The Civil Rights History Project: Survey of Collections and Repositories

UM-St. Louis black history project collection

Repository: State Historical Society of Missouri, St. Louis

Collection Description (Extant): The UM-St. Louis Black History Project Collection, 1911-1983, documents many aspects of St. Louis black history as well as the collecting and public relations activities of the project's staff from 1980 to 1983. [. . . ]

During its first year the Black History Project surveyed over ninety organizations and individuals and contacted 350 potential donors, establishing collection priorities that reflected the wide range of black experiences in St. Louis history. An advisory group of community leaders and educators helped to develop these priorities, which included size and importance of the organization, influential or representative individuals, and the availability and quality of the records.

The historical materials collected or copied by the project cover a wide span of years and many different aspects of local black history. These include the papers of sociologist Herman Dreer, 1916 1978, and educator Julia Davis, 1863, 1980; scrapbooks from the black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, 1930 1980, and the St. Louis NAACP, 1930 1964; the Kinloch History Project files, 1915 1980; newsletters and correspondence of the Union Sarah Economic Development Corporation, 1976 1980; histories of the Ferrier Harris Home for the Aged, the Antioch Baptist and First Baptist Churches, and the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity; programs and annual reports from the National Housewives League of America, Inc., St. Louis chapter, the Annie Malone Children's Home and the National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc., St. Louis chapter; and photographs of the St. Louis Stars Baseball Team, the Pine Street YMCA, Sumner High and Simmons Schools, 1892 and 1910, records of New Age Federal Savings and Loan Association and Douglass Elementary School. From these and other collections, the Black History Project created a slide presentation on local black history for organizations and groups interested in contributing to or knowing about the collection. [. . .]

The collection is divided into five series: (1) Collections, 1911-1983, folders 1-140; (2) Project Contacts, 1980-1983, card file; (3) Photographs, 1904-1983; (4) Slides, 1980-1983; (5) Tapes, 1980-1983. [. . .]

The Tapes series, 1980 1983, is divided into two sub series: (1) Conference Proceedings, T768-T784, containing speeches and panel discussions given at each of the black history conferences, 1981-1983; and (2) Oral Histories and Lectures, T785-T803, containing oral history interviews conducted by members of the project with local black professionals and lectures by local black leaders recorded by the project.

Date(s): 1895-1983

Existing IDs: sl 201; T768-T803

Extent: 143 folders, 17 tapes, 7 microfilm rolls, plus additions of 665 photographs

Finding Aid URL: http://www.umsl.edu/~whmc/guides/whm0201.htm

Language: English

Related Archival Items: Some photos from this collection may be viewed online at http://tjrhino1.umsl.edu/whmc/view.php?collnum_get=201. See also sl 336 BLACK HISTORY PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION 1895-1983

Interviewees: Julius Hunter, Nancy Fields, Anita Bond, Joseph W.B. Clark, Claude Brown, Mikki Brewster, David Grant, Richard Fisher, Frances Thomas, Julia Davis, William Harrison, Robert Watson, Ina Neal Watson, Kenneth Billups, William Allen, Walter Ambrose, Henrietta Ambrose, Aldrich Brooks, Irene Cortinovis, Ina Watson, Isaac Darden, Robert Davis, Gladys Virginia Eastern, Clifton W. Gates, Wilson Gray, Bertha Hammonds, Calvin Lee, George L. Mann, Paul Miller, Sr., Helen J. Moore, N. Webster Moore, Alphonso Peterson, Dorothy Porter Wesley, Nathan B. Young, Jr., Walter Younge

Rights (CRHP): Contact the repository which holds the collection for information on rights

Subjects:

African American athletes
African American businesspeople
African American churches
African American educators--Missouri
African American lawyers
African American musicians
African Americans--Missouri
Civil rights movements--Missouri
Fraternal organizations
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Negro leagues
Women--Societies and clubs
YMCA of the USA

Genres:

Interviews
Lectures
Photographs
Sound recordings