Media Resources

Dana Williams, Howard University English Department Chair and professor of African American literature, discusses the writing and editing process.

Slave Voyages: The Transatlantic Slave Trade Database is an NEH-funded digital humanities project that represents decades of careful research and documentation. Scholars worked to collect information about the voyages of enslaved people, first across the Atlantic and then within the Americas, and to transfer unpublished archival records into machine-readable data.

Blues legend and son of sharecroppers B.B. King performs "The Thrill is Gone" at the White House in 2012.

Afropop Worldwide discusses the music and legacy of Nigerian artist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, a founder of the Afrobeat music style. Fela was known for his non-conformist style, both musically and in life. Much of his music critiques the Nigerian state and the aftermath of British colonialism; as a consequence, Fela was the victim of great violence at the hands of police and military. Fela continued to level criticisms at corruption and brutality in the government until the end of his life. He died from complications of AIDS in 1997.

In this episode of Afropop Worldwide, you'll hear some of the most famous and popular music of the Harlem Renaissance, as well as learn about the social and cultural institutions that brought artists and audiences together.

Listen to artists and critics reflect on the blues and its relationship to American and African culture and music.

Learn about the connection between jazz, civil rights, and the Cold War in this NEH-funded film.

With a grant from the NEH, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst was able to digitize the W.E.B. Du Bois papers—almost 95,000 items. They are now freely available online for students and scholars around the world to use in their research and learning.