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African American Studies



The African American community is composed of persons with ancestral origins in over 50 countries of the African continent. It does not include, however, descendants of persons from Egypt, white, Indian or Arab immigrants from the African continent. African Americans share a geographic origin with the African continent but because of diasporic movements, many also share a more recent tie to the Caribbean Islands, Latin America and other parts of the world. Blacks from non-African countries such as Haiti, Cuba, or the Dominican Republic are usually referred to by their nation of origin and not “African American”, but in general in the U.S. if a person is Black, a native English-speaker and lives in the United States, he or she is referred to as "African American." SUBJECT HEADINGS “African American” is the most common self-identifying term in use. Other related terms useful to identify populations when searching the online catalog (formerly known as MAGIC) and other databases like WorldCat include: racially mixed people, bi-racial/biracial persons, multiracial people, mulattos and Black race. A geographic or thematic qualifier may also be included to narrow the search in a very expansive subject area. A Geographic qualifier such as African Americans Michigan Battle Creek and thematic qualifiers such as African Americans Education, African Americans Fiction may be used.

Table of Contents:



This research guide is for those who are already familiar with basic dictionaries, handbooks, encyclopedias and online databases and indexes. This site will direct researchers of the African American experience to primary and secondary print, digital, microform and audio/visual resources available at the MSU Libraries. The scope of the contents include current and historical materials.

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Indexes & Full Text Databases
There are several major indexes and full text databases that include the African American experience. In addition to FIRSTSEARCH, JSTOR, PROQUEST AND WilsonSelectPlus these other titles are useful:
  • African American Poetry 2 Database
    http://ezproxy.msu.edu:2047/login?url=http://collections.chadwyck.com/20daap/ht xview?template=basic.htx&content=frameset.htx
    The Database of Twentieth Century African American Poetry is a growing collection of poetry written by the most important and influential African American poets of the 20th century. Many contemporary African American writers of America's 80s and 90s, who have gained recognition through national poetry awards or inclusion within leading print anthologies, are also represented.
  • African American Poetry Database
    http://ezproxy.msu.edu:2047/login?url=http://efts.lib.uchicago.edu/efts/AAP/
    Covering a wide range of topics from slavery and abolition to love and death, this collection provides a unique portrait of early America through the reflections of African-American poets during the 18th and 19th centuries. It contains a variety of poetic styles and types including elegies, odes, ditties, hymns, and sonnets.
  • Expanded Academic ASAP
    http://ezproxy.msu.edu:2047/login?url=http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/msu_m ain?db=EAIM
    Expanded Academic ASAP� provides coverage of 3,000 indexed and 1,900 full-text titles in a wide variety of disciplines including: social science journals, humanities journals, science and technology journals, national news periodicals, general interest magazines, newswires, The New York Times and many others. More than 1,400 journals are peer reviewed, and more than 20 years of backfile coverage are included.
  • ERL (WebSPIRS/SilverPlatter)
    http://www.lib.msu.edu/erl/
    Includes the following databases and files:

    AGRICOLA AGRIS Allied and Complementary Alternative Medicine (AMED) Atlantes (Sport Discus) BA (Biological Abstracts) Biological Abstracts BIOSIS CAB Abstracts Canadian Business and Current Affairs (CBCA) Fulltext Reference Catalogue du Muse Olympique (Sport Discus) CINAHL Criminal Justice Abstracts ERIC Food Science and Technology Abstracts (FSTA) GeoRef Heracles (Sport Discus) International Political Science Abstracts MEDLINE MLA Directory of Periodicals MLA International Bibliography National Association of Social Workers Clinical Register Philosopher's Index PsycARTICLES via PsycINFO PsycINFO including PsycARTICLES RSP Funding for Graduate Students RSP Funding for Postdoctorates and Professionals RSP Funding for Undergraduates Serline Social Work Abstracts Plus SPORT Discus Tree-CD Zoological Record
  • LexisNexis Academic
    http://ezproxy.msu.edu:2047/login?url=http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic
    The LEXIS service contains major archives of federal and state case law, continuously updated statutes of all 50 states, state and federal regulations and public records from major U.S. states. The NEXIS service is a leading news and business information service which contains more than 7,100 sources, of which 3,700 provide their entire publications online.
  • Periodicals Index Online
    http://ezproxy.msu.edu:2047/login?url=http://pio.chadwyck.com/home.do
    Periodicals Contents Index (PCI) contains more than 1 million citations to articles in more than 3,000 journals from 1770-1995. These journals represent popular and scholarly titles in the humanities and social sciences. 1,000,000 citations are added annually. Although it is not yet complete, PCI Full Text is a growing repository of full-text articles enabling one to go directly from the bibliographic citation to the full text article.
  • Web of Science
    http://ezproxy.msu.edu:2047/login?url=http://isiknowledge.com/wos
    Includes the Institute for Scientific Information Citation Indexes - Arts and Humanities, Social Science, and Science. It indexes science, social sciences, and arts and humanities information from nearly 9,300 of the most prestigious, high impact research journals in the world.

  • Additional newspaper resources (indexes, bibliographies and unionlists) can be found in MAGIC using the following subject headings: AFRICAN AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS
  • African American Newspapers: The 19th Century (online)
    http://www.accessible.com.proxy1.cl.msu.edu:2047/accessible/preLog
    This collection of African-American newspapers contains a wealth of information about the cultural life and history during the 1800s, and is rich with first-hand reports of the major events and issues of the day, including the Mexican War, Presidential and congressional addresses, Congressional abstracts, business and commodity markets, the humanities, world travel and religion. They also contain large numbers of early biographies, vital statistics, essays and editorials, poetry and prose, and advertisements all of which embody the African-American experience.
  • Black Studies on Disc
    http://citrix.lib.msu.edu/resources/blackstudies.htm
    An index to the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the Index to Black Periodicals (1988-1999). Covers scholarly and popular aspects of African-American, African, and African Diasporan studies. Coverage of political, social, popular culture, historical and interdisciplinary topics.
  • Cooperative Africana Microform Project (CAMP)
    http://www.crl.edu/areastudies/CAMP/index.htm
    CAMP is a joint effort by research libraries throughout the world and the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) to promote the preservation of publications and archives concerning the nearly fifty nations of Sub-Saharan Africa and to make these materials in microform available to researchers. It acquires expensive microform sets and authorizes original filming of unique research materials in North America, Africa, and Europe.
  • Ethnic NewsWatch
    http://ezproxy.msu.edu:2047/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/login?COPT=SU5UPT AmVkVSPTImREJTPTM4M0U@&clientId=3552
    Ethnic NewsWatch is an interdisciplinary, bilingual (English and Spanish) and comprehensive full text database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Designed to provide the "other side of the story," ENW titles offer additional viewpoints from those proffered by the mainstream press. Coverage begins in 1990.
  • Index to Black Periodicals
    http://magic.msu.edu:80/record=b2279362a
    Continued by G.K. Hall index to Black periodicals Continues Index to periodical articles by and about Blacks . Covers both popular and scholarly articles about Blacks.
  • International Index to Black Periodicals
    http://iibp.chadwyck.com
    IIBP Full Text includes current and retrospective bibliographic citations and abstracts from over 150 scholarly and popular journals, newspapers and newsletters from the United States, Africa and the Caribbean--and full-text coverage of 40 core Black Studies periodicals (1998 forward). Coverage is international and multidisciplinary in scope and issues pertaining to Black Studies.
  • America History and Life
    http://ezproxy.msu.edu:2047/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?au thtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=ahl
    Provides access to articles, book reviews, and dissertations in American and Canadian history.
  • Trial Resources
    http://www.lib.msu.edu/e_res/eval.htm
    Remember to also check for resources of interest at this site.
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Microformats
There are several thousand reels of information on the African and African American experience. This is just a sample of the content type for titles that are owned. The MSU Libraries owns JUST THE GUIDES [**] for additional titles. They can be found on MAGIC or databases such as WORLDCAT as a title search, or part of a subject or key word search. Microfilm may also be available to you as part of an Inter-Library Loan request. Please check with the reference desk or the Ethnic Studies Bibliographer.
  • The Arthur A. Schomburg papers [microform].
    http://magic.msu.edu:80/record=b3891803a
    Manuscript collections from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Note Accompanied by printed reel guide compiled by Nanette Dobrosky with title: A guide to the microfilm edition of the Arthur A. Schomburg papers -- E184.6 .S35 1991 Guide.
  • The Bayard Rustin papers [microform] / introduction by August Meier.
    http://magic.msu.edu:80/record=b3891802a
    Accompanied by a film guide -- E185.97 .R87 1988 Guide Summary Reproduces the papers of Bayard Rustin made from the originals in the A. Philip Randolph Institute, New York N.Y., which were later transferred by the Institute to the Library of Congress. Note Accompanied by a printed reel guide, compiled by Nanette Dobrosky.
  • The Martin Luther King, Jr., FBI file [microform] / edited by David J. Garrow.
    http://magic.msu.edu:80/record=b1247533a
    This file, designated number 100-106670 by the FBI, chronicles the career of Dr. King and the civil rights movement during the sixties. Included are the Bureau's responses to charges of harassment that emerged after King's death. Note: Reels numbered 1-16 (pt. 1), 1-9 (pt. 2). Contents pt. 1. FBI file (16 reels) -- pt. 2. The King-Levison file (9 reels). Local note MSU: For guide to microfilm edition see: Microcopy Library-E185.97.K51984
  • The Paul Robeson collection [microform].
    http://magic.msu.edu:80/record=b2468682a
    Manuscript collections from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Note: Includes correspondence, speeches, newspaper and magazine excerpts by and about Robeson.
  • Records of the Tuskegee Airmen [microform] / editor, Robert E. Lester.
    http://magic.msu.edu:80/record=b4741637a
    Reproduced from the records of the U.S. Army Air Corps in the custody of the National Archives of the United States, College Park, MD. Note Accompanied by film guide -- UG834.A37 R43 2005. Contents pt. 1. Records of the Army Air Forces (13 reels)
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Audio Resources
The G. Robert Vincent Voice Library is a collection of over 40,000 hours of spoken word recordings, dating back to 1888. http://vvl.lib.msu.edu/
  • Civil Rights
    http://vvl.lib.msu.edu/findingaids.cfm?action=list&categoryid=12
    Voice recordings of Ralph Abernathy, Marcus Garvey, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X and others. http://vvl.lib.msu.edu/findingaids.cfm
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Video Resources [Digital & Multi-media Center & Services]
The DMC multimedia collection features computer software packages, videocassettes, CD-ROMs, videodiscs, DVDs, LP records, audio cassettes, audio CDs and reel-to-reel audio tapes. There are about 10,000 items, acquired as purchases or gifts, over the past thirty years.
  • Services
    http://digital.lib.msu.edu/?PageID=4
    SCANNING AND OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION DMC staff provide free assistance with scanning to MSU library patrons. TEXT ENCODING AND AUDIO TRANSCRIPTIONS DMC staff have hands-on experience with using several varieties of markup languages to prepare text and audio transcriptions for dissemination on the web. In particular, we use two SGML/XML tagsets: TEI (Text Encoding Initiative), designed for literary works and primary historical materials, and Trans-13, which was developed for transcriptions of audio files. Anyone with questions about copyright law is welcome to consult Michael Seadle at the Digital and Multimedia Center. These are purely informational consultations: we cannot provide legal advice. COPYRIGHT PERMISSION The DMC also assists in obtaining permissions from rights holders for MSU faculty who need to use materials in a course or other work-related project. Requests for permissions may be submitted using our Online Permissions Request Form.
    • SCANNING AND OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION
      DMC staff provide free assistance with scanning to MSU library patrons.
    • TEXT ENCODING AND AUDIO TRANSCRIPTIONS
      DMC staff have hands-on experience with using several varieties of markup languages to prepare text and audio transcriptions for dissemination on the web. In particular, we use two SGML/XML tagsets: TEI (Text Encoding Initiative), designed for literary works and primary historical materials, and Trans-13, which was developed for transcriptions of audio files.
    • COPYRIGHT PERMISSION
      The DMC also assists in obtaining permissions from rights holders for MSU faculty who need to use materials in a course or other work-related project. Requests for permissions may be submitted using our Online Permissions Request Form.
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Maps, Atlases and other Cartographic Resources
  • About the MSU Map Library
    http://www.lib.msu.edu/coll/main/maps/
    The Map Library houses a collection of general and thematic maps and atlases for most areas of the world. The collection consists of approximately 200,000 sheet maps and 4,000 atlases, gazetteers and other reference aids including wall maps, globes, CDs and Internet-accessible resources. The collection is especially strong in Michigan topics, United States, Canada, Africa, Asia, and Latin America, though all areas of the world are collected at some level.
  • ATLASES
    Atlases of the United States and other countries (Nigeria, Kenya, Mexico, Cuba, etc.) may include general and/or thematic content. National atlases are a good source for information on the historical, cultural, demographic, political and social experiences of populations. In addition other thematic atlases may provide specific information for populations such as women and children. The following are an example of the more useful atlases to consult. Newer editions may not be available, but these older titles provide a snapshot of numbers, events, etc. for specific time periods.
    • The National Atlas of the United States of America.
      http://www.nationalatlas.gov/index.html
      The older editions in paper copy are available in the Map Library. This U.S. Department of the Interior atlas is available via the Internet. According to their website: "d the single best Federal source for national maps and geographic information on the Web. The people and places of the United States are here."
    • Atlas of American Diversity
      http://magic.msu.edu:80/record=b3342628a
      Contents African Americans -- Asian Pacific Americans -- Hispanic Americans -- Native Americans -- Non-Hispanic Whites/European Americans. Includes statistical data.

    • Search MAGIC for other atlases on the African American experience using the following subject heading: African Americans -- History -- Maps.
    • Atlas of African-American History / James Ciment.
      http://magic.msu.edu:80/record=b3702920a
      Coverage includes: The African Heritage: An overview of the African continent, the civilizations that have inhabited it, and the cultural traditions that it has fostered Slavery in Early America: The mechanics of the slavery system; the Triangle Trade and the Middle Passage; the invention of the cotton gin; black pioneers and westward expansion The Divided Nation: The American Civil War; the Missouri Compromise; the Abolitionist Movement; and the Emancipation Proclamation Up from Slavery: Reconstruction; the Freedman's Bureau; the sharecropping system; African Americans and higher education; The "New Negro": The NAACP and the Urban League; the Jim Crow laws; the roles of African Americans in World War I and World War II; African Americans and the Great Depression; the New Deal The Civil Rights Years: The civil rights movement; Brown v. Board of Education; the Montgomery bus boycott; the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; the freedom rides; Malcolm X and the rise of black nationalism The Struggle Continues: The demographics of black America; affirmative action; Louis Farrakhan and the Million Man March; African-American political power; a pan-African world. [from publisher website: http://www.factsonfile.com/
    • The Routledge Atlas of African American History / Jonathan Earle.
      http://magic.msu.edu:80/record=b3810951a
      Vendor description: 16th century-20th century... The Routledge Atlas of African American History examines the geographical and historical context of the African American Experience. Focusing on issues and events that resonate to this day, topics include: slave revolts, black patriots, slave communities, the Civil War, African Americans in the armed services, the spread of Jim Crow, the Negro Baseball League, the Civil Rights Movement, the Voting Rights Act, the Harlem Renaissance, the expansion of the black middle class, and much more. http://www.routledge-ny.com
  • Other Map Sites - Perry-Castañeda Library, U of T - Austin
    http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa.html
    from the PCL website: "The Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection (PCL 1.306) is a general collection of more than 250,000 maps covering all areas of the world. Many of the maps are included in our online catalog, UTNetCAT. More than 5,000 map images from our collection are also available online. " Most CIA maps of countries and regions are copyright free, other maps on this site may not be. In addition links to maps of continents, countries, territories, regions, oceans and seas are also provided.
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E Resources
  • eHRAF: HRAF Collection of Ethnography
    http://ets.umdl.umich.edu/e/ehrafe/
    A collection of ethnographic and other texts indexed by culture and subject. Cultures covered in this database are of two types: l. traditional cultures 2. North American ethnic groups. Each annual installment contains about 50,000 pages of text as well as photographs, illustrations, charts, cultural summaries and bibliographic data.
  • Net Library
    http://www.lib.msu.edu/netlib/
    The MSU Libraries offers more than 10,000 electronic books, or eBooks, through our membership in the Michigan Library Consortium. Trade and university press materials, as well as popular materials are included.
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Primary Resources
  • Antislavery Newspapers and Periodicals
    http://magic.msu.edu:80/record=b1042693a
    · Volume I. Annotated index of letters in The Philanthropist, (Mt. Pleasant, OH); Emancipator, (Jonesborough, TN); Genius of Universal Emancipation; Abolition Intelligencer, (Shelbyville, KY); African Observer, (Philadelphia) and The Liberator, (Boston) 1831-1845. · Volume II. Annotated index of letters in The Liberator, (Boston) 1846-1865; Anti-Slavery Record, (New York); Human Rights, (New York); and The Observer, (St. Louis). · Volume III. Annotated index of letters in The Friend of Man, (Utica, NY) Pennsylvania Freeman; Advocate of Freedom, (Hallowell, ME); and American & Foreign Anti-slavery Reporter (New York). · Volume IV. Annotated index of letters in The National Anti-Slavery Standard, 1840-1860. · Volume V. Annotated index of letters in The National Anti-Slavery Standard, 1861-1871.
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Other collections at the MSU Libraries that may be of interest and use include:

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Africana Library
http://www.lib.msu.edu/coll/main/africana/

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Fine Arts Library (Visual Arts & Music)
http://www.lib.msu.edu/coll/main/finearts/

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Government Documents Library
http://www.lib.msu.edu/publ_ser/docs/

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Special Collections Library
http://specialcollections.lib.msu.edu/

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Useful Web Sites
  • The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia
    http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/what.htm
    a real place and a virtual site. The actual museum is located on the campus of Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan. Dr. John Thorp, is the curator for the museum.
  • Library of Congress
    http://http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/browse/ListSome.php?category=African%20Ameri can%20History
    American Memory provides web access to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience.... materials, from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions, chronicle historical events, people, places, and ideas that continue to shape America, serving the public as a resource for education and lifelong learning. from: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/about/index.html History
  • Northwestern University - Herskovits Library of African Studies
    http://www.library.northwestern.edu/africana/links.html
    Established in 1954, the Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies at Northwestern University is the largest separate Africana collection in existence. Its scope is the continent of Africa; its subject matter is multidisciplinary including art, history, literature, music, religion,communications, management, and cooking. In addition to serving the NU community, the Herskovits Library also serves regional, national, and international scholars.


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