Describes the career of a man who was born a slave, became the first Black chaplain in the United States Army, and founded the first all-Black city in the United States, Allensworth (California). Emphasizes his belief in the importance of education. (FMW)

A native of Henning, Tennessee, Alex Haley taught himself to write during a twenty year career in the U.S. Coast Guard. After retiring from that service, in 1959, he became a magazine writer and interviewer, and has spent 12 years researching and writing "Roots" (Doubleday, 1976), the epic drama of his family from the abduction of his…

This resource book provides information and activity sheets on the achievements and contributions of exceptional African American women, past and present. The book contains six sections, thematically organized around the central issue(s) affecting the lives of the women featured. Introductory questions, biographical portraits and skill-building…

A biogaphy of W. E. B. Du Bois is presented in this book for young children. Du Bois is widely regarded as the foremost black intellectual from the United States. A great scholar, he was the first black American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard University. Of his written work he is probably best known for his essays, "The Souls of Black…

This biography for younger readers recounts the life of Fannie Lou Hamer, one of the first black organizers of voter registration in Mississippi. The book presents an overview of the civil rights movement while describing Hamer's life in Mississippi, her involvement in voter rights in 1962 at the age of 45, and her efforts as a civil rights…

This biography for younger readers describes the life of Malcolm X, the African American religious and political leader who was prominent in a movement to unite black people throughout the world. The book presents an overview of the civil rights movement and documents Malcolm's role as an advocate for black separatism, black nationalism, and the…

This biography for younger readers depicts the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., the Nobel Peace Prize winner who dedicated himself to the struggle for equal rights for African Americans while embracing the principle of nonviolent resistance. The book presents an overview of the civil rights movement and chronicles King's role as national leader…

Bishop Henry McNeal Turner, a journalist and speaker, headed a back-to-Africa movement in the second half of the nineteenth century that was one of the first black rhetorical movements to meet the challenges of institutionalized racism in the United States. Turner was a preacher in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, becoming first an elder…

This biography for younger readers presents the life of Stokely Carmichael, who made famous the phrase "Black Power" as he fought for the rights of black people in the United States and who later settled in Africa, where he organizes young Africans to work for their rights. The book is introduced by an overview of the civil rights…

This biography for younger readers examines the life of Thurgood Marshall, an important legal activist in the history of the civil rights movement and the first African American to be appointed a U.S. Supreme Court justice. The book presents an overview of the civil rights movement in the United States while documenting the key role Marshall…

Suitable for elementary level students, this study unit helps increase students' comprehension of the risks involved in a black person's flight from slavery and of Harriet Tubman's success in leading more than 300 slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad. Five activity suggestions are followed by a reading on the life of Harriet Tubman.…

This biography for younger readers describes the life of Rosa Parks, the Alabama black woman whose refusal to give up her seat on a segregated bus helped establish the civil rights movement. The book is introduced by an overview of the movement by Andrew Young and a timeline indicating major historical events from 1954 through 1968. Highlights in…

This biography for younger readers follows the life and career of Jesse Jackson, the African American civil rights worker who has twice sought a presidential nomination and continues to work for equal rights for all Americans. The book presents an overview of the civil rights movement in the United States and describes Jackson's role as clergyman,…

Stories of more than 400 "firsts" by African Americans, break-through achievements in a variety of fields, are told in question-and-answer form ("Who was the first African American to ...?"). These are stories of people who were forced to contend with racism, directly or indirectly, in their struggle towards goals that require…

This bibliography was assembled by a history and Afro-American studies class at Bowdoin College (Maine). The document emphasizes primary sources on antislavery from the manuscript collection of the college. The guide lists 38 graduates of the college including well known figures such as Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, as well…