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An annotated bibliography of websites
for further
reading and research.
Throughout
the book, The Delany sisters discuss how historical events shaped their
lives. They grew up during the period of the “Jim Crow” laws, moved to
New York City during the “Great Migration", lived in Harlem during the
Harlem Renaissance, struggled to survive during the Depression, and
witnessed the events of the Civil Rights era.
The web sites listed below provide additional information about
many of the events and people referred to in the book.
Having
Our Say This comprehensive website, created by
the producers of the theatrical adaptation of the book, includes the 1991
New York Times article that inspired the book, a timeline placing the
events of the Delany sisters’ lives in historical context, and a
downloadable study guide with discussion questions and references for
additional reading, as well as numerous photographs.
African American Odyssey Inspired by a major exhibition by the Library of Congress, this web site offers an overview of African-American history beginning from the period of slavery up through the Civil Rights Era. The web site is divided into historical periods and is illustrated with images of pamphlets, engravings, photographs, and other primary source materials from the Library of Congress’ extensive archive.
The
Encyclopedia Britannica Guide to Black History
A website about major events and people
in African-American history with articles that are organized both
alphabetically and by time period. It
also has an audio-video component that includes short excerpts from famous
speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, a poem read by
Gwendolyn Brooks, and a videotaped performance by Billie Holiday.
"Jim Crow" Laws A website created by the Martin Luther King National Historic site that has a brief explanation of this legislation and a sampling of the laws.
Strange Fruit This web site has introductory information and a recording of the Billie Holiday song. The lyrics of the song, as well as primary source materials related to lynching, can be found at the Learning Network site.
Harlem:1900-1940: The Schomburg Exhibit A website created by the Educational Programs unit of the Schomburg Center that traces the development of Harlem as a center of African-American culture. The Exhibition page includes profiles of W.E.B. Dubois, Marcus Garvey, Countee Cullen, Zora Neale Hurston, and James Weldon Johnson as well as information about important publications and organizations of that time. An extensive bibliography of both books and related websites can be found on the Reference page.
PBS Jazz Based on the Ken Burns series, this well-designed web site emphasizes the historical roots of jazz, with numerous articles connecting the development of the art form to political and social movements. It also has close to a hundred biographies of jazz artists and transcripts of interviews conducted while researching the show.
PBS Newshour Online Forum: The Harlem Renaissance A website that includes an overview of the period and a discussion by historians in question-and-answer format. Among the topics discussed are the subject matter and style of art created at the time, the social and historical context of the movement, and its influence on the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's.
Harlem Renaissance This website, created by Jeanne Diesman, a student and Manager of Web Services at Northern Kentucky University, focuses on the artists and writers of the period and includes full texts of poetry and prose by Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Countee Cullen, and James Weldon Johnson, as well as the works of such artists as William H. Johnson and Lois Mailou Jones.
Artists of the Harlem Renaissance
Jacob
Lawrence
Dust
to Dust (The Funeral)
The Jacob Lawrence Virtual Archive and Education Center (Under
"Series", choose "Migration of the Negro")
The
Migration Series: Panel10
The Migration Series: Panel 57
The
Negro Speaks of Rivers (for Langston Hughes)
Into
Bondage
Go
Down Death
Marian Anderson
A
selection of paintings from the National Museum of American Art
I
Baptize Thee
A
selection of her paintings
Les
Fetiches