Black Studies: Newspapers & Historical Sources
An overview of resources for researching Black Studies, including the African Diaspora and African American Studies
The Black Panther
The Black Panther newspaper was the official publication of the Black Panther party. The first issue was published on April 25, 1967, and publication continued until 1976. At its largest circulation, more than 300,000 newspapers were printed each week. PSU Library Special Collections holds print copies of the newspaper. You can also find most issues in digital format in the database Black Thought and Culture.
- Black Thought and CultureIncludes nonfiction works by major American black leaders and writers as well as the Black Panther newspaper.
Newspapers
- Ethnic NewswatchIncludes current newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and community publications of the ethnic, minority, and native presses. Includes scholarly journals on ethnicities and ethnic studies. Provides full text in English and Spanish.
- Black Thought and CultureIncludes nonfiction works by major American black leaders and writers as well as the Black Panther newspaper.
- New York Times Historical FileArchives the New York Times from 1851 with full page images and articles.
- Newspaper SourceProvides selected full text of regional and national newspapers in the U.S., as well as international newspapers. Also contains television and radio news transcripts.
- Chronicling AmericaArchives US newspapers from 1836 to 1922. Maintains a directory of US newspapers from 1690 to the present.
Historical Sources
- Race Relations in AmericaContains primary source material on the Civil Rights Movement, segregation, discrimination and racial theory in America during three pivotal decades of the twentieth century.
- Civil Rights in America: From Reconstruction to the Great SocietyProvides an archive of official publications and primary source material related to civil rights in the United States.
- Black Life in AmericaProvides historical newspaper and other primary source coverage of Black Life in America as recorded by the news media.
- Umbra Search: African American HistoryPublicly available digital archive of African-American history. Contains more than 400,000 items from over 1,000 libraries and cultural organizations.
- Google Arts & Culture: Black History and CultureA mega-collection of black archives, including The Gordon Parks Foundation, The Schomburg Center, and The National Museum of African American History & Culture
- Empire OnlineFind primary source documents on colonial history, politics, and culture from 1492 to 2007, primarily about the British Empire, especially Africa, the Americas, Australia, Oceania, and South Asia.
- Slavery, Abolition and Social JusticeArchives primary source documents for the study of slavery and abolition with materials from Africa, the Caribbean, the U.S., Latin America, and Europe from 1490 to 2007.