LibGuides: Antiracism : A Guide to Stories, Perspectives, and Connections: Primary Sources

Primary Sources: Stories, Perspectives, Connections

Local primary sources from DC, Baltimore, and Northern Virginia:

Mapping Segregation in Washington DC
"Racially restrictive covenants—which barred the conveyance of property to African Americans—were used by real estate developers and white citizens associations to create and maintain racial barriers. Mapping Segregation in DC is a resource for historians, activists, educators, students, and journalists, and provides essential context for conversations around race and gentrification in DC. The project's maps unveil historical patterns that would otherwise remain invisible and largely unknown."
Record and Remember: Gather Stories of Protest, Unrest, and Community Action
"This site is designed to foster active engagement with the digital collection, Preserve the Baltimore Uprising. It contains a series of five curriculum sets for classroom teachers, community organizers, camp counselors, and others. The teacher guides, worksheets and supplementary materials provide a basic foundation in the theories and methods of oral history –the collection of first-person stories and accounts that can shed light on the meaning and experience of significant events."
The National Memorial for Peace and Justice: Community Remembrance Project
Did you know that at least 84 reported lynchings occurred in Virginia in the 20th century, including at least 12 in Northern Virginia? (Source: Lynching in America tool, at link above.) This community resource from the EJI (Equal Justice Initiative) provides opportunities to locally memorialize documented victims of racial violence and to learn about lynching history and memorials to lynching victims in communities across the country, including in our Northern Virginia communities.

Assuring Diversity of Expertise
"Instructors frequently ask students to consult scholarly publications to ensure they tap into the best minds available in each subject domain. Sometimes, this limits diversity of opinion. If your native language is not English or you reside in the Global South, the hurdles of getting published in top academic journals are difficult to overcome. There are, however, several websites and databases actively seeking to include diverse perspectives and alternative viewpoints." This list compiled by NOVA librarian Barbie Keiser includes Diverse Sources Database, Find POC Experts, WomenAlsoKnowStuff, and many more.

Talking About Race
Resource list compiled by the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). "Since the opening of the museum, the number one question people ask us is how to talk about race. In 2014, we launched our signature program, “Let’s Talk! Teaching Race in the Classroom.” Every year we’ve learned, reflected, and refined the program content – always growing and striving to do better."

Suggested Databases for Further Research

African Americans and Reconstruction: Hope and Struggle, 1865-1883 (Readex)

Includes documents related to African Americans and citizenship, voting rights, literacy, land rights, employment, and more, including the gaps between written law and practice. (VIVA)

African Americans and Jim Crow: Repression and Protest, 1883-1922 (Readex)

Documents that provide insights into African American identity, relationships with peoples of other nations, and literature. (VIVA)

African American Poetry, 1760-1900 (Chadwyck-Healey)

Over 2500 poems by African American writers. (VIVA)

Ethnic NewsWatch (ProQuest)

Full-text newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic and minority press, providing researchers access to essential, often overlooked perspectives. (NVCC)

This digital archive offers oral histories assembled from interviews with African-Americans from all walks of life, including politicians, authors, civil rights activists, religious leaders, musicians, legal scholars, and more. (VIVA)

Oxford African American Studies Center

Over 8,000 articles by top scholars that focus on the lives and events which have shaped African American history and culture. Also includes images and primary sources. (NVCC)

Antiracism : A Guide to Stories, Perspectives, and Connections