By Keyword

Many online and library catalog search engines such as Google Scholar, Harvard University Libraries, and the Library of Congress, accept similar formats for advanced search queries. Think about the language of the time period you are exploring. For example, a keyword search to span American history would need to include a variety of terms, see the following examples.

  • Negro* OR colo*red OR enslave* OR slave* OR "african american" OR "african americans" OR free*m*n.
  • Teach* AND School* AND Colored OR Negro OR Afr* American OR Black confined by your relevant date range (optional).

Keyword searches are not perfect and thus researchers must employ a few strategies in searching for individuals, events, and information. 

  • Expect date discrepancies.  Even when you have an exact date for an event, it is possible that it was mis-reported, mis-recorded, or mis-transcribed across resources.  Be sure that your searches are flexible in the date field.
  • Expect name discrepancies.  A common practice for the time was individuals going by initials for their first and middle name. When searching try full and abbreviated name. For example, W.E.B. Du Bois full name is William Edward Burghardt Du Bois. Also sometimes names could be misspelled.
  • Search the town or school. If you know an individual has a relationship with a specific town or school review mentions for that could give you insight on the context of their experiences.

By Subject

Try using some of these Library of Congress subject headings to locate books on Black education topics. While these subject headings are specific to the Library of Congress, searching by subject headings in other libraries or databases can follow a similar format. You can use the Subject field in an Advanced Search on the Library of Congress' digital catalog:

  • African American Educators
  • African American Schools
  • African American Women Educators
  • African Americans -- Civil rights -- History -- 20th century
  • African Americans -- Education
  • African Americans -- Education -- Civil Rights
  • African Americans -- History
  • African Americans -- Intellectual life -- 20th century
  • African Americans -- Migrations
  • African Americans -- Politics and government
  • African Americans -- Race identity
  • African Americans -- Segregation
  • African Americans -- Social conditions
  • African Americans -- Study and teaching -- United States.
  • American literature -- African American authors -- History and criticism
  • Blacks -- Race identity
  • Blacks -- Study and teaching -- United States
  • Civil rights movements -- United States -- History -- 20th century
  • Multicultural Education
  • School integration
  • Segregation in education
  • Public schools

By Library of Congress Call Number

If the library or database you are using follows the Library of Congress Call Number System, you can try the following searches:

  • Enter:
    • E184.5
      • Results related to Black Americans are in the call number range E184.5 - E185.98
    • LC2701 
      • Results related to Black education are in the call number range  LC2701-LC2785