Tuesday's Tip: Chicago Genealogy - African-American Resources

For a list of other posts on Chicago genealogy resources, click here.

Today's list is of African-American genealogical resources for Chicago.

Please note: This list is meant to include resources in addition to the ones found at the traditional genealogical sites like FamilySearch, Ancestry, Footnote, and the like. And the lists are by no means exhaustive, so if you know of other digital collections on Chicago and Illinois that you've found useful in your research, please let me know.

African-American Chicago Resources

Afro-American Genealogical and Historical Society of Chicago

http://www.aaghsc.org/

Podcasts, conferences and conference proceedings, general meetings.

A Bibliography of African American Family History at the Newberry Library – Illinois

Excellent bibliography of the published African-American holdings at the Newberry

http://www.newberry.org/genealogy/AF-AMER-BIB/illinois.html

Chicago Public Library – Vivian G. Harsh Collection of Afro-American History and Literature

“The collection places a strong focus on African American history in Illinois.”

http://www.chipublib.org/branch/details/library/woodson-regional/p/FeatHarsh/

Chicago Public Library – Black Newspapers
Includes African American papers Afro-American (Baltimore/Washington), Chicago Defender, Los Angeles Sentinel, Michigan Chronicle (Detroit), and New York Amsterdam News.

http://www.chipublib.org/cplbooksmovies/research/newspapers.php

(requires Chicago Public Library card for access)

Chicago Public Library – Illinois Newsstand

Papers include the African-American Chicago Defender, as well as Chicago Tribune

http://www.chipublib.org/cplbooksmovies/research/newspapers.php

(requires Chicago Public Library card for access)

Cyndi's List

IL-AfriGeneas. A mailing list to coordinate, network and strengthen the efforts of African ancestored family researchers within Illinois. You can subscribe from http://groups.yahoo.com/group/il-afrigeneas/ or by sending the following to il-afrigeneas-subscribe@yahoogroups.com: subscribe

A. Philip Randolph/Pullman Porter Museum Gallery 

http://www.aphiliprandolphmuseum.com/

Chicago museum dedicated to the African-American labor movement and African-American Railroad Attendants. Also includes:

Pullman Porter National Historic Registry of the African-American Railroad Employees 

http://www.aphiliprandolphmuseum.com/registry_home.html

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library

http://www.nypl.org/locations/tid/64/node/29174

A preeminent research facility documenting “black life, and promoted the study and interpretation of the history and culture of peoples of African descent.” Search extensive Chicago holdings at link above.

Other resources:

African-American genealogy blogs

http://blogfinder.genealogue.com/african-american.asp

BlackPast

http://www.blackpast.org/

“10,000 page reference center is dedicated to providing information to the general public on African American history in the United States…. BlackPast.org also has full text primary documents and major speeches of black activists and leaders from the 18th Century to the present.”

The Center for African-American History at Northwestern University

http://www.wcas.northwestern.edu/caah/

Christopher Manning’s African-American entry in the Encyclopedia of Chicago

http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/27.html

DuSable Museum of African American History

http://www.dusablemuseum.org/

The History Makers

“The HistoryMakers’ focus is to capture the stories of accomplished African Americans across all walks of life and to use video and new technologies to create an accessible digital collection to serve as a resource for students, teachers, scholars, documentary producers and the media.”

http://www.thehistorymakers.com/