African American/Black History and Experience: Enslavement

Use this to find more than 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of formerly enslaved Africans.

Use this to find over 200 individual items, including speeches, letters, cartoons and graphics, interviews, and articles regarding slavery.

Use this to find primary sources on the experience of enslaved Africans. Topics include religion, living conditions, gender, education, arts, and legal rights.

Use this memorial database to learn about the largest slave trades in history in which European colonizers forced millions of Africans across the Atlantic to the Americas, and from one part of the Americas to another.

Use this to find almost 7 hours of recordings of formerly enslaved persons, telling their stories. Includes many songs learned during enslavement.

The 1619 Project reframes the country’s history based on the premise that enslavement and Black American contributions are at the center of its formation. The project began in August 2019, the 400th anniversary of August of 1619, when a ship arrived at Point Comfort in the British colony of Virginia, bearing a cargo of 20 to 30 enslaved Africans. This voyage which marked the beginning of American slavery.
Nikole Hannah-Jones - Producer
The New York Times Magazine