Spotlight on: Oxford African American Studies Center Database

The Paul G. Blazer Library has a wealth of online databases to aid you in your research. Today I would like to introduce you to just one of those databases in particular, though, and that gem is the Oxford African American Studies Center Database.

With a tag line that declares it to be "the online authority on the African American Experience", you would expect the database to easily distinguish itself from other online resources. You would expect it, and you would not be let down, because it truly delivers with both a unique perspective and some hard-to-get source material.

My favorite part of the database is the section dedicated to Primary Source Documents. These items vary from slave narratives to transcripts of speeches to abolitionist petitions - and everything in between! These little snippets from history help bring history alive. More than that, though, they help take students beyond the limited interpretation of history that their textbooks offer while providing them insight into the point of view of those who came before us.

Equally moving is the section dedicated to images of the African American Experience. With more than 2300 images to choose from, history becomes flesh; what was once just fact on paper is suddenly illustrated. For example, this illustration titled "Slave Wearing an Iron Muzzle" says more about the cruel and inhumane treatment of slaves than most words ever could:



It would be impossible for a student researching the African American Experience to not find something useful in this database.