AP AfAM Unit 3 Supplemental Videos
For unit 3, I put together a list of videos that can be used with every topic of study for the unit. They vary in length from three minutes to 20 minutes. None of them are designed to substitute the video lectures I normally assign, but instead, they reinforce some of the most important concepts.
Throughout the year, I consistently use videos from Crash Course’s Black American History playlist. These are pretty well known, so I try to not include many of them in the list. Another reliable sources of videos have been the youtube channel Black History in Two Minutes or So hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr - some of these are included in the list. Almost all of these videos can be found on YouTube.
I hope this list is helpful. If you have any videos that you use in your classrooms for this unit, please leave a comment with the video link and corresponding unit topic.
3.1 The Reconstruction Amendments
Reconstruction: Crash Course Black American History #19 (13:58) This Crash Course Black History video is quite thorough in its explanation of Reconstruction and the contents of the Reconstruction amendments. It will not only help students understand the required sources for this topic, but also provide some context to the essential knowledge points.
The Black Politicians of Reconstruction | The History You Didn't Learn (8:39) This video produced by TIME magazine highlights the impact of the Reconstruction Amendments, namely the expansion of political power for African Americans. It covers the Black men who were elected and appointed to serve in political office, while also covering the reversal of the trend.
3.2 Social Life: Reuniting Black Families and the Freedmen’s Bureau
Freedmen's Bureau (2:51) This NBC Learn video starts with context for the creation of the Freedman’s Bureau and describes the main functions and importance of the Bureau.
3.3 Black Codes, Land, and Labor
Why Do We Have Private Prisons? (10:41) This PBS Origins video draws connections to our current prison system to the convict lease system in the post Civil War U.S. It covers movements and history that precede and follow the post-Civil War policies, but it helps to establish context for the systems that emerged and how disproportionately affect Black communities.
3.4 The Defeat of Reconstruction
Sound Smart: Plessy v. Ferguson | History (2:06) This History Channel explainer video covers the details of the Plessy v. Ferguson case which is the required source for this topic.
3.5 Disenfranchisement and Jim Crow Laws
How one journalist risked her life to hold murderers accountable - Christina Greer (4:50) This TED-Ed video gives background to the life of Ida B. Wells who is the author featured in the required source of the topic. The video and the source speak to how African Americans responded to anti-Black racism and violence during the nadir, the second learning objective of the topic.
3.6 White Supremacist Violence and the Red Summer
The massacre of Tulsa's "Black Wall Street" (9:12) This Vox video explains what happened during the Tulsa Massacre and helps give context to the post cards that are used as required sources in the CED. The video was made in 2019 when the search for mass graves had only begun.
3.7 The Color Line and Double Consciousness in American Society
How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? (2:44) This animation of excerpts of the Soul of Black Folk helps to illustrate the concept of double consciousness and how “the freedman had not found his promised land in freedom.”
W.E.B. Du Bois: The Power of Double Consciousness | DigiDocs (7:01) The Al-Jazeera DigiDoc starts with an Afrofuturistic work by Du Bois, “The Comet,” before going on to expand on his work as a civil rights activist and the concept of double consciousness explained in The Souls of Black Folk.
3.8 Lifting as We Climb: Uplift Ideologies and Black Women’s Rights and Leadership
The Woman's Club Movement (3:12) Henry Louis Gates Jr. and leading historians expand on the Woman’s Club Movement and their work on Anti-Lynching and the impetus for the National Association of Colored Women (NACW).
3.9 Black Organizations and Institutions
Meet the First Self-Made Female Millionaire (4:37) This Smithsonian video is a short biography on Madam CJ Walker. It covers Walker’s upbringing and personal inspiration for her hair and beauty company. It also expands into her activism and how she used her money to try and make a difference
3.10 HBCUs, Black Greek Letter Organizations, and Black Education
Should you go to an HBCU? (13:13) This PBS-produced video gives a really nuanced view of HBCUs, starting with their history, cultural contributions and where they fit in the lives of African Americans today.
3.11 The New Negro Movement and the Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance (3:01) Henry Louis Gates Jr. along with respected historians and writers explain the cause and major elements of the Harlem Renaissance in about 2 minutes (or so).
3.12 Photography and Social Change
Why Gordon Parks’ Most Famous Photo Almost Wasn’t Released | The Bigger Picture with Vincent Brown (12:18) This video about Gordon Park’s photograph “American Gothic” helps explain how photography can be used as “weapon” to fight for social change. It provides a great opportunity to compare Jamees Van Der Zee’s work from the topic to Gordon Parks. Finally, it serves as a fantastic resource to teach analysis of visuals.
3.13 Envisioning Africa in Harlem Renaissance Poetry
Countee Cullen's Harlem Renaissance Poem “Confession” | Encyclopaedia Britannica (2:51) This video produced by Encyclopedia Britannica examines Cullen’s poem “Confession.” It covers similar elements about poetry analysis that students will have to understand when they read Cullen’s and Bennet’s “Heritage.” As bonus, it gives students an opportunity to compare “Confession” and “Heritage”
3.14 Symphony in Black: Black Performance in Music, Theater, and Film
How Early 20th Century Black Style Represented the Pride of the People (4:31) This video examines the fashion that was worn by Black performers of the early 20th century. It analyzes how fashion was used as an element of self expression and agency. The video references some of the works and performers that the topic covers.
3.15 Black History Education and African American Studies
Global Blackness and the Legacy of Arturo Schomburg | Mi Gente Afrodescendiente (2:29) This video gives more information about Arturo Schomburg and his Puerto Rican roots and his influence on the field of Black Studies
3.16 The Great Migration
Art about Migration (17:20) Though this video isn’t explicitly about Black History or solely about Black artists, it opens with an explanation and emphasis on Jacob Lawrence’s Migration series. It gives context to many of the panels and biographical information on Lawrence. The video pivots to other art about migration at the 5:37 mark. You can choose to play the video out and show how Lawrence’s art compares to other art about migration.
Why African-Americans left the south in droves — and what's bringing them back (6:23) This video begins by explaining the Great Migration, but it also follows the demographic study and explains the newer trend of African Americans moving south.
3.17 Afro-Caribbean Migration
The Godfather of Black Marxism | C.L.R. James (3:30) This short video covers the life of writer C.L.R. James and his adoption of radical ideas. The video differentiates between his views on communism and Stalinism, places him at the forefront of independence movements in the Caribbean, and a source of inspiration for other Black leaders.
3.18 The Universal Negro Improvement Association
Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (5:47) This NBC Learn video provides clear biography information on Marcus Garvey and his work with the UNIA. It covers his inspiration, message, and impact on African Americans. The video may seem outdated in some ways but the information is great for helping students understand the required source, “Address to the Second UNIA Convention.”