Library: Knowledge is Power: Research Topics

Possible Research Topics on the Black Experience in America

Topic	Related keywords	Resources Available
Juneteenth	Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Cel-Liberation Day, Black Fourth of July An American holiday that commemorates June 19, 1865 when Texas, 2 years after the end of the Civil War, granted emancipation to slaves.	5 ebooks in Hoopla under the search "juneteenth"
Black Wall Street	Tulsa, Oklahoma; Greenwood District; Black Wall Street was an area in Tulsa where African Americans flourished in the early 1900s.	Tulsa's Historic Greenwood District available on Hoopla
Tulsa Massacre	The destruction of Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma	Tulsa's Historic Greenwood District available on Hoopla
Loving v. Virginia	interracial marriage; US Supreme Court The story of the Loving couple, an interracial man and woman, vs the state of Virginia	*contact the library for various titles
Selma
Harlem Renaissance	Harlem, NY; Langston Hughes, NYC, Black Cultural Mecca, jazz and art, "New Negro Movement"	*contact the library for various titles
Wilmington Coup: 1898	Wilmington insurrection; Wilmington Massacre of 1898	Wilmington's Lie on Hoopla
Intersectionality	the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage
Black Lives Matter Movement	International Human Rights Alicia Garza, Patrisse Khan-Cullors, asha bendele: the three women who founded the Black Lives Matter movement in 2013 following the murder of Trayvon Martin.	When They Call You a Terrorist (Hoopla audiobook)
Spoken Word + Slam Poetry
History of Quilts
Jive Talking	from The Freedom Dictionary: Slang. meaningless talk; to tease, fool, kid: Don’t jive me with your sweet talk.	Dan Burley's Jive (book in the library) Juba to Jive (book in the library)
Colorism

Databases for Research

Issues and Controversies in American History This link opens in a new window
Issues and Controversies in American History helps you build a deeper understanding of how historical events have shaped our nation by exploring the key players, the battles they fought, and other issues throughout American history.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Leading resource for the humanities. Search for scholarly journals, primary sources, and books.
US History Collection This link opens in a new window
Provides periodical content covering events in U.S. history as well as scholarly work established in the field.
US History in Context This link opens in a new window
U.S. History In Context is an engaging online experience for those seeking contextual information on hundreds of the most significant people, events and topics in U.S. History.