African American Studies Research Guide

This guide is to help the student and researcher locate materials in Pickler Memorial Library that relate to some aspect of African American life. African American Studies is an interdisciplinary field, covering a wide range of subjects related to African Americans. In addition to sources available at the library, a list of authoritative and relevant web sites is given. Since the Web is an ever-changing medium, sites may be added or deleted periodically. We hope you will find this guide useful for your needs.

Location information:

Reference -- First Floor
Periodicals (bound and current) -- First Floor
General Collection A-K -- Second Floor
General Collection L-Z -- Third Floor
Special Collections -- Third Floor

BIBLIOGRAPHIES

Bibliographies are lists of sources that focus on a fairly specific subject area. For example, the bibliography, Black American Women Novelists: an Annotated Bibliography would provide a titles of books, magazines, online sources,etc. on that topic. If a bibliography is “annotated,” then a summary of each source is also given.

Click on the title to view the catalog record:

Black Immigration and Ethnicity in the United States: An Annotated Bibliography General Collection E 185 .B53 1985
Afro-American History: A Bibliography Reference E 185 .S55 1974
Demography of the Black Population in the United States: An Annotated Bibliography with a Review Essay E 185.86 M6 1983
Folklore From Africa to the United States: An Annotated Bibliography General Collection GR 350 .C68 1976
Black Labor in America, 1865-1983 General Collection HD 8081 .A65 W5 1986
Black Music in the United States: An Annotated Bibliography of Selected Reference
and Research Materials General Collection ML 128 .B45 F6 1983
Choral Music by African American Composers: A Selected, Annotated Bibliography
General Collection ML 128 .C48 W5 1996
Afro-American Religious Music: A Bibliography and Catalogue of Gospel Music
General Collection ML 128 .S4 J3 1979
Black Media in America: A Resource Guide General Collection P 94.5 .A37 H55 1984
African-American Newspapers and Periodicals: a National Bibliography
Reference PN 4882.5 .A37 1998

ENCYCLOPEDIAS, DICTIONARIES, etc.

Encyclopedia Americana
    Reference: Table D (1999)
    General Collection: AE 5 .E333 (1994)
    Third Floor Reference, Room 308 (1997)

Academic American Encyclopedia
    Reference: Table D (1996)

Subject Encyclopedias

These can be helpful for obtaining an overview of a subject and related topics. Often an entry in an encyclopedia will contain a list of references which can lead you to more sources on that topic.

Here are several we have:

Encyclopedia of African and African-American Religions Reference BL 2462.5 E53 2001
The African American Encyclopedia   8 vols. Reference E 185 .A253 1993
Routledge Atlas of African American History Reference E 185 .E125 2000
Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History 5 vols. and 2001 supplement Reference E 185 .E54 1996
Encyclopedia of African-American Civil Rights : From Emancipation to the Present
Reference E 185.61 .E54 1992
Encyclopedia of African-American Education Reference LC 2717 .E53 1996

Subject Dictionaries

Historical Dictionary of the Civil Rights Movement   Reference E185.61 .L84 1997
Juba to Jive: the Dictionary of African-American Slang Reference PE3727.N4 M34 1994
Dictionary of the Black Theatre: Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Selected Harlem Theatre Reference PN2270.A35 W64 1983

Statistical & Biographical Sources

Historical Statistics of Black America 21 vols. Reference E 185 .H543 1995
Black Americans: a Statistical Sourcebook Reference E 185.5 .B512 2000
Statistical Record of Black America Reference E 185.5 S83 1997
Historical Statistics of Black America 21 vols. Reference E 185 .H543 1995
Black Americans: a Statistical Sourcebook Reference E 185.5 .B512 2000
Statistical Record of Black America Reference E 185.5 S83 1997
Notable Black American Women Reference E 185.96 .N68 1992
Who’s Who Among African Americans Reference E 185.96 .W522 2001
Blacks in Science and Medicine Reference Q 141 .B58 1990

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FINDING BOOKS

There are several types of searches you can do in the library catalog to locate books. Since African American Studies is interdisciplinary, you will find books under many different subject headings. Begin with some basic keyword searches, combining a few terms that relate to your topic, for example:

    african american* and television
    african american* and voting
    (black or african american) and musician*

A few tips on the keyword searches above: The asterisk * truncates a term and will retrieve all forms of the word that follow the truncation symbol. The parentheses allows you to search for concepts similar in meaning and then combine these with different term(s).

Results from your keyword searches will help you identify appropriate subject headings that you can search under. These can help you get even more relevant books on your specific topic. Listed below are just a few subject headings designated by the Library of Congress that you can search under in our catalog:

African Americans
African Americans -- literary collections
African Americans -- music
African Americans -- psychology
African Americans -- religion
African Americans -- segregation
African Americans -- social conditions
African Americans -- social life and customs

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FINDING ARTICLES

Databases in this section are restricted to use on the Truman network unless otherwise indicated.

If you are looking for articles from either popular magazines or scholarly journals, you will need to use a periodical index. Once you have a list of citations to articles that you are interested in, you need to check the library catalog to see if we have the periodical and to obtain its call number. In most of our online databases , however, you can seamlessly link to the library catalog and retrieve the call number & location information, without entirely exiting the database you are searching in. And even more conveniently, there will be cases where you can link to the full text of a journal article directly from the database (index) in which you locate citations. Several databases are listed below.

America: History and Life 1964+ Abstracts of articles, dissertations and reviews on the history of the United States and Canada published throughout the world.

Humanities Abstracts 1984+
In print under various titles 1907-1996. Reference AI 3 S6

Contains citations from more than 465 periodicals in archaeology and classical studies, area studies, communication, folklore, history, language, literature, performing and visual arts, philosophy, religion and theology. In this database these subject headings may be useful:

race relations in art
blacks in television
blacks—civil rights

Social Sciences Abstracts 1983+
In print under various titles 1907-1996: Reference AI 3 S6

Covers about 550 journals in the areas of anthropology, area studies, community health and medical care, criminal justice, economics, geography, international relations, law, political science, psychology, social work and public welfare, sociology, and related topics. Try searching under these subject headings:

                           blacks
                           blacks--racial identity
                           racial stereotypes

SocIndex with Full Text. A comprehensive sociology research database with more than 1.9 million records and the full text for over 400 journals dating back to 1908. Also contains full text for more than 700 books and monographs and more than 6000 conference papers.

Contains summaries of the periodical literature in sociology and related disciplines. It is compiled from the material published in Sociological Abstracts. This database covers over 1900 journals in 28 different languages. The following are major subject headings that would be useful.

                            black americans
                            racial relations
                            black family

You may need to narrow your results after searching under these broad heading. You can do so by combining your subject headings with keywords:

                         black americans (major descriptor) AND athletes (keyword)
                         black family (major descriptor) AND grandparents (keyword)

Pickler Memorial Library also subscribes to a couple of full text online journal collections:

J-STOR
Project MUSE

These collections are searched differently from online periodical indexes, so be sure to ask for assistance at the Reference Desk if you need assistance with them.

MEDIA LIBRARY

Our Media Library located on the second floor houses a large collection of videos, DVDs, sound recordings and CD-ROMS. Below are listed several relating to African American Studies.

CD-ROMs

The African American Experience Media Multimedia E 185 .A371 1996 (includes user's guide)
The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords   Media Multimedia PN 4882.5 .B53232 1998

Sound Recordings (Spoken)

Black Pioneers in American History   Media Cassette E 185 .B53 1968
Ernest Gaines Interview with Kay Bonetti Media Cassette PS 3557 .A355 Z662 1986
Ernest Gaines Reads Excerpts from "A Gathering of Old Men." Media Cassette PS 3557 .A355 G32   1986
Martin Luther King and Integration   Media Cassette E 185.61 K535 1969
Maya Angelou   Media Cassette PS 3551 .N464 Z87 (2 tapes)   1993
Our Souls Have Grown Deep Like the Rivers: Black Poets Read Their Work
Media Compact Disc 4376-4377, Booklet 4376-4377    2000
The Negro Writer in America Media Cassette PS 153 .N5 N44 1961
Toni Morrison Interview with Kay Bonetti   Media Cassette PS 3563 .O8749 Z743   1983

Sound Recordings (Music)

Videos and DVDs (Non-fiction)

Africans in America: America's Journey Through Slavery Media Video E 441 .A37 (4 videocassettes and guide) 1998
August Wilson with Bill Moyers Media Video PS 3573 .I45677 Z46 1989
Black Is--Black Ain't: A Personal Journey Through Black Identity   Media Video E 185.625 B555 1995
Black Theater: The Making of a Movement Media Video PN 2270 .A35 B54 1978
Booker T. Washington Media Video E 185.97 .W4B66 1970
Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin Media Video E 185.97 .R93 B73 2002
Color Adjustment   Media Video E 185.615 C64 1991
Dateline Freedom: Civil Rights and the Press Media Video E 185.61 D37 1988
Ethnic Notions   Media Video E 185 .E844 1986
Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Movement--Awakenings Media Video E 185.61 E94 1986 (There are a number of videos in this series with different call numbers. Do a title search in the catalog for "Eyes on the Prize" to view records for these other videos).

The Fateful Decade: From Little Rock to the Civil Rights Bill Media Video E 185.61 F37 1993
Figures of the Civil Rights Movement Media Video E 185.61 .F45 1999
Frederick Douglass: When the Lion Wrote History   Media Video E 449 .D75 F76 1994
The Harlem Renaissance and Beyond Media Video PS 153 .N5 H29 1969
In Remembrance of Martin   Media Video E 185.97 .I5 1988
Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Personal Portrait   Media Video E 185.97 .K5 M37   1987
Moving North to Chicago Media Video HB 1965 .A3M69 1999
Racism in America   Media Video E 185.615 R32 1985
Ralph Ellison: An American Journey Media Video PS 3555 .L625 Z85 2001
The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow Media Video E 185.61 .R57 (4 videocassettes) 2002
Then I'll Be Free to Travel Home   Media Video F 128.9 .N3 T475 (2 videocassettes) 2002
Tuskagee   Media Video R853 .H8 T87 2000
Two Towns of Jasper   Media Video HV 6534 .J364 T86 2003
Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives Media DVD E 444 .U63 2003
W.E.B. Du Bois: A Biography in Four Voices   Media Video E185.97 .D73 W23 1995

Videos and DVDs (drama)

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman Media Video PS 3557 .A355 A85
Boyz n the Hood Media DVD PN 1995.9 N4 B69, Media Video PN 1995.9 .N4 B69
Brothers   Media Video PN 1995.9 .P68 B76 1996
The Color Purple Media DVD PS 3573 .A425 C65 & Media Video PS 3573 .A425 C65
Crooklyn Media Video PN 1995.9 .N49 C76 1994
Do the Right Thing Media DVD PN1995.9 .C55 D6 & Media Video PN 1995.9 .C55 D6
Daughters of the Dust Media DVD E 185.6 D39 & Media Video E 185.6 .D39
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf
Media DVD PS 3569 .H3324 F73 2002
Glory   Media DVD E 513.5 54th .G552 & Media Video E 513.5 54th .G552
Lilies of the Field Media DVD PS 3503 .A62873 L563 2001
Malcolm X Media Video BP 223 .Z8 L5723   (2 videocassettes)  1993
Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored Media Video F 349 .G54 O53 1996
Pinky   Media Video PS 3537 .U86 Q36
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry    Media Video PS 3570 .A946 L48 1992
Roots   Media Video E 185.97 .H24 A332 (6 videocassettes) 1992
The Rosa Parks Story Media DVD E 185.97 .P3 R68 2003

This list is not exhaustive. To locate videos and DVDs on a specific topic, go to our Searching for Videos page.

WEB RESOURCES

There are many sites dedicated to the study of African American life. This is just a sampling of some very good sites.

African-American Religion, Part I: To the Civil War
National Humanities Center, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

African American Religion, Part II: From the Civil War to the Great Migration
National Humanities Center, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

African Americans in the Visual Arts: a Historical Perspective –Professor Melvin Sylvester, Head of Periodicals, Long Island University (C. W. Post Campus)

The African-American Mosaic: A Library of Congress Resource Guide
for the Study of Black History and Culture

African American World--"PBS-sponsored guide to African American history and culture. Channels include History, Arts & Culture, Race & society, and Profiles." CHOICE Reviews, June 2006

African Missouri – University of Missouri-St. Louis, Thomas Jefferson Library

American Slave Narratives: An Online Anthology –American Studies Hypertext at the University of Virginia

The Black Renaissance in Washington, D.C.--Funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and supported by the Art Division of the District of Columbia Public Library

Documenting the American South—"First Person Narratives of the American South," University of North Carolina at Chapel Hills Libraries

The Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences – Mitchell C. Brown, Mathematics and Physics Librarian, Princeton University

Javanoir: a Selected Guide to African American Resources on the Internet
"Recommended for anyone with varying levels of expertise conducting research in areas of African American culture or history." CHOICE magazine, November, 2002

Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project--Stanford University

Minority Links: Facts on the Black or African American Population -U.S. Census Bureau

Remembering Jim Crow – Presented by American Radioworks, a documentary about the Jim Crow era of the South (1890’s –1960’s), funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities

The W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research--"nation's oldest research center dedicated to the study of the history, culture, and social institutions of African Americans".

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CITING SOURCES

There are several style manuals available in the library:

Chicago/Turabian Style

A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations
    General Collection LB 2369 .T8 1996
    Reference LB 2369 .T8 1996

APA Style

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
    General Collection   BF 76.7 .P83 2001
    Reserve BF 76.7 .P83 2001
    Reference BF 76.7 .P83 2001

MLA Style

         MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
                General Collection LB 2396 .G53 2003
                Reserve LB 2369 .G53
                Reference LB 2369 .G53 2003

For additional style guides and information on citing Web sites and other electronic sources, click here.

For further assistance, visit or call the Reference Desk (660) 785-4051 or contact the Reference Librarian for African American Studies:

Lisa M. Glaubitz, Reference Librarian
(660) 785-7412
glaubitz@truman.edu

lmg