Part Two: Defining Freedom
Scholars discuss the evolution of the definition of freedom for emancipated slaves after the Civil War.
How It Feels to Be Colored Me
Zora Neale Hurston describes her sense of identity and experience being a black woman in this 1928 essay.
Doors to Opportunity
Read about the experiences of two young immigrants to the United States in the late 1800s and how race shaped the kind of education to each of them.
Racism and Intelligence Test Scores
Learn more about the history of intelligence tests and how test results were used to help justify discrimination in the 1900s.
Global Migration
Use these photographs of global migration to help students explore the experiences of individuals and groups who choose or are forced to leave their homelands.
Defining Race
Consider the consequences of who defines race through reflections from individuals who have struggled with the US government's legal definition of their race.
“Emancipation” (1865)
Thomas Nast's celebration of the emancipation of Southern slaves with the end of the Civil War. Nast envisions a somewhat optimistic picture of the future of free blacks in the United States.
Ferguson Social Media Posts
A selection of tweets from citizens and news reports in response about the events in Ferguson, Missouri.
Glenn Ligon, Untitled - Four Etchings [D]
In this second black-on-black etching, Glenn Ligon also uses Ralph Ellison's quote from the prologue of his novel, Invisible Man (1952), though this one uses the complete quote, which ends "...figments of their imagination-indeed everything."
Finding One's Voice (En Español)
Login Required
Julius Lester describes finding his identity in an unexpected place as an African American teenager living in the segregated South (Spanish available).
Gender and Identity
Read the personal reflections of a mother whose young son has challenged her assumptions and expectations about gender identity.