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HIST 491C / LAS 450/ AMS 490 / Africana 406: Race and Racism in the Americas (Spring 2025)

Getting Starting

Two key things to keep in mind while looking for primary sources in databases.

  1. Words change over time. Contemporaries may not have used phrases "black wall street" or "Haitian Massacre" or "Southern Cone." They would have said "slaves" instead of "enslaved."  As you find primary sources on your topic, pay special attention to the language contemporaries are using.
  2. Less is best. Do not search for a bunch of keywords all at once. This makes it likely you'll either confuse the system or accidentally use an anachronism.  Two or Three well-selected keywords, connected by AND, is ideal.

TIPS

  • Language has changed over the centuries, and it is often difficult to speak like - and think like - our 17th century ancestors. 

    Words like college, race, "Indian," meant different things, and concepts like gender or nationalism didn't even exist. 

    As an example, a search for "gender" in Colonial America only yields 2 results, and only then relating to grammar rules.

  • Most primary source databases will have "thematic" filters to get you started. Before keyword searching, start there. See what curated documents come up. From those documents, see what terminology is being used by contemporaries.   

  • Begin with basic searches and do not be too complicated.  DO NOT USE TOO MANY TERMS AT ONCE

  • Be sure to use period-specific language.

  • Do NOT search a bunch of terms. This will give more, not less, false its.

  • Pick keywords carefully -- remember that words and their meaning change over time
    • Example. If you're interested in depictions of Gender, the word "gender" won't work -- it meant something else. Try masculinity or femininity. Similarly, the Civil War was not called the Civil War, the same way the "Seven Years War" wasn't called that as it was happening.
  • Use the database limiting tools (publication date, place of publication, etc) to limit results. Do this instead of adding more search terms. 
  • Use boolean (and or not) to make the best searches.

Examples

  • African Americans are portrayed in media
    • narrow to specific type of media
      • ex art ; film; Blaxploitation films
        • use those to make lists of primary sources (movies, tv shows etc) to use as priamry sources
      • Look in our catalog for those types of material (Ex Blaxploitation films
      • Pick a specific type period, use "african americans" and narrow to material type
    • In WorldCat, search "African americans" as subject, narrow to a specific publication date (ex 1900-1950) and narrow to material type (ex film, theatre, television)
  • Emmett Till
    • historic newspapers and popular magazine, search "emmett till", limit publication dates 1955-57 
      • ex
      • ex
      • Legal records in LexisNexis
  • American Catholicism's relationship with racism. Limit to time period (Ex 1950s)
    • historic newspapers and popular magazine catholic* AND racism
      • also try catholic* AND "racial prejudice"
    • Legal records in LexisNexis, try try catholic* AND "racial prejudice" limited to time period
    • publications in Hathi
    • Catholic sermons about race (need to focus time period)
  • American Protestant Christianity and its development alongside slavery

 

  • enslaved people were followers of the Christian message
  • race within William & Mary during the civil rights movement in the mid 1950’s,
    • Flathat
    • Colonial Echo
    • Oral histories
      • not all digital yet, talk to SCRC
      • See also: here, here
      • In our collections, see 
        • Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority,
        • Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity,
        • Delta Sigma Theta sorority,
        • Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity,
        • Zeta Phi Beta sorority.
    • Keyword Search "civil rights"
    • We have administrative records in SCRC
    • "civil rights" AND "William and mary" in virginia historical newspapers 
  • Black radical entertainers were suppressed by both the U.S. government and the entertainment industry, looking at how surveillance, blacklisting, and industry exclusion were used to silence them.
  • Paul Robeson
    • materials about and by Paul Robeson in the catalog pre 1976
    • "Paul Robeson" in Historical newspapers
    • search "Paul Robeson" in African American History databases
    • "Paul Robeson" in LexisNexis for legal records
    • In WorldCat, "Paul Robeson" AND (interview* OR "personal narratives" OR corr*)
    • Personal writings: search Paul Robeson as author in catalog
      • In WorldCat, search
        • (pn= "Robeson, Paul,") and pn= "1898-1976," and dt= "bks"
          • this bring up books we don't own, like Paul Robeson speaks : writings, speeches, interviews, 1918-1974 /
  • Nina Simone
    • materials about Simone in the catalog before 2003
    • in catalog and WorldCat, try "Nina Simone" AND (interview OR narrative* OR corr*)
      • in worldcat keyword box, try (pn= "Simone, Nina,") and pn= "1933-2003." and dt= "bks"
        • brings up autobiography I put a spell on you : the autobiography of Nina Simone /  and Nina Simone, black is the color-- : a book of rare photographs of adolescence, family & early career with quotes in her own words /
    • in Historical newspapers search "Nina Simone"
    • Search  "Nina Simone"  in African American History databases
  • black face by white students at the College of William and Mary
  • White Fraternities and Sororities  at the College of William and Mary

Race relations at W&M