Primary Sources
African American Newspapers: The 19th Century (Coverage varies by title) This link opens in a new window
Full text articles from The Christian Recorder, The Colored American/Weekly Advocate, Frederick Douglass Paper, Freedom's Journal, The National Era, The North Star, Provincial Freeman, and Douglass Monthly.
African Diaspora [ProQuest] 1860-present This link opens in a new window
Primary source materials on the migrations, communities, and ideologies of the African Diaspora through the voices of people of African descent. With a focus on communities in the Caribbean, Brazil, India, United Kingdom, and France.
AllAfrica 1996+ This link opens in a new window
More than one million news articles about all countries on the African continent. Approx. 75% English; 25% French.
Chicago Defender Historical [ProQuest] 1905-1975 This link opens in a new window
Online archive of articles, editorial cartoons, photographs, advertisements, etc. from this important African-American newspaper.
HistoryMakers This link opens in a new window
Streaming oral history archive, documenting African American contributions to American life, culture, social movements & organizations. Subject coverage includes the arts, business, civics, education, entertainment, law, media, medicine, the military, politics, religion, science, sports & style.
History Vault: Black Freedom Struggles in the 20th Century This link opens in a new window
Primary source documents focused on the Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century. Includes records from the NAACP, SCLC, SNCC, CORE, as well as federal records on the Black Freedom Struggle.
New York Amsterdam News Historical [Proquest] 1922-1993 This link opens in a new window
A leading African American newspaper of the 20th century. Full page and article images with searchable full text from the New York Amsterdam news (1922-1938), New York Amsterdam news (1938-1941 : City ed.), New York Amsterdam news (1943-1961 : City ed.), New York Amsterdam news (1962-1993), New York Amsterdam star-news (1941-1943), and the New York star & Amsterdam news (1941-1941). The collection includes digital reproductions of every page from every issue in PDF format.
Slavery & Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive [Gale] This link opens in a new window
Contains primary source documents from the United States & Europe, as well as other parts of the world; formats include antebellum books, pamphlets, newspapers, periodicals, images, and extensive archival material.
Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law [HeinOnline] This link opens in a new window
Essential legal materials on slavery in the US & the English-speaking world: All statutes passed by each colony & state on slavery, plus all federal statutes; all reported state & federal cases on slavery; English-language legal commentary before 1920; pamphlets & books on slavery from the 19th century; relevant Congressional debates; and supporting books & law review articles.
Get help with primary sources
Find Primary Sources
Links to collections at Smith, in the Five Colleges, on the web, and via the library's many subscription databases.