LibGuides: The African Diaspora in the Americas (The Caribbean, Latin America and the U.S.): Finding Articles and Books

Finding Books & Articles about the African Diaspora in the Americas

Secondary sources are studies done by historians and other researchers by analyzing primary sources. Books and journal articles are the main types of secondary sources.

When starting your keyword search to find articles and books, try to do a balanced search—not too broad but not too narrow either. Use several synonyms to be sure that you find everything relevant to your topic. This is very important when you are focusing on just one country, e.g. Cuba, the Dominican Republic, etc.

Black is the preferred term used to describe African descendants, regardless of country of origin. When searching for phrases, use quotation marks to indicate to the system that you want articles on that topic, e.g. "Latin America". Depending on your topic, here are some suggestions for terms to use for your keywords searches that you can use with the UC Library Search text box:

Blacks AND "Puerto Rico"
"African Diaspora" AND Mexico
"sugar cane industry" AND blacks AND Jamaica

Other terms to search for blacks in Latin American and the Caribbean: Afro-Latino, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Cuban, Afro-Puerto Rican, etc.

Image source: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. "Arthur Schomburg" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1896.

Note: Arthur Schomburg was one of the most important builder of Afro-Caribbean and African American archives in the United States. An Afro-Puerto Rican, he was a member of the Harlem Renaissance and donated his personal collection to the NYPL.

Where to Find Articles? (Recommended Databases)

U.S. Black Diaspora
Latin America & Caribbean

Black Studies Periodicals Database
IIBP Full Text includes current and retrospective bibliographic citations & abstracts from over 150 scholarly and popular journals, newspapers and newsletters from the United States, Africa, and the Caribbean, as well as full-text coverage of 90 core Black Studies periodicals from 1998 forward.

Formerly known as International Index to Black Periodicals (IIBP) Full Text
Black Studies Center
The Black Studies Center (BSC) combines a wide array of resources for research and teaching in Black Studies such as, The International Index to Black Periodicals (IIBP) - includes cover coverage of U.S., African, and Caribbean periodicals. and Schomburg Studies on the Black Experience - a database of essays on important black studies themes and issues.
- The Chicago Defender (1910-1975) - a widely read and influential black newspaper which features local, national and international coverage & commentary on events of import to the Black diaspora. The database includes text and image backfiles.
- The International Index to Black Periodicals (IIBP) - includes cover coverage of U.S., African, and Caribbean periodicals. Citations, abstracts and selected full text articles are included.
- Black Literature Index - provides citations to fiction, poetry and literary reviews published in 110 black periodicals and newspapers from 1827-1940.
- Dissertations file - contains 1000 doctoral dissertations and masters' theses, written from 1970-2004, selected for their relevance to black studies.
- Schomburg Studies on the Black Experience - a databases of essays on important black studies themes and issues.

Archives of Latin American and Caribbean History, Sixteenth to Twentieth Century
Covers contemporary Latin American and Caribbean history, as well as historical perspective back to the colonial period (15th to 20th century). Provides information about the indigenous peoples of the region, the Conquest (la Conquista), colonial rule, religion, struggles for independence, and political, economic, and social progress and issues in newly independent nations. Contains pages of historical material from archival collections in the United States and Europe. Provides original manuscripts, signed letters, expedition records, reports, maps, diaries, descriptions of voyages, ephemera, and more.
JSTOR
Use JSTOR to search for articles about the Black Diaspora in the Americas. Use the Advanced Search option to limit your search by journals in a specific topic. For example, you can select to search only journals about African American Studies, Latin American Studies or you can select those two topics and search only those journals.
Project Muse
Use Project Muse to search for articles about the Black Diaspora in the Americas. Use the Advanced Search (also called Browse All), and limit your search by language and/or research area. For example, you can select Area and Ethnic Studies to search only journals in that topic.