I am conducting research on African American amusement parks and other topics related to African American history. I must say that it is hard as hell to find information online on these topics. It’s equally challenging to find it through library sources.
What does this mean? I have to do a lot of extra work. However, I am praying for historians in different states who are kind with sharing information. This also means I have to start developing relationships with senior centers to gather the information I need.
Here is what is disturbing about my discoveries:
1. Black people were considered irrelevant throughout history which is probably why their histories have not be written or buried.
2. How can I be sure that the information I find is accurate? I know I can only go on what I find. But, did anybody related to these topics write anything anywhere?
3. Once I report my findings, who can I present it to that will actually care?
I just wanted to share my thoughts on my African American history research. If anybody can direct me to reliable resources, it would be greatly appreciated. This is more work than I thought. This was supposed to be a hobby!
please look for books published by university history departments. these books are based on source documents. Everybody doing research on black history runs into the same thing: books that use each other as references, so the information is a closed system. the best places to visit are Detroit, Houston and NYC. The farther south you go the less infomation you’ll find. the big repository is people’s family papers and stories. please e mail me anytime.
Jorgine, thank you so much for this information. You have helped tremendously. I will email you soon. Again, thank you.