Document Archive
Plessy v. Ferguson.
Excerpts from the 1896 U.S. Supreme Court decision by Justice Henry Brown and dissenting Justice John Marshall Harlan.
Source: PLESSY v. FERGUSON, 163 U.S. 537 (1896) Reprinted at: http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=52&page=transcript. Last accessed Friday, December 5, 2008.
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SECTION 01
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Jim Crow
W.E.B. Du Bois, excerpt from Close Ranks
W. E. B. Du Bois, "Close Ranks," July 1918. In
Let Nobody Turn Us Around:
Voices of Resistance, Reform, and Renewal; An African American Anthology,
edited by Manning Marable and Leith Mullings, 242-243. New York: Bowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2000.
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SECTION 02
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The End of World War One
Hubert Harrison, excerpt from The Descent of Du Bois
Hubert Harrison, The Descent of Du Bois, 1920. In
Let Nobody Turn Us
Around: Voices of Resistance, Reform, and Renewal; An African American Anthology,
edited by Manning Marable and Leith Mullings, 243-244. New York: Bowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2000.
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SECTION 02
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The End of World War One
W.E.B. Du Bois, excerpt from Returning Soldiers
W. E. B. Du Bois, Returning Soldiers, May 1919. In
Let Nobody Turn Us Around: Voices of Resistance, Reform, and Renewal; An African American Anthology,
edited by Manning Marable and Leith Mullings, 244-245. New York: Bowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2000.
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SECTION 02
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The End of World War One
"Report Two Killed, Fifty Hurt, in Race Riots: Bathing Beach Fight Spreads".
Chicago Daily Tribune.
28 July 1919. Pp. 1, 8. Reprinted at: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/4975. Last accessed Friday, December 5, 2008.
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SECTION 02
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The End of World War One
Carl Sandburg, excerpt from "Lax Conditions Caused Race Riots".
Chicago Daily News
(July 28, 1919). Reprinted at: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/4974. Last accessed Friday, December 5, 2008.
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SECTION 02
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The End of World War One
Walter White, excerpt from "Chicago and Its Eight Reasons".
Walter White, "Chicago and Its Eight Reasons" Crisis 17 (October 1919):
293-297. Reprinted at: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/4978. Last accessed Friday, December 5, 2008.
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SECTION 02
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The End of World War One
W.E.B. Du Bois, excerpt from "The Migration of Negroes".
W.E.B. Du Bois, "The Migration of Negroes,"
Crisis
(June 1917): 63-66.
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SECTION 03
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The Great Migration
Oral history interview with former member of the UNIA.
Wilbert J. Miller, interviewed by Vivian Morris, October 20, 1938, transcript, American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940, Manuscripts Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
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SECTION 04
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Marcus Garvey
FBI Memo from J. Edgar Hoover concerning Garvey.
Robert A. Hill, ed. The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers, Volume II, 27 August 1919 - 31 August 1920. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1983.
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SECTION 04
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Marcus Garvey
Excerpt from Women as Leaders by Amy Jacques Garvey.
Amy Jacques Garvey, Women as Leaders, October 25, 1925. In Let Nobody Turn Us Around: Voices of Resistance, Reform, and Renewal; An African American Anthology, edited by Manning Marable and Leith Mullings, 274-275. New York: Bowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2000.
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SECTION 04
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Marcus Garvey
Excerpt from Declaration of Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World by Marcus Garvey.
Marcus Garvey, Declaration of Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World, August 1920. In Let Nobody Turn Us Around: Voices of Resistance, Reform, and Renewal; An African American Anthology, edited by Manning Marable and Leith Mullings, 259-260. New York: Bowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2000.
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SECTION 04
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Marcus Garvey
"Explanation of the Objects of the UNIA" by Marcus Garvey.
In July 1921, Marcus Garvey recorded two brief speeches on a 78 rpm record--the only known recordings of his voice. In this excerpt, Garvey issues a membership appeal for his organization.
Source: Marcus Garvey, "Explanation of the Objects of the Universal Negro Improvement Association," Look Up, You Might Race! Two Speeches by Marcus Garvey, July 1921. Reprinted with audio at http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/sayitplain/mgarvey.html. Last accessed December 5, 2008.
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SECTION 04
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Marcus Garvey
Excerpt from What the African Blood Brotherhood Stands For by Cyril V. Briggs.
Cyril V. Briggs, What the African Blood Brotherhood Stands For, April 1922. In Let Nobody Turn Us Around: Voices of Resistance, Reform, and Renewal; An African American Anthology, edited by Manning Marable and Leith Mullings, 247-248. New York: Bowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2000.
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SECTION 05
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Early Labor Movement
Excerpt from oral history interview with domestic worker discussing the Bronx Slave Market.
Minnie Marshall, interviewed by Vivian Morris, December 6, 1938, transcript, American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940, Manuscripts Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
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SECTION 05
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Early Labor Movement
"Sadie's Servant Room Blues" by Hattie Burleson.
Hard Times Anthology, Rounder Records, 1928. Available online at http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/20. Last accessed December 5, 2008.
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SECTION 05
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Early Labor Movement
Negro Wage Earners and Trade Unions by William Green.
William Green, Negro Wage Earners and Trade Unions, Opportunity, Journal of Negro Life 10 (October 1934): 299. Reprinted at http://newdeal.feri.org/opp/opp34299.htm. Last Accessed December 5, 2008.
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SECTION 05
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Early Labor Movement
Excerpt from Amy Comstock's report on the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921.
Amy Comstock, Another View of the Tulsa Riots, Survey, 2 July 1921, 460. Reprinted at http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5118. Last accessed December 5, 2008.
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SECTION 06
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Racial Violence and Terror
Excerpt from Walter White's report on the causes of the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921.
Walter White, The Eruption of Tulsa, Nation 112 (June 29, 1921): 909910. Reprinted at http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5119/. Last accessed December 5, 2008.
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SECTION 06
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Racial Violence and Terror
President Woodrow Wilson's proclamation of July 26, 1918, denouncing lynching.
Woodrow Wilson, "July 26, 1918. My fellow countrymen. I take the liberty of addressing you upon a subject which so vitally affects the honor of the nation and the very character and integrity of our institutions that I trust you will find me justified in speaking very plainly about it. I allude to the mob spirit," Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1918. Rare Books and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
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SECTION 06
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Racial Violence and Terror
Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill.
"Anti-Lynching Bill," 1918, Senate Reports (7951), 67th Congress: 2nd Session, 1921-22, Vol. 2, pp. 33-34. Reprinted at http://womhist.alexanderstreet.com/lynch/doc1.htm. Last accessed December 5, 2008.
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SECTION 06
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Racial Violence and Terror
Excerpt from "The Whites Invade Harlem" by Levi C. Hubert.
Levi C. Hubert, "The Whites Invade Harlem," December 12, 1938, transcript, American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940, Manuscripts Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
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SECTION 07
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Harlem Renaissance
Excerpt from "Harlem" by Alaine Locke.
Alain Locke, Harlem, Survey Graphic, Vol. 6, No. 6 (March 1925): 628-630.
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SECTION 07
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Harlem Renaissance
Excerpt from "Enter the New Negro" by Alain Locke.
Alain Locke, Enter the New Negro, Survey Graphic, Vol. 6, No. 6 (March 1925): 631-634.
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SECTION 07
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Harlem Renaissance
Excerpt from "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain" by Langston Hughes.
Langston Hughes, The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain, Nation 122 (June 23, 1926).
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SECTION 07
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Harlem Renaissance
"I, Too" by Langston Hughes.
Langston Hughes, "I, Too," Collected Poems by Langston Hughes(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994).
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SECTION 07
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Harlem Renaissance
Excerpt from Negro Workers and Organized Labor by Jesse O. Thomas.
Jesse O. Thomas, Negro Workers and Organized Labor, Opportunity, Journal of Negro Life 12 (September 1934): 277. Reprinted at http://newdeal.feri.org/opp/opp34277.htm. Last accessed December 5, 2008.
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SECTION 08
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The Great Depression
Excerpt from Ghost TownAlmost: The Depression Hits a Negro Town.
Isabel Thompson and Louise T. Clarke, Ghost TownAlmost: The Depression Hits a Negro Town, Opportunity, Journal of Negro Life 13 (September 1935): 277. Reprinted at http://newdeal.feri.org/opp/opp35277.htm. Last Accessed December 5, 2008.
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SECTION 08
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The Great Depression
Letter to the Editors: Plea from a Scottsboro Boy by Andy Wright.
Andy Wright, Letters to the Editor: Plea from a Scottsboro Boy, The Nation 145 (August 7, 1937): 159-160. Reprinted at http://newdeal.feri.org/nation/na37145p159.htm. Last Accessed December 5, 2008.
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SECTION 09
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The Scottsboro Trial
Excerpt from The South Speaks by John Henry Hammond, Jr.
John Henry Hammond, Jr., The South Speaks, The Nation 136 (April 26, 1933): 465. Reprinted at http://newdeal.feri.org/nation/na33465.htm. Last Accessed December 5, 2008.
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SECTION 09
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The Scottsboro Trial
Scottsboro Boys Appeal from Death Cells to the Toilers of the World, May 1932.
In Let Nobody Turn Us Around: Voices of Resistance, Reform, and Renewal; An African American Anthology, edited by Manning Marable and Leith Mullings, 302-303. New York: Bowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2000.
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SECTION 09
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The Scottsboro Trial
Executive Order 8802: Prohibition of Discrimination in the Defense Industry.
Executive Order 8802 dated June 25, 1941, General Records of the United States Government; Record Group 11; National Archives.
Document location:
SECTION 10
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End of World War Two
Executive Order 9981: Desegregation of the Armed Forces.
Executive Order 9981, July 26, 1948; General Records of the United States Government; Record Group 11; National Archives.
Document location:
SECTION 10
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End of World War Two
Excerpt from oral history interview with civil rights leader and union organizer Jack O'Dell.
Jack O'Dell, interviewed by Sam Sills, August 5, 1993, transcript. Available at http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6927/. Last Accessed December 5, 2008.
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SECTION 12
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McCarthyism
Testimony of Paul Robeson before the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
Congress, House, Committee on Un-American Activities, Investigation of the Unauthorized Use of U.S. Passports, 84th Congress, Part 3, June 12, 1956; in Thirty Years of Treason: Excerpts from Hearings Before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, 19381968, Eric Bentley, ed. (New York: Viking Press, 1971), 770. Reprinted at http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6440. Last Accessed December 5, 2008.
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SECTION 12
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McCarthyism
