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African American History Collection

Collection Number: D-207

Size of the Collection

4,000 pamphlets, books, and serials.

History of this Collection

Established in 1967 through an initial purchase of a collection of several hundred books and pamphlets. The collection was given new life in the 1990s when it was cataloged and began to be added to, largely by selective purchases, but also by gifts.

Overview/Highlights of Collection

The African American History Collection chronicles the evolution of the civil rights movement from the pre-Civil War period through modern times. The collection contains pamphlets concerning civil rights, desegregation, lynching, economic reform, and revolutionary strategies, written by figures such as Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and George Washington Carver. The collection also includes a large collection of publications of civil rights groups such as the NAACP (dating back to the group’s origin in 1909), as well as many others.

Collection Strengths

  • History of African American Civil Rights Movement.
  • African Americans in the history and culture of California.

Related Collections

A substantial body of related materials may also be found in the Radical Pamphlets Collection; including political tracts focusing specifically on civil rights in the 1960’s and 1970’s, as well as African American political movements and other protest documents and manifestos.

Related Exhibit

The African American Journey Towards Freedom and Equality, 1619-2009

Items in the collection may be located through the library catalog by searching:

african american history collection