LibGuides: Africana and Black Studies: A Guide to Library Research: Overview

Welcome to the Africana and Black Studies Research Guide!

Welcome to the Africana and Black Studies research guide. Resources on this guide deal with the study of all aspects of Africa and Africans, African Americans, the African Diaspora, black studies in general, and race studies.

The databases linked below are great places to start your research, but we have so many more. To find databases related to Africa and the wider diaspora (i.e., the Caribbean and wider Americas), see the Africa and Diaspora Databases A-Z tab. To find databases related to specifically African Americans and their experiences, see the African American Databases A-Z tab.

For assistance with finding resources, please ask a librarian through the Ask Us! slide-out.

University of Michigan-Flint's Africana Department
Find out information about the department's faculty, classes, and events.

Frequently Used Africana & Black Studies Databases

The databases listed below are suggested general starting places for your research, but the A-Z Database tabs are more complete lists.

Africa-Wide Information This link opens in a new window
The go-to database for journal articles related to all aspects of African Studies, including political science, literature, history, health science, biology, and more. Content dates from the 16th century - today.
Oxford African American Studies Center This link opens in a new window
The one stop shop for all your Africana needs. This is a multidisciplinary reference database that covers all aspects of African American, African, and Diaspora studies.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text access to core scholarly journals, like African Affairs, African Studies Review, and the Journal of Black Studies.
Access extended! Some journals in JSTOR are available for U-M Flint until June 30, 2023, after which they are expected to become unavailable. Many other journals will remain accessible.

Mostly 3-5 years & older full text. African American studies, anthropology, botany, business, ecology, economics, education, general science, geography, history, language & literature, mathematics, philosophy, political science, sociology, statistics.

Dates of coverage vary by journal title. All go back to the very first issue published, but most have a "moving wall" embargo that excludes issues from the most recent X years (where X can be anywhere from 0 up to 10 years, depending on the particular journal; most are in the 3 to 5 year embargo range).

Hint: Use documents to find useful keywords and concepts, and retrieve matching JSTOR content, via JSTOR Text Analyzer

As a public service during the COVID-19 pandemic, JSTOR provided subscribing libraries access to journals free of charge. This expanded access is expected to expire on June 30, 2023, but the Thompson Library will continue to have permanent access to hundreds of journals through JSTOR. Please contact the Thompson Library if you have any questions.
Black Studies (Alexander Street text & video) This link opens in a new window
Database of non-fiction works by leading African Americans, including interviews, journal articles, speeches, essays, pamphlets, and letters.
Black Thought and Culture (1700 to present) consists of African-American authors of works of non-fiction, including books, interviews, journal articles, letters, & other formats, covering all aspects of the black experience.

Black Studies in Video has documentaries, newsreels, interviews, and archival footage covering history, politics, sociology, art, and culture.