Center offers digital collections and online exhibitions from its homepage.

AFRO-American Almanac
(Internet Site: http://www.toptags.com/aama/)
Brief overviews of historical events, reprints of historical documents, biographical sketches, and folk-tales.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project
(Internet Site: http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/)
Provides the text of King's papers online.

UMass at Amherst W.E.B. Du Bois Collection
http://www.library.umass.edu/spcoll/digital/digitaldubois.htm
Information on the special collection of W.E.B. Du Bois' papers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

The Booker T. Washington Papers
(Internet Site: http://www.historycooperative.org/btw/index.html)
An online edition of a 14-volume set of books. You may search the collection, or browse the volumes or images.

Black History Month
(Internet Site: http://www.springfieldlibrary.org/blackhistory.html)
Black History Month programs in the Springfield area, WWW links, and online exhibits. Maintained by the Springfield City Library.

Black History Month Web Resources
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/blackhistory.htm)
A collection of Websites on topics and individuals in African-American history.