Black History Month
YouTube Playlist
Enjoy these videos we've selected about notable people in black history from YouTube. Watch Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech, learn about local author Zora Neale Hurston, view an interview with Rosa Parks, and more!
Library Online Resources
Biography & Literature
Read about the lives of Civil Rights Movement leaders in the Biography Resource Center.
Use Lit Finder to locate and read poems, essays, short stories, speeches, and plays.
Find novels that feature African-American characters with FictionConnection, NoveList, and What Do I Read Next.
Genealogy
HeritageQuest Online
Begin your genealogy search!
Music
African American Song
The first online resource to document the history of African-American music in an online music listening service.
American Song
Listen to songs from America’s past, including songs of the Civil Rights Movement. Search by genre, title, historical event, date, and instrument.
Classical Music Library
Search for your favorite African-American composer or classical performer.
Smithsonian Global Sound Music Library
Listen to music by browsing African-American cultural groups or categories of music, including blues, jazz, world, and more.
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Library Materials
African-American Genealogy
Tools to help you research your roots.
African-American Music
Includes books, CDs, and music scores.
African-American Poetry
Enjoy the works of Langston Hughes, Phyllis Wheatley, and many others.
Books about Black History
Explore arts, culture, education, politics, and society through these titles.
Books about Civil Rights
Learn about the struggle for racial equality in America.
DVDs on African-American History
Watch informational videos about Martin Luther King, Jr., the Tuskegee Airmen, the Underground Railroad, and a number of other topics.
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Select an image below to see library materials on the subject of the photograph.
Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee & Ossie Davis, Sojourner Truth, Oprah Winfrey, Zora Neale Hurston, and Muhammad Ali
"Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see."
-Martin Luther King, Jr., The Measure of a Man
"I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying."
-Michael Jordan, I Can't Accept Not Trying
"No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow."
-Alice Walker, The Color Purple
"You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom."
-Malcolm X, Malcolm X Speaks
"You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man."
-Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
"There is a kind of strength that is almost frightening in black women. It's as if a steel rod runs right through the head down to the feet."
-Maya Angelou, Conversations with Maya Angelou
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Web Sites
Biography.com: Black History Month
Information on a variety of famous African-Americans including athletes, educators, scientists, and writers/artists.
Gale Resources: Black History Month
A collection of information and resources on Black History Month, including a timeline, biographies, and quizzes.
The History Channel Celebrates Black History Month
The struggle for Civil
Rights, great speeches, video clips, and related resources.
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
View virtual exhibits, explore digital archives, and learn about freedom seekers from the Underground Railroad era to the present.
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
Explore collections from The New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center, including public programs and digital images of photographs and documents.
Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture (NMAAHC)
Share your stories and find other opportunities to get involved in the newest Smithsonian museum dedicated to the African-American experience.
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