Multimedia

Audio and video that tells the story

The multimedia selections below highlight the contribution of blacks to society, politics, sports, and the arts. The slave trade and civil rights are discussed in several videos, and the special contribution made by blacks to the development of popular music is highlighted in Shockwave presentations. Each Shockwave includes a Creative Centres map, which affords a decade-by-decade overview of this contribution and provides a special audio introduction by Charlie Gillette, noted historian of popular music.

	Ornette Coleman (alto saxophone) with his Quartet, performing "Lonely Woman," 1959.	More
	John Coltrane (tenor saxophone) performing "Giant Steps," 1959.	More
	Richard Powell, co-curator of the exhibition "Rhapsodies in Black: Art of the Harlem Renaissance" speaks about modernism versus tradition and the art of Aaron Douglas.	More
	Rita Dove reading "Courtship, Diligence" from Thomas and Beulah (1986).	More
	Rita Dove reading "Courtship" from Thomas and Beulah (1986).	More
	Margaret Vendryes, art historian, speaks about the impact of the artists of the Harlem Renaissance on the artists of today.	More
	Richard Powell, co-curator of the exhibition "Rhapsodies in Black: Art of the Harlem Renaissance" relates the differing views of their roles held by artists of the Harlem Renaissance.	More
	Richard Powell, co-curator of the exhibition "Rhapsodies in Black: Art of the Harlem Renaissance" compares the Harlem Renaissance to the Italian Renaissance.	More
	George Hutchinson, author of Harlem Renaissance in Black and White speaks about Langston Hughes's use of the blues in his poetry.	More
	George Hutchinson, author of The Harlem Renaissance in Black and White, speaks about James Weldon Johnson's use of black vernacular speech and styles of preaching in his book God's Trombones.	More
	Richard Powell, co-curator of the exhibition "Rhapsodies in Black: Art of the Harlem Renaissance" discusses Expressionism, primitivism, and Claude McKay's book Home to Harlem.	More
	Charlie Parker (alto saxophone) with John Lewis (piano), performing "Parker's Mood," 1947.	More
	Richard Powell, co-curator of the exhibition "Rhapsodies in Black: Art of the Harlem Renaissance" speaks about James Van Der Zee's photograph A Couple Wearing Raccoon Coats with a Cadillac.	More
	Marian Anderson singing the first verse of "Let Us Break Bread Together."	More
	Louis Armstrong in Copenhagen, performing "I Cover the Waterfront," 1933.	More
	A discussion of Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, two of the U.S. Supreme Court's historic decisions on civil rights.	More
	U.S. diplomat Ralph Bunche describing the role of the United Nations in both peace and war, 1951; excerpt from a Universal newsreel.	More
	The March on Washington, D.C., was a high point of the civil rights movement, noted for the "I Have a Dream" speech of Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28, 1963.	More
	Marian Wright Edelman addressing a Stand For Children rally in Washington, D.C., on June 1, 1996.	More
	Duke Ellington (at the piano) and his band playing "Mood Indigo," 1943.	More
	Dizzy Gillespie (right) and Charlie Parker (left), performing Tadd Dameron's "Hot House," 1952.	More
	Centuries of European colonization in Africa, including a transatlantic slave trade that lasted well into the 19th century, came to an end as African countries gained their independence in the second half of the 20th century.	More
	Billie Holiday performing "Foolin' Myself," 1957.	More
	The early life and education of Martin Luther King, Jr.	More
	The assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., in Memphis, Tennessee, April 4, 1968.	More
	A brief overview of Jackie Robinson's major league baseball career.	More
	A brief history of the slave trade in western Africa.	More
	Bessie Smith and choir in the film St. Louis Blues (1929).	More
	Atlantic Records.
	Chess Records.
	Chicago 1950s music scene.
	Chicago soul.
	Dayton 1970s music scene.
	Death Row/Interscope Records.
	Def Jam Records.
	Detroit 1960s music scene.
	Duke and Peacock Records.
	Go-go music.
	Hi Records.
	J & M Studio.
	King Records.
	Kingston, Jamaica, 1970s music scene.
	Los Angeles 1990s music scene.
	New Jack Swing.
	Paisley Park Studios.
	Philadelphia Int'l Records.
	Profile Records.
	Specialty Records.
	Stax Records.
	Studio One.
	Sugar Hill Records.
	the Warehouse.
	Tommy Boy Records.
	Vee Jay Records.
	WDIA.