When researching a topic that isn’t familiar to you, it can be helpful to start with the basic information. Reference sources are an excellent way to learn more about the topic on a broad level. Listed here are a variety of sources, including encyclopedias, which can be accessed by hovering over the “General Reference Sources” tab on the menu.

Major Civil Rights Events: 1954-1968 (map): A static image, this map of the United States has labeled pinpoints, each of which represents a major event in the Civil Rights Movement, including sit-ins, desegregations, and assassinations.

African American Almanac: This source provides very detailed information about the Civil Rights Movement, from its earliest aspects to the present day. While it can be searched by the title of the movement or an individual’s name, it will not provide a biography of an individual, but rather the results of the topic with which the individual was involved (i.e. “Civil Rights” results from searching “Martin Luther King, Jr.”).

Directory of Civil Rights and Human Relations Agencies in Michigan: A directory published in 1968 by the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, this book allows readers to see Michigan’s level of involvement in the nation-wide surge towards civil rights. Directories can be searched either by organization location or name.

Guide to Public Opinion and Electoral Behavior: The American National Election Studies provides a data summary on social, economic, partisanship, and public opinion from 1948 to present. Included are the demographics of the voting population and their opinions on issues such as affirmative action and political involvement. While this information is not searchable, it is presented on the main page under descriptive category headings.

Historical Statistics of the United States: This is a compendium of statistics about the United States.  This information is compiled by the U.S. Census, although published by Cambridge University Press,  and comprises of statistics for population, work and welfare, economic structure and performance, economic sectors and governance and international relations.  This compendium can be searched by contents, index or keyword.