Library Guides: African and African American Studies Research Guide: Getting Started

Other Guides of Interest

See also our growing set of Guides related to diversity, equity & inclusion...

Welcome!

Welcome! This Guide will help you with research in African and African American Studies! The Guide identifies some of the major research tools for finding articles, plus research materials, resources, and information in libraries and on the web that are relevant to African & African American Studies.

Please contact me if you have any questions or need assistance using any of the tools listed here or help finding the information you need!

Susan Vega García
Assistant Dean, Inclusion & Equity
Liaison Librarian: Ethnic Studies & Diversity;
Women's & Gender Studies

Getting Started: Finding Articles

Indexes & search tools listed below focus on African & African American articles, journals, and resources. Other indexes focused on subject areas (like history, sociology, education, etc) will also be helpful.
Find these on our A-Z Databases page...

Black Studies Center This link opens in a new window
Start here! Your *best choice* for finding articles focused on African American studies! This scholarly web resource includes a number of important African American studies research tools and primary source materials, including the International Index to Black Periodicals (under "Journals" section), which provides access to full-text and print journal and magazine articles; the full-text Chicago Defender historic newspaper (under the "Newspapers" section); and full-text scholarly essays on the Black experience, commissioned by the Schomburg Center.

To search for journal articles,click the Journals link on the right side of BSC's front page. Next, find the Search Journals link on the right side of the Journals page. You'll then land on the search template. Just fill in the area(s) you need, and search - done!

Note: BSC is *not* linked with Quick Search. Enter BSC directly to be sure you're searching and finding the most comprehensive and focused collection of African & African American articles!

Credo Reference: Academic Core Collection This link opens in a new window
Credo is a huge collection of digitized encyclopedias, handbooks, and other reference materials. There is strong coverage of African and African American content. You can search specific individuals, countries, cultural or historic or political movements, and many other topics of interest, or browse Credo by broad subjects.

Credo's search tool allows you to search for books, images, topics, or to use Credo's innovative and interactive Mind Map to help you discover content related to your topic.

Credo's "Mind Map" for Black Power

Race Relations Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Good coverage of race and ethnic studies areas including African and African American studies, with US and international coverage.

See also:

Black Literature Index This link opens in a new window
Part of Black Studies Center (see below), the Black Literature Index helps you access creative fiction, essays, and poetry published in historic African American magazines and newspapers during 1827-1940.

Umbra Search
This tool searches more than 500,000 digitized African American primary sources (letters, manuscripts, photographs, oral histories, etc.) from over 1000 participating archives, libraries, and museums in the U.S. From the Univ. of Minnesota.

Finding News Articles

African American Newspapers: the 19th Century This link opens in a new window
Includes Frederick Douglass' Paper, Freedom's Journal, the Colored American / Weekly Advocate, The National Era, The North Star, and other important historical newspapers.

Chicago Defender / Daily Defender
Part of Black Studies Center, the "Newspapers" index leads to full-text facsimiles of articles from the historic Chicago Defender (1910-1975) / Daily Defender (1956-1975) newspapers.

Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window
Part of Black Studies Center, the "Newspapers" index leads to full-text facsimiles of articles from the historic Chicago Defender (1910-1975) / Daily Defender (1956-1975) newspapers.