African American World
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/
“From Sojourner Truth to Jacob Lawrence, discover the courage and talent that shaped the African American experience.”
The African American World website draws from both the PBS and NPR to present history and culture in a unique interactive format. The website is broken down into four main themes: History, Arts and Culture (as seen through books and music), Race and Society (mainly politics and religion), and Profiles (both past and present). Also included on this site is an interactive timeline that allows visitors to view information from the early days of slavery up to the present day. Of particular importance to the American History teacher is the “Reference Room” that houses approximately 350 articles from the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and the “Classroom” where one can find lesson plans on many fascinating subjects pertaining to African American history and slavery.

EDSITEment Lesson Plans: US History-African-American
http://edsitement.neh.gov/tab_lesson.asp?subcategory=18&grade=0&Display=Display
This section of the larger EDSITEment web site (Hosted by the National Endowment for the Humanities) provides 32 lesson plans on African American History. Chronologically, the lessons range from slavery and the Civil War to African American soldiers in WWII and the Civil Rights Movement. All of the lessons contain activities and materials for classroom use as well as primary documents, graphs and charts. The lesson plans are for many different grade levels so be sure to use the drop down menu to specify your desired grade level. These lesson plans should be considered for both their breadth in subject matter and overall quality.

Exploring Amistad:
Race and boundaries of freedom in Antebellum Maritime America
http://amistad.mysticseaport.org
“The heart of the web site is the Library which contains thousands of pages from over 500 primary documents including court documents, journal entries, and newspaper stories. Each can be viewed in the original print or handwriting or in transcription.”
This site investigates the Amistad Revolt of 1839-1842 and analyzes its place in history. The Discovery section of this website offers a detailed description of the Revolt, along with extensive background information about the broader social, political, economic and historic issues surrounding the Revolt, the Amistad trials and the Atlantic slave trade. This information is divided into the sections that focus on the story, people involved, places where important events happened and a timeline. In addition to the wealth of information provided, there is a set of lesson plans and interactive classroom activities that will help bring all of this information into the classroom. This website is valuable in its historically significant topic and content as well as its presentation and overall wealth of resources.

The Fight for Equal Rights: Black Soldiers in the Civil War
http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/lessons/
blacks_in_civil_war/blacks_in_civil_war.html
“By the end of the Civil War, roughly 179,000 black men (10% of the Union Army) served as soldiers in the U.S. Army and another 19,000 served in the Navy. Nearly 40,000 black soldiers died over the course of the war—30,000 of infection or disease.”
As with most of the Teaching with Documents Lesson Plans on the National Archives and Records Administration website, this lesson does an excellent job of helping teachers introduce and analyze primary documents in the classroom. The struggle faced by African Americans to be allowed to fight in the Civil War is a story oft forgotten in our classrooms. African American soldiers comprised about 10% of the Union Army, but their story and struggles are not often told. Not only were they denied the right to bear arms for quite some time, but once they were admitted into the Union army, they faced unequal pay and other struggles. This lesson provides an excellent analysis of their struggle to fight in the war and their activities once in the army. This topic helps give a fuller and more interesting picture to the topic of the both the Civil War and African American History. BR

Harlem 1900-1940: An African American Community
http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/Harlem/index.html
“The contents of this package have been developed to stimulate in students and teachers a desire to discover and uncover the fascinating history of a unique community, Harlem.”
Compiled and written by Nashormeh N. R. Lindo and supported by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Harlem 1900-1940: An African American Community contains primary documents, text, images, and lesson plans about Harlem. Although the site does not have an extensive collection of primary documents, those that are provided richly illustrate the history of this community. For instance, browsers can access History of the NAACP by Mary White Ovington that describes the early days of this organization. In addition to primary documents, the website has narratives and images of important people, places, and events. Harlem notables like Madame C. J. Walker, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, and Augusta Savage receive ample attention. Yet, historical sketches are not limited to positive moments. Browsers will also encounter tragic events that Harlem residents faced. Finally, teachers will find a lesson plan on utilizing photographic evidence and print-outs on the “do’s and don’ts” of oral history.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project
http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/
“The King Papers Project is a major research effort to assemble and disseminate historical information concerning Martin Luther King, Jr. and the social movements in which he participated.”
Brought to you by Stanford University, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project website brings together a great collection of Martin Luther King, Jr. resources in one place. Not only can one find published documents about King, but also lesson plans in the area of civil rights. Of particular interest is the “Documents for use in the Classroom” section where one can find speeches and popular quotes in (audio and text formats) that Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered. This project does a good job at presenting historical information about King and the social movements in which he participated, and would be worthwhile to view.

Teachers’ Domain: Civil Rights Special Collection
http://www.teachersdomain.org/special/civil/preview
“In 1954, the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education declared segregated schools unconstitutional and sparked a decade of groundbreaking civil rights activism and legislation. Using archival news footage, primary sources, and interview segments filmed for Eyes on the Prize, this collection captures the voices, images, and events of the Civil Rights movement and the ongoing struggle for racial equality in America.”
This free collection of audio/visual and textual resources could be of tremendous value in the classroom. This collection spans decades of the Civil Rights movement and provides timelines, images, background information and video clips. These short (3-5 minutes on average) video clips come from a variety of sources and cover many important aspects of the Civil Rights era. If teachers have Internet access and multi-media capabilities in the classroom, many of these videos could be used in a highly effective manner. With the inherent emotional nature of the topic, seeing video footage and live interviews can bring this topic alive for students and leave a lasting impact upon them. The resources can be accessed via an interactive timeline or by subject categories provided on the opening page. In addition to these resources there are a few lesson plans that help in integrating the website into classroom use. This website is free, but does require a quick and easy registration. This resource is highly recommended as a supplement to any discussion or lesson plan on the Civil Right movement.