Ramsey Library Resource Guide


African American Studies

Reference Materials

 

Handbooks    
Encyclopedias 
        
Bibliographies

Biography

Microform Collections

Statistical
Sources

Library Catalog

Special Collections

Journals



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This guide consists primarily of printed reference resources and links to electronic journal databases. Although most major reference titles are included, this guide should not be interpreted as an exhaustive list of the library's reference holdings. Search the library catalog for additional titles or for the most recent acquisitions.
 

Handbooks, Encyclopedias, Manuals

African America: Portrait of a people. /Kenneth Estell. Detroit: Visible Ink, 1994. REF E185.96 .88

African American Almanac. Edited by Kenneth Estell. Detroit: Gale Research, 1994. REF E185 .N385 1994

African American Firsts in Science and Technology. Detroit: Gale Research, 1996. REF Q141.W43 1999

African American History in the Press 1851-1899. Detroit: Gale Research, 1996. REF185.2 .A25 1996
A collection of first-hand reports as they were originally presented in the newspapers of the day. Includes positive and negative portrayals of African Americans in articles, editorials, cartoons and engravings as depicted in thirteen major newspapers of the nineteenth century.

Africana:  The Encyclopedia of the African & African American Experience.  Edited by Kwame A. Appiah.  REF DT14 .A37435 2005

Black Firsts: 2,000 Years of Extraordinary Achievement. Edited by Jessie Carney Smith. Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1994. REF E185 .B574 1994b
 Includes a pullout timeline of important African-American events.

Chronology of African American History: Significant Events and People from 1619 to the Present. / Alton Hornsby. Detroit: Gale Research.  REF E185 .H64

Civil Rights in the United States. Edited by Waldo E. Martin and Patricia Sullivan. NY: Macmillan, 2000.  REF E184.A1 C47
A two volume compendium of latest scholarship on civil rights and the civil rights struggle in the United States.

Dictionary of Afro-American Slavery.  Edited by Randall Miller. NY: Greenwood Press.  REF E441 .D53 1988.

Encarta Africana. (CD-ROM) RefDesk DT14 .M527. A multimedia encyclopedia on the history, geography and culture of Africans and people of African descent. Wonderfully enhanced with music, photographs and video clips.

Encyclopedia of African American Society.  Thousands Oaks, CA:  Sage, 2005. REF E185.E546

Encyclopedia of Black Studies. Thousands Oaks, CA:  Sage, 2005.
REF E185.E554

Encyclopedia of Civil Rights in America. Edited by David Bradley and Shelley Fishkin. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1998. REF E185 .E544 1998 (3 volumes)

Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History. Edited by Jack Salzman, et al.  REF E185 .E54 1998 (5 volumes)

Hippocrene Guide to the Underground Railroad / Charles Blockson. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1994. REF E450 .B65 1994 
A guidebook that lists historic sites by state and city.

Historic Landmarks of Black America/ George Cantor. Detroit: Gale Research, 1991.  REF E185.53 .A1 C36 1991

Macmillan Encyclopedia of World Slavery. Edited by Paul Finkelman and Joseph Miller. New York: Macmillan Reference, 1998. REF HT861 .M24 1998

My Soul is a Witness: A Chronology of the Civil Rights Era /Bettye Collier-Thomas.  NY: Holt, 2000.  REF E185.69 .C697 2000

New York Public Library African American Desk Reference.  NY: Wiley, 1999.  REF E185 .N49 1999

North Carolina Freedman’s Savings & Trust Company Records. Raleigh: NC Genealogical Society. REF E185.96 .N67 1992

Organizing Black America: An Encyclopedia of African American Associations.  Edited by Nina Majagkij.  NY: Garland, 2001

Pan-African Chronology: A Comprehensive Reference to the Black Quest for Freedom in Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Asia. /Everett Jenkin.  Jefferson, NC: McFarland& Co, 1998.  REF E185.18 .J46 1998 

Runaway Slave Advertisements: A Documentary History from the 1730's to 1790. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. 1983.  REF E446 .W73 1983

Slave Genealogy: A Research Guide with Case Studies. / David Streets. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1986.  REF E185.96 .S817 1986

Slavery In America: From Colonial Times to the Civil War.  / Dorothy Schneider. NY: Facts on File, 2000.  REF E441 .S36 
Includes eyewitness accounts of  America slavery.  Accounts are drawn for newspapers, diaries, letters, speeches, laws, and other documents.

The Timetables of African-American History: A Chronology of the Most Important People and Events in African American History / Sharon Harley.  New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.  REF E185 .H295 1995

Travel Guide to Black Historical Sites and Landmarks in North Carolina. /Lenwood G Davis. Winston-Salem, NC: Bandit Books, 1991.   REF E185.93 .N6 D38

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Bibliographies

The African American Male:  An Annotated Bibliography.  Compiled by Jacob U. Gordon.  Westport, CT:  Greenwood Press, 1999.  REF E185.86 .B14

Afro-American Nationalism: An Annotated Bibliography of Militant Separatist and Nationalist Literature. / Agustina Herod. New York: Garland, 1986. REF E185.625

Bibliographic Guide to Black Studies. New York: G.K. Hall, 1995. A Catalog of 1995 acquisitions at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. REF E185.B1 S3 1995

Black Books Galore!: Guide to Great African American Children's Books.  New York: Wiley, 1998.  REF E185.B1 R33

Black White Relations in American History: An Annotated Bibliography.  / Leslie Tischauser.Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1998.  REF E185.61 .B1 T53

Blacks in the American West and Beyond - America, Canada, and Mexico: A Selectively Annotated Bibliography.  /George June. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2000.  REF E185.925 .B1 J86

Generations Past: A Selected List of Sources for Afro-American Genealogical Research. / Sandra Lawson. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1988. REF E185.96 .B1 G46 1988

Harvard Guide to African-American History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2001.  REF E185 .H326 2001

Racism in Contemporary American. / Meyers Weinberg. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995. REF E185.61 B19 1996

Voices of the Spirit: Sources for Interpreting the African American Experience. / Denise Glover. Chicago: American Library Assoc., 1995. REF E 185 .N39 1995

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Biography

  • Collective Biography

Black Americans in Congress, 1870-1889.  Washington, DC:  US Government Printing Office. REF E185.96 .R25 1990

Black Women in America: A Historical Encyclopedia. Edited by Darlene C. Hine. Brooklyn: Carlson Publishing, 2005.  REF E185.86 .B542

Dictionary of American Negro Biography. New York: W.W. Norton, 1982.  REF E185.96 .D53

Distinguished African American Political and Governmental Leaders. Compiled by James Haskins. Phoenix: Oryx Press, 1999.  REF E185.61 .H359

Notable Black American Men. Edited by Jessie Smith. Detroit: Gale, 1999. REF E185.86 .N68

Notable Black American Women. Edited by Jessie C. Smith. Detroit: Gale, 1992. REF E185.96 .N68 1992

Powerful Black Women. Edited by Jessie C. Smith. Detroit: Visible Ink, 1996. REF E185.96 .69

Who’s Who Among African Americans. Detroit: Gale Research (annual -- ). REF E185.96 .W52

  • Individual Biography
    Search the library catalog by subject and enter the individual's name (last name first) as the subject term
  • Autobiography
    Search the library catalog by author and enter the individual's name (last name first) as the author.

Guides to Autobiographies/Diaries/Narratives

Afro American Biographies: A Bibliography.  Edited by Sara Mitchell. Huntington, NY: Nova Science Publishers, 2000.  REF E 185.96 .B1 A375 2000

American Diaries: An Annotated Bibliography of Published American Diaries and Journals. / Laura Arksey. Detroit: Gale Research, 1983. REF CT214 .B1 A75 1983 (Vols. 1-2).  See "Afro-Americans" in the index.

Autobiographies by Americans of Color 1980-1994: An Annotated Bibliography. / Rebecca Stuhr-Rommereim. Troy, NY: Whitston Publishing, 1997. REF CT220 .B1 S88 1997

A Comprehensive Name Index for the American Slave. Compiled by Howard E. Potts.  Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997.  REF E444 .A45
This index is keyed to The American Slave, a multi-volume collection of slave narratives collected by the Federal Writers Project Workers Progress Administration (WPA).  The index identifies names by counties and states, and also includes an index arranged by masters' names. Online access to the slave narratives is available on the American Memory Project Web site.

Microform Collection

Sabin’s Slavery post-1850 [Microform]. Woodbridge, CT: Research Publications, 1992.
This microfiche collection of primary source material on slavery in the United States represents 303 different titles on approximately 1300 microfiche. Viewpoints from pro-slavery to abolitionist are covered. A printed index to the collection is shelved in Ref E441 .S23 1993.

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Statistical sources

African Americans and the Color Line.  Washington, DC: Population Reference Bureau 
REF E185.86 .S856

Black Americans: a Statistical Source Book.  Boulder, CO: Numbers & Concepts, 1990, 1999, 2001. REF E185.5 .B512

Historical Statistics of Black America. Compiled and edited by Jessie C. Smith and Carrell Horton. Detroit: Gale Research, 1995. REF E185. H543 1995 (2 volumes)

Statistical Record of Black America. Compiled and edited by Jessie C. Smith and Carrell Hotrod. Detroit: Gale Research. 1990--  REF E185.5 S83 

United States Census. The library owns various census reports.
1790-1900 census reports are shelved in Reference HA 201.
1970 –1990 census reports are shelved in the government documents area C 3.
2000 census reports are available online.  See American Factfinder.  

Searching the library catalog

A search of the library cataYou can search the online library catalog by author, title, subject headings, or keywords that describe your topic. Select a keyword search or subject search from the menu to begin exploring the combined library catalogs of the Western North Carolina Library Network.

Subject Searching

Works on citizens of the United States of black African descent are entered under the subject African Americans. Works on blacks who temporarily reside in the United States, such as aliens, students from abroad, are entered under Blacks--United States. Works on blacks outside the United States are entered under Blacks--[place].

Consult the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) located on the Research Support Desk or browse the online guide to subjects for a complete list of LC subject headings. These lists also include cross-references, related, narrower, and broader terms, and Library of Congress classification numbers for many subjects

The subject, African Americans, has numerous subdivisions.  For example:
  
       African Americans – history
         
African Americans – social conditions

Many other subject headings begin with the term African American. For example:
          African American abolitionists
          African American historians

Persons as subjects
Be aware that personal names will not be listed in the subject lists, but may be searched as subjects by entering the name (last name first) in a subject search.

Keyword searching
Keyword searches identify terms in the subject, title, and content description fields of a catalog record. Simply enter one or more distinctive words describing your topic and the catalog will retrieve and display titles in which all of these words appear in the catalog record.

Many early works about African Americans used the words, Negroes or coloreds in their titles or descriptions. Do not exclude these terms if you are searching for materials published prior to the mid-1900’s. Use African American in keyword searches for recent materials.

Special Collections

UNCA Ramsey Library's Special Collections site lists finding aids for manuscripts, oral histories, photographs, archives, and more. Below are two major collections that contain information about African Americans in Western North Carolina.

Black Highlanders Collection contains important institutional and biographical materials on African Americans in Asheville, NC. Accounts of African American congregations and schools are included, as are representative issues of local African American newspapers such as the Church Advocate and Southern News, and other publications. Included also are biographies of leaders in education, business, and religion, and various photographs.

The South Asheville Colored Cemetery, 1840-1943
Information and documentation on Asheville's early African-American burial ground.
 

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Journal Articles

Aspects of African American history and culture can be found in all subject disciplines. For a complete list of electronic indexes available in Ramsey Library see Electronic Resources by Subject.

Specific Periodical Databases (UNCA Users only)

Academic Search Premier. Multi-disciplinary database with indexing for more than 8,000 publications and full text for 4,500+ of those titles. PDF backfiles to 1975 or further. 

America History and Life
Indexes the scholarly literature on American history. Includes abstracts.

Humanities Full Text
Indexes major scholarly journals in the humanities. Includes some full-text.

InfoTrac Academic OneFile
Indexes core periodical titles from many disciplines. Includes some full-text articles.

JSTOR
The scholarly journal archive; provides full text for over 450 journals covering a broad array of disciplines. UNCA collections include Arts and Sciences I, II, III, and IV. See detailed lists.

Project Muse.  Search over 200 full-text journals from major university presses



Locating Articles in Ramsey Library
Search the online catalog to determine whether a certain journal is located in Ramsey Library or is in the Western North Carolina Library Network (WNCLN).  The catalog record will indicate:

  • whether we have a current print or online subscription
  • which years of the periodical we own
  • the format (bound, microform, online) of older issues.

Obtaining periodicals not owned by Ramsey Library

  • Check the online catalog. If ASU or WCU owns the title, you can request it through ABC Express.   
  • If the title is available online in full-text, you can print the article from the computer. 
  • If the title is not at UNCA, ASU, or WCU, you may request an article copy through Interlibrary Loan.
  • Detailed information about ABC Express and Interlibrary Loan is available at the Research Support Desk.
 
 

This page created and maintained by Anita White-Carter. Last updated 30 September 2007
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