The Book Discussion Groups and its books have certainly had quite a few plugs in these blogs. I know I've already written an entry with my praises for Hampton Sides' Blood and Thunder. Quite a few of the books in Year II of the grant have dealt with various themes related to African Americans, Slavery, Abolition, and the coming of the Civil War. Black Jacks by W. Jeffrey Bolster, The Approaching Fury, by Stephen B. Oates, and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs, were all excellent. I have been working on my final project for the Book Group, and have been utilizing some great sources.
One source is the PBS site Africans in America. (see link below) It has a collection of images, documents, stories, biographies and commentaries depicting America's journey through slavery. The site compliments the PBS documentary Africans in America: America's Journey Through Slavery. The 2 DVD set was a Peabody Award Winner, and was given to all participants of the Book Discussion Goup. Using the chapter search function, you can focus on certain topics quite easily. Since there are participants from all of the systems in the book groups, find a colleague and ask them to share this treasure!
Another great resource for slavery topics is a site with a series of slave narratives published by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (see link below) It is rich with primary sources to compliment many units of study.
SlaveryInAmerica.org also is a useful site.(see link below) It has an image gallery, lesson plans, and narratives. Likewise, the Lost Museum (see link below) is a good find, too. It has a database of archived primary sources. You can search by key words or themes. This site was created by the American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning with the Graduate Center, City University of New York and George Mason University.
My greatest find was the site The Valley of the Shadow, which contained three excellent primary sources illustrating the Southern defense of slaveholding. These documents would really spark interesting discussions and help students of the 21st Century see the arguments and values of Southern whites.
I hope you find these sites useful. There's so much great stuff out there. Enjoy!
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/home.html Africans in America site by PBS.
http://docsouth.unc.eud/neh/texts.html University of North Carolina Slave Narratives
http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/resources/resources_gateway.htm Slavery in America There is an image gallery, lesson plans, and narratives
http://www.lostmuseum.cuny.edu/home.html Lost Museum archives
http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/teaching/vclassroom/proslaveinst.html Primary sources for the Southern defense of slavery
