African American History

Part of the World Newspaper Archive, which can be found on the A-Z Databases page. 

This collection can also be searched on Readex AllSearch, an integrated platform that combines Readex’s primary sources into a single cross-searchable interface.

 Access to Black Life in America made possible by a grant from the Unidel Fund.

Includes the following:

• African American Newspapers
• American County Histories to 1900
• Anatomy of Protest in America
• The Civil War: A Newspaper Perspective(November 1860-April 1865)
• Godey’s Lady’s Book ([1830-1898)
• The Lily (1849-1856)
• The Pennsylvania Gazette([1728-1800)
• The Pennsylvania Genealogical Catalogue: Chester County (1809-1870)
• The Pennsylvania Newspaper Record: Delaware County (1819-1870)
• South Carolina Newspapers (1732-1780)
• Virginia Gazette (1736-1780)

Titles included:

• The Baltimore Afro-American (1893-1988)
  The most widely circulated black newspaper on the Atlantic coast. It was the first Black newspaper to have correspondents reporting on World War II, foreign correspondents, and female sports correspondents.
• Chicago Defender (1910-2010)
  A leading African-American newspaper, with more than two-thirds of its readership outside Chicago.
• Los Angeles Sentinel (1934-2005)
  The oldest and largest Black newspaper in the western United States and the largest African American owned newspaper in the U.S.
• New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993)
  The leading Black newspaper of the 20th century reached its peak in the 1940s. The Amsterdam News was a strong advocate for the desegregation of the U.S. military during World War II, and also covered the historically important Harlem Renaissance.
• Norfolk Journal and Guide (1916-2003)
  As a southern black newspaper, the Norfolk Journal and Guide did not have the same freedoms as northern black newspapers and thus did not aggressively or openly denounce social and racial injustices. Because of its more moderate position the Guide was able to procure advertisements from nationally owned white businesses. It was also the only black newspaper that provided on-the-scene, day-to-day coverage of the Scottsboro trial in the 1930s.
• The Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2001)
  The oldest continuously published Black newspaper, is dedicated to the needs and concerns of the fourth largest black community in the U.S. During the 1930s the paper supported the growth of the United Way, rallied against the riots in Chester, PA, and continuously fought against segregation.
• Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2010)
  One of the most nationally circulated Black newspapers, the Pittsburgh Courier reached its peak in the 1930s. A conservative voice in the African-American community, the Pittsburgh Courier challenged the misrepresentation of African Americans in the national media and advocated social reforms to advance the cause of civil rights.

This collection can also be searched on Gale Primary Sources, an integrated platform that combines Gales digital archives into a single cross-searchable interface.

Every issue of each title includes the complete paper with full-page and article images in downloadable PDF format. Researchers can study the progression of issues over time through these historical newspaper pages, including articles, photos, advertisements, classified ads, obituaries, editorial cartoons, and more.

Titles Included:

• The Baltimore Afro-American (1893-2010)
• Chicago Defender (1910-2010)
• Chicago Tribune (1849-9 years ago)
• Los Angeles Sentinel (1934-2010)
• Los Angeles Times (1881-9 years ago)
• New York Amsterdam News (1922-2010)
• The New York Times (1851-5 years ago)
• The News Journal (Wilmington, DE) (1871-2009)
• Norfolk Journal and Guide (1946-2010)
• The Philadelphia Inquirer (1860-2001)
• The Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2010)
• Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2010)
• The Times of India (1838-August 20, 2010)
• The Wall Street Journal (1889-17 years ago)
• The Washington Post (1877-17 years ago)

Black Thought and Culture is made available through a grant from the Unidel Foundation.

Particular care has been taken to index this material so it can be thoroughly searched. Also includes biographies, an extensive bibliography of the sources in the database, and material licensed from The Civil War Day-by-Day by E.B. Long.

Black Thought and Culture is made available through a grant from the Unidel Foundation.

“My Library” allows you to create a personalized library on Google Books which allows you to label, review, rate, and search a customized selection of books. These collections live online, and are accessible anywhere you can log in to your Google account.

WHAT'S AVAILABLE

• Copyrighted items are available for full-text search in the HathiTrust Digital Library and can be helpful in the creation of a bibliography.
• Items in the public domain or available through Creative Commons licensing are marked “Full view” in the online catalog at https://www.hathitrust.org.
• Because the University of Delaware is a HathiTrust member, you may log in to HathiTrust using your UDelNet ID and download full PDFs of "Full View" items. 

• Part I: Debates over Slavery and Abolition
• Part II: The Slave Trade in the Atlantic World
• Part III: The Institution of Slavery
• Part IV: The Age of Emancipation

This collection can also be searched on Gale Primary Sources, an integrated platform that combines Gales digital archives into a single cross-searchable interface.

Access to Anatomy of Protest made possible by a grant from the Unidel Fund.

This collection can also be searched on Gale Primary Sources, an integrated platform that combines Gales digital archives into a single cross-searchable interface.

The site works best in modern browsers like Chrome, Safari, Edge, and Firefox. It will not work in Internet Explorer.

History Vault is comprised of many American history primary source collections. The UD Library focuses on providing access to those modules related to African American history:

• The Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Organizational Records and Personal Papers
• The Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Federal Government Records
• NAACP Papers
• Slavery and the Law
• Southern Life and African American History, 1775-1915, Plantation Records, Parts 1-2

(Purchase of the NAACP Papers, Plantation Papers, and Slavery and the Law was made possible through a grant from the Unidel Foundation.)