African American Women's Histories
This collection showcases the personal and professional papers of trailblazing African American women, exploring their intellectual work, social activism, and cultural expression. Through correspondence, writings, speeches, organisational records, ephemera, and periodicals, the resource explores the lived experiences of Black women in the United States throughout the twentieth century.
These materials spotlight both the public achievements and everyday lives of African American women, showcasing their contributions across diverse fields including medicine, media, literature, education, law, politics, sport, and music.
Research on Black Feminism, Civil Rights, and literature are supported by the range of material types which document experiences and the ways in which these lives were shaped by the intersections of race, gender, and class.
Highlights
- Meeting minutes, committee files, publications, and photographs from the New Orleans Chapter of The Links, Inc., revealing grassroots leadership and community-building, at both a local level for the NOLA chapter and a national level
- The Maida Springer Kemp papers, tracing her pioneering work in labour organising across the US and Africa, including her leadership roles with the AFL-CIO and the National Council for Negro Women
- Evelyn Cunningham’s papers, which highlight her groundbreaking work as a journalist covering racial violence and civil rights, and later her role as a political aide to Governor Nelson Rockefeller
- The papers of Sarah Webster Fabio, a foundational figure in Black Studies and key poetic voice in the Black Arts Movement
- The Naomi Long Madgett Collection, held by Fisk University, which includes papers from the notable poet and author, who set up her own Independent Press, Lotus Press, in the 1970s
Included in
Modules include
| Module | Summary | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Module I |
Publishing 2026 |
|
| Module II |
Coming soon |
Key data
Period covered
Source archives
- Amistad Research Center
- The John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library at Fisk University
- Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin
- Activism and social justice
- Black Feminism
- Community and identity
- Correspondence
- Ephemera
- Organisational records
- Periodicals
- Photographs
- Speeches and writings
- Crystal deGregory, Bethune Cookman University
- Dominique Luster, The Luster Company
- Kimberly Springer, Columbia University
- Tiana Wilson, University of Pennsylvania
- Communities, Peoples and Nations
- Gender
- North American Studies
- Sociology, Social History and Social Science
- Women's History
