Reposted from the Teaching with the Library of Congress blog
The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum have joined together to update their portal to help users find materials that document struggles, accomplishments, and experiences of African Americans.
The portal includes a schedule of events hosted by the partner institutions during this heritage month. In addition, links to online versions of exhibitions highlight topics including African American artists, historic sites, and the experience of African Americans in the military. Of particular interest, the portal provides links to digitized versions of some items from the Smithsonian’s new National Museum of African American History and Culture. Multimedia resources include slave narratives, conversations with jazz pioneers, and recordings documenting the civil rights movement.
Life in Camp Cameron.
Matthew Brady, 1861
Teachers will find links to lesson plans and other teaching resources that can be used to enhance classroom activities.
Encourage students to explore the exhibitions and collections on military experiences of African Americans. They might compare the experiences of military personnel from different wars. How would the student react to the experiences these military personnel faced?
Ask students to choose one of the images provided on the portal and share the story it tells.
How will you and your students celebrate African American history month? Share in the comments.