PBS Teachers™
Thematic Teaching
unsung heroes in african american history: related resources
Activity Ideas | Related Resources
Find Below: PBS Web Sites, Other Recommended Links, Recommended Books
pbs online
African American Lives
Learn how genealogical research and groundbreaking DNA analysis can provide the keys to the heritage of African Americans.
African American World
Discover the talent and courage that shaped the African American experience.
American Experience
Explore the "American Experience" site for a variety of stories depicting African American contributions to U.S. history.
Slavery and the Making of America
Help students take on the many different perspectives of people involved in slavery in order to better understand the climate in which slavery existed.
The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow
Examine the history and legacy of the system of government-sanctioned racial oppression and segregation in the United States.
This Far by Faith
Explore the African American religious experience through the last three centuries.
Partners of the Heart
Learn about how two men - one black, the other white - opened new paths for healing at a time when most doors were closed to African Americans.
Independent Lens: Negroes with Guns
Explore the controversial activist who urged African Americans to arms themselves against racist violence.
recommended web sites
Breaking Racial Barriers: African Americans in the Harmon Foundation Collection
http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/harmon/
In 1944 the Harmon Foundation "organized an exhibition Portraits of Outstanding Americans of Negro Origin, with the express goal of reversing racial intolerance, ignorance and bigotry by illustrating the accomplishments of contemporary African Americans."
Some of the names are well known today, such as George Washington Carver and Paul Robeson, but other names like Jane Bolin, the first black woman in the United States to be appointed to a judgeship, and Paul Williams, early African American architect, are not as well known. Each portrait has a short biography of the person.
Subject: The Arts
More Recommended Arts Links
Dox Thrash: Revealed
http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/collection/2002/48.html
Dox Thrash was an African American master printmaker who lived from 1893 to 1965. Thrash pioneered the technique in printmaking known as carborundum mezzotint. He also used aquatint, drypoint, lithography, etching, woodcut, and linocut. There is an interesting section on how the museum "rescued" a print that had been damaged by age and rubber cement,
kind of like forensics for artworks. Text and images from the timeline can be downloaded as PDF documents. Flash is required for the audio comments from the curator.
Subject: The Arts
More Recommended Arts Links
Major Taylor
http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/
Marshall W. "Major" Taylor, the1899 world cycling champion, was known as "the Worcester Whirlwind." He broke through the color line half a century before baseball player Jackie Robinson. Taylor promoted good sportsmanship and fair-play, in spite of facing prejudice of being a black athlete in a white athlete's world. Some of his suggestions of "clean living" include:
Don't keep late hours. Don't use intoxicants. Don't use tobacco in any form. Use the free 21 page curriculum guide with lessons for grades 3-8, with additional ideas for older students, focusing on reading, writing and math skills, active investigation, critical thinking, and good sportsmanship.
Subject: Health & Fitness
More Recommended Health & Fitness Links
Vivien Thomas, Surgical Technician
http://medicalarchives.jhmi.edu/vthomas.htm
Along with surgeon Alfred Blalock and pediatric cardiologist Helen
Taussig, Vivien Thomas pioneered the operation to correct a heart defect
in children called Fallot, or "blue baby" syndrome, where the heart
doesn't distribute enough oxygen to the body. Thomas was a major
contributor in the development of operative techniques and design of
surgical equipment. He supervised the surgical laboratories and was an
instructor in surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine for
over 35 years. Further information about Thomas can be found at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/partners/, an American Experience show
titled "Partners of the Heart."
Subject: Health & Fitness
More Recommended Health & Fitness Links
Heroes in the Ships: African Americans in the Whaling Industry
http://www.whalingmuseum.org/kendall/heros/index_h.html
The New Bedford Whaling Museum hosts a site about African Americans in the
Whaling Industry. Black and Creole mariners became a majority in many
ship's crews, were blacksmiths creating tools for the industry, and often
rose to become captain of their own whaling ships. Main topics include
profiles of master mariners, harpooners, whale processing, and activities
for idle time like scrimshaw and ship modeling are featured.
Subject: Social Studies
More Recommended Social Studies Links
They Changed the World: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott
http://www.montgomeryboycott.com/frontpage.htm
Even before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, 15 year old Claudette
Colvin and 18 year old Mary Louise Smith were arrested for refusing to
relinquish their seats to white passengers. The Montgomery Advertiser
(newspaper) presents a site about the Montgomery Bus Boycott with video
clips of everyday people in the movement, a timeline, newspaper front
pages, and historic articles from 1955-1957. Windows Media Player is
required for the video clips of interviews with 25 people who were
involved with the boycott.
Subject: Social Studies
More Recommended Social Studies Links
recommended books
Harlem Stomp! A Cultural History of the Harlem Renaissance
by Laban Carrick Hill
Published January 2004
Grades: 6-8
Subjects: The Arts; Reading & Language Arts
The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s was a flourishing of African American culture. This lavishly illustrated book describes the social conditions that fostered the period and examines figures in art, music, literature, politics, and thought. Sidebars provide explanations of Harlem jive, jazz, artifacts, and more.
More Recommended Arts Books
More Recommended Reading & Language Arts Books
Talkin' About Bessie
By Nikki Grimes and E. B. Lewis
Published November 2004
Grades: PreK-2; 3-5
Subjects: The Arts; Reading & Language Arts
Bessie Coleman (1892-1926) overcame much to become the first African-American female pilot. Grimes tells her story in a series of twenty-one monologues in the voices of relatives, neighbors, acquaintances, and associates. Lewis's watercolors capture Coleman's sense of freedom in flight.
More Recommended Arts Books
More Recommended Reading & Language Arts Books
Deep Down in Music: The Art of the Great Jazz Bassists
By Leslie Gourse
Published August 1998
Grades: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Do your high school students love jazz but don't know much about its history? Look no further. This volume explores both the development of bass instruments as they relate to a variety of jazz genres-big-band, swing, free jazz and acoustic jazz-in addition to providing bios on well-known and lesser known bass performers. Students will discover a clearly written introduction to the importance and influence of an often-ignored group of musical instruments and figures.
More Recommended Arts Books
Ellington Was Not a Street
By Ntozake Shange and Kadir Nelson
Published January 2004
Grades: Prek-2; 3-5
Subjects: The Arts; Reading & Language Arts
Shange's 1983 evocative poem is accompanied by striking illustrations celebrating a young girl's memories of important African American musicians and thinkers who visited her father's house. The refrain: "It hasn't always been this way," hints that the passage of time doesn't guarantee progress.
More Recommended Arts Books
More Recommended Reading & Language Arts Books
A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane's Signature Album
By Ashley Kahn
Published October 2002
Grades: 6-8; 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
During Coltrane's last concert with the Miles Davis band in Paris, his innovative solos met with catcalls and whistles from fans who thought he didn't know what he was doing. Frank Tenot, an impresario who knew better, met him backstage and said "You're too new for the people. You go too far." Coltrane reportedly smiled and replied "I don't go far enough." This book focuses on one of the most important albums in jazz A Love Supreme recorded two years before Coltrane's death at 41. The book is filled with photos, memorabilia, and the memories of friends and jazz greats.
More Recommended Arts Books
The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights
By Russell Freedman
Published May 2004
Grades: 6-8
Subjects: The Arts
Marian Anderson pursued a musical career at a time when she could still be denied the right to perform in certain halls because she was an African American. Barred from constitution hall, she gave a free Easter concert at the Lincoln Memorial, setting a precedent that helped to end segregation in the arts. This biography features many photographs and a discography of recent CD releases.
More Recommended Arts Books
African-American Masters: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum
By Smithsonian American Art Museum (Gwen Everett and Brian Froud)
Published September 2003
Grades: 3-5; 6-8
Subjects: The Arts
The Smithsonian has assembled a collection of paintings, photographs, and sculpture by twentieth century artists like Sargent Johnson, Lois Mailou Jones, James Porter, William H. Johnson, Betye Saar, Mel Edwards, Renee Stout, Horace Pippin, Purvis Young, and more. Full page reproductions are accompanied by brief descriptions.
More Recommended Arts Books
Young, Black, and Determined: A Biography of Lorraine Hansberry
By Pat McKissack, Frederick McKissack, Patrick McKissack, and Patricia McKissack
Published February 1998
Grades: 3-5; 6-8
Subjects: The Arts; Reading & Language Arts
Readers age 9-12 will enjoy this lively biography of Lorraine Hansberry, author of the acclaimed play A Raisin in the Sun. The books takes readers on a journey from Hansberry's politically active, Depression-era childhood in Chicago through civil rights activism of the '50s and '60s.
More Recommended Arts Books
More Recommended Reading & Language Arts Books
Coming Home: A Story Of Josh Gibson, Baseball's Greatest Home Run Hitter
By Nanette Mellage and Cornelius Van Wright, Ying-Hwa Hu
Published April 2001
Grades: 3-5
Subjects: Health & Fitness
One of the greatest hitters in baseball was Josh Gibson who played for the Homestead Grays in the Negro Leagues. Told from a young boy's point-of-view, this picture book biography focuses on the 1930 Negro League Championship series between the Grays and the Lincoln Giants. The book includes author notes about the ten game series and Gibson's career.
More Recommended Health & Fitness Books
Fair Ball! 14 Great Stars From Baseball's Negro Leagues
By Jonah Winter
Published April 1999
Grades: Prek-2; 3-5
Subjects: Health & Fitness
Baseball fans 4-8 years old can meet some of the greatest players who ever lived, men such as pitcher Rube Foster who won 54 games in one season; catcher Josh Gibson who hit 75 home runs in one season and had a career total of 962; and Cool Papa Bell who ran so fast even Jesse Owens refused to race him. Winter's full-page portraits and biographical profiles resemble the baseball cards these athletes deserved but were never honored with.
More Recommended Health & Fitness Books
Major Taylor, Champion Cyclist
By James E. Ransome and Lesa Cline-Ransome
Published January 2004
Grades: Prek-2; 3-5
Subjects: Health & Fitness
Marshall Taylor won his first race at thirteen. He turned professional at eighteen and retired at thirty. In an era when blacks were not permitted to race on many tracks, Taylor could compete anywhere and was the only African American granted membership in the League of American Wheelmen. The Ransomes tell of Taylor's rise to World Champion at the height of the bicycle craze at the turn of the twentieth century.
More Recommended Health & Fitness Books
Satchel Paige
By Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome
Published January 2000
Grades: 3-5; 6-8
Subjects: Health & Fitness
In 1948, when Satchel Paige was drafted to pitch for the Cleveland Indians in the White major leagues, he was forty-two and had been thrilling fans in the Negro leagues for nearly twenty-five years. Baseball fans 9-12 will enjoy this biography of the first African American to pitch in a World Series and to be inducted in the Hall of Fame.
More Recommended Health & Fitness Books
Carter G. Woodson: The Man Who Put 'Black' in American History
By James Haskins and Kathleen Benson
Published March 2000
Grades: 3-5; 6-8
Subjects: Social Studies
For readers 9-12, this illustrated history traces the life of a son of former slaves who struggled against racism to earn his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912, the first African American of slave parents to do so, and went on to found the Journal of Negro History, write books on aspects of the African American experience, and started Negro History Week.
More Recommended Social Studies Books
Vision of Beauty: The Story of Sarah Breedlove Walker
By Kathryn Lasky and Nneka Bennett
Published April 2000
Grades: 3-5; 6-8
Subjects: Social Studies
Sarah was born in Louisiana in 1867. Orphaned at seven, this hardworking woman founded the Madame G.J. Walker Manufacturing Company, which created hair and beauty products for black women, and became one of the richest women of her time. She was active in charity, politics, and race relations. Readers 9-12 will be inspired by this compelling and sensitively illustrated biography.
More Recommended Social Studies Books