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African American History

A Guide devoted to the importance of African American History.

African American Information Searching

Keyword Searching

Books and articles have been written using many terms that might be outdated or even offensive. When searching for books, articles, and other resources, it might be beneficial to include some of these outdated vocabulary terms.

Here are some examples of keyword searches that might help you locate items in the catalog or our databases: 

  • African Americans and Civil Rights 
  • Civil Rights Movement and John Lewis

You might want to combine keywords to narrow your search: 

  • Civil Rights Movement AND John Lewis AND Martin Luther King, Jr. 
  • African Americans AND The Great Migration
  • Black Panther Party AND Oakland, CA

You can broaden your search back out by using OR:

  • Black Power OR Black Panther 
  • African American OR Afro-American ​

Searching by Subject 

Did you know you can search the Library's Catalog by subject? When you're searching for a resource, it can be helpful to search by subject because you can find results that are sometimes outside the initial scope of your keywords.

In this search, I've looked for resources under the term "African Americans."

On the side of the search results under "Tweak my results" scroll down (keep scrolling, keep scrolling) until you see Subject. You might possibly be surprised by some of the terms included!

Please note that you might encounter written, photographic, and video content that graphically depicts violence against African Americans. While this content is emotionally and intellectually challenging to interact with, it is important to meaningfully and thoughtfully interact with this content. Please speak with one of your Librarians if you have any questions about the research process. We love to help you with research!