African American History at Brown University

Manuscripts maintains a diverse collection of personal papers and organizational records.  The Manuscripts collections are best known for American history and literary materials but those subjects only skim the surface so be sure to search Collections A-Z for a list of collections by subject.  If you want to research people and places not necessarily related to the University, Manuscripts may have material of interest to you.

See the Manuscripts website for additional information.  Contact us via the Question Form for assistance.

At Brown

Encyclopedia Brunoniana:

African Americans

Afro-American Studies

Bass, George H.

Fraternities

Sororities

Student Protests

Third World Center (Brown Center for Students of Color)

Tougaloo College

University Records

• Afro-American Studies / Rites & Reason records, 1970 - 2006 (OF-1ZAF-1)
• Rites and Reason Theatre records, circa 1971-1993 (OF-1Q-R1)

Organizations

Brown University Christian Association records, 1881-1969 (OF-1Q-C1)*

Faculty

• George Houston Bass papers, circa 1959-1990 (OF-1UF-B5)
• Charles H. Nichols papers, 1954-1989 (PhD 1948) (OF-1UF-N1)
• J. Saunders Redding papers, circa 1940-1980 (Class of 1928, MA 1932) (Ms.98.1) (Manuscripts)

Alumni

• Ann duCille papers, 1986-2010 (MA, PhD) (Ms. 2016.013) (Feminist Theory Archive)
• Rudolph Fisher papers, 1919-1983 (1919-1934) (Class of 1919, MA 1920) (MS-1U-F5)
• Hugh Pearson papers, 1950 - 2007 (bulk 1990 - 2004) (Class of 1979) (Ms.2011.006) (Manuscripts)
• Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard (Class of 1919)
  • Scrapbook (SB-P)
  • Biographiphical files
• John Brown Watson papers, circa 1869-1942 (Class of 1904) (Ms. 84.4) (Manuscripts)

University Records

Brown-Tougaloo Exchange records, 1961-1989 (bulk 1963-1969) (OF-1ZU-2) (library catalog record) (finding aid)

Presidents

Barnaby Conrad Keeney papers, 1936-1980 (bulk 1940s-1966) (OF-1C-12)

Howard Swearer papers, 1976-1990 (bulk 1977-1978) (OF-1C-15)

Administrators

Zenas R. Bliss Papers, 1952-1966 (OF-1CA-B2)

Richard Ramsden papers, 1967-1984 (bulk 1977-1982) (OF-1CA-R1)

Merton P. Stoltz files as Provost of Brown University, 1959-1975 (OF-1CA-S2)

Alumni

M. Charles Bakst papers, 1927-2009 (bulk 1962-2008) (MS-1U-B6) (library catalog record) (finding aid)

Jessica Brooks papers on the Tougaloo-Brown Exchange, 1993-1994 (MS-1ZUT-1) (library catalog record) (finding aid)

Robert F. Cohen, Jr., papers, 1952-1984 (bulk 1966-1972) (MS-1U-C8) (library catalog record) (finding aid)

Janet Shaffer papers on the Brown University-Tougaloo College Partnership, 1966, 1986-1987, 2006, (1986-1987) (AMS.1ZUT.2) (library catalog record) (finding aid)

Website

"Freedom Now!" archival research project

Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice  
In 2003, President Ruth Simmons appointed a Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice.  The committee, which included faculty members, undergraduate and graduate students, and administrators, was charged to investigate and prepare a report about the University’s historical relationship to slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.  The Committee presented its final report to President Simmons in October 2006. On February 24, 2007, the Brown Corporation endorsed a set of initiatives in response to the Committee’s report.  The report is designed to foster discussion of this subject in ways that prepare students and others to engage in and promote the meaningful exchange of ideas.

Rhode Island College miscellaneous papers, 1763-1804, MS-1E-1 (See finding aid for digital surrogates)   The list of supplies and expenses (The College to Nicholas Brown & Co., Dr.: 1770 – 1771) used to build the College Edifice (University Hall) documents the work of enslaved people and Native Americans.  Page 5 of the document (scanned page 7) highlights the information.

• The African Sun was a monthly black cultural publication of the Organization of United African People (now the Black Student Union).   The University Archives has volumes from 1991 to 2010.
• B.O.P. (Blacks on Paper) was a literary magazine published by black students from 1972 to 1975.  The magazine expressed students’ individual experiences and visions and encompassed “a whole spectrum of black thought”.  Editors included Rodney Dennis, Kambon Obayani, and Gayl Jones. The University Archives has volumes from 1974 and 1975.
• Uwezo, the official publication of the Organization of United African People (now Black Student Union), took its title from the Swahili word for “unity and strength."  The University Archives has volumes from 1970 to 1993.

Inman Page (Class of 1877)

• Portrait Collection

George Washington Milford (Class of 1877)

• Images of Brown

Brown University Archives Audio Collection:

• Black Arts Festival, 1969 and 1970

Brown University Archives Film and Video Collection

• Fritz Pollard (Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard (Class of 1919))
• Gus White Football Highlights (Augustus A. White III (Class of 1957))

Pembroke Center Oral History Project

Blacks at Brown (timeline and exhibit)

Remembering Fritz Pollard

For additional topics see:

University Archives Subject Guides

Special Collections Subject Guides

Brown University Library staff often re-use language provided by creators or former owners of collections because it provides important context about the materials or is the official title of an item.  To locate all materials of interest, you may need to search for historical terminology, which is offensive today, but was used in the past to describe people of color.  Examples of terms to use as keywords: African-American; African American; Afro-American; black; Negro, third world.  

Examples