Free · Online · Ages 12–35
African American Studies & Development
Not the textbook version. Real history — from 1619 to the Obamas — with quizzes, family tracking, and a community of learners.
Program Director: Tevon Hennesy
The courses, in order
AAS 100 · 1776 – Today
The U.S. Constitution & How Government Works
Start here. Why the Constitution was written, who was in the room and who was left out, how slavery shaped it, every amendment explained with its impact on African Americans, and how government works today. Five 10-question tests.
AAS 101 · 1619 – 1775
1619 & Colonial Slavery
From the first enslaved Africans landing at Point Comfort to the laws that turned people into property.
AAS 102 · 1775 – 1865
Revolution, Abolition & the Civil War
Freedom fighters, the Underground Railroad, and the real reason the Civil War was fought.
AAS 103 · 1865 – 1900
Reconstruction & Its Betrayal
Black senators, Black towns, and the violent campaign that tore it all down.
AAS 104 · 1900 – 1945
Jim Crow, Black Wall Street & Garvey
The Great Migration, Greenwood's wealth, the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, and Marcus Garvey's movement.
AAS 105 · 1945 – 1968
The Civil Rights Movement
Every leader, every turning point — including Fannie Lou Hamer, Malcolm X, Dr. King, and white allies.
AAS 106 · 1968 – 2000
Black Power, the War on Drugs & Welfare
The hard truths: COINTELPRO, crack, mass incarceration, welfare rules, and crime statistics in context.
AAS 107 · 2000 – Today
The Modern Era: Obamas, Wealth & Power
The first Black president and First Lady, Black billionaires, and today's movements.
AAS 201 · 1770 – Today
African American Military History
From Crispus Attucks to Buffalo Soldiers, Harlem Hellfighters, Tuskegee Airmen, and the Pentagon.
AAS 202 · 1800s – Today
African American Inventors & Innovators
The minds behind traffic signals, blood banks, refrigerated trucks, home security, and more.
AAS 204 · 1917 – 1977
Fannie Lou Hamer: A Voice for Freedom
Her life from Mississippi sharecropping to voting-rights leadership, the 1964 convention challenge, and Freedom Farm. Includes Fannie Lou Hamer’s America and a 15-question quiz.
AAS 205 · 1837 – Today
HBCU History: Education, Freedom, and Legacy
The struggle for education, the first HBCUs, Reconstruction, land-grant funding, Black women’s leadership, student activism, and cultural legacy. Full documentary and five 10-question tests.
AAS 301 · 1865 – 1915
The Untold Story of Reconstruction and Jim Crow
Documentary seminar. How freedom was won, how it was taken back through labor contracts, terror, courts and national compromise, and how a movie rewrote the memory of it all. 15-question final exam.
AAS 302 · 1865 – 1877
The Ku Klux Klan: An American History, Part 1
Documentary seminar. Why emancipation threatened white identity, how a 'social club' in Pulaski became a terror network, and how the federal government fought it. 15-question final exam.
AAS 303 · 1856 – 1963
Segregation vs. Integration: Du Bois and Washington
Documentary seminar. Two brilliant leaders, two strategies for Black freedom: build economic power first, or demand full equality now. Weigh the case for each. 15-question final exam.
AAS 304 · 1867 – 1931
Two Dollars and a Dream: Madam C. J. Walker
Documentary seminar. From washerwoman to millionaire: how Sarah Breedlove built a national company of Black women sales agents, and how her daughter A'Lelia funded the Harlem Renaissance. 15-question final exam.
AAS 305 · 1915 – 1945
The KKK vs. Black America: When Fear Stopped Working
Documentary seminar. The second Klan rose to millions of members, and Black Americans answered with armed self-defense, investigative journalism, lawsuits, migration and the vote. 15-question final exam.
AAS 306 · 1954 – 1959
The Little Rock Nine
Documentary seminar. Nine teenagers, a governor's troops, a president's paratroopers and a year inside Central High. What it really costs to turn a court ruling into reality. 15-question final exam.
AAS 307 · 1963 – 2002
4 Little Girls: The Birmingham Church Bombing
Documentary seminar. Spike Lee's portrait of Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Denise McNair, the city of 'Bombingham,' and the 39-year fight for justice. 15-question final exam.
AAS 308 · 1965 – 1987
Sheriff Lucius Amerson: Legend vs. Record
Documentary seminar. The first Black sheriff elected in the Deep South since Reconstruction, how the Voting Rights Act made him possible, and how to separate legend from the historical record. 15-question final exam.
AAS 309 · 1791 – 1992
Every Amendment Explained: Rights in Practice
Documentary seminar. A fast tour of all 27 amendments, then a deep, case-based look at how the Bill of Rights, the Reconstruction Amendments and the voting amendments work for — and were withheld from — Black Americans. 15-question final exam.
AAS 401 · 1600s – today
Black Music: From Spirituals to Hip-Hop
How African rhythms, spirituals, blues, jazz, gospel, soul, funk and hip-hop became the sound of America and the world.
AAS 402 · 1770s – today
Black Arts, Literature & Language
Phillis Wheatley to Toni Morrison, the Harlem Renaissance, Black art, film and the history of African American English.
AAS 403 · 1600s – today
Food, Faith, Fashion, Sport & Celebration
Soul food, the Black church, hair and style, sports pioneers, and traditions like Juneteenth and Kwanzaa.