Research Guides: African American Politics: Primary sources / documents / archives

What is a Primary Source?

A primary source, also called "source material" and sometimes "original sources", refers to "a document or record containing firsthand information or original data on a topic.... Primary sources include original manuscripts, articles reporting original research or thought, diaries, memoirs, letters, journals, photographs, drawings, posters, film footage, sheet music, songs, interviews, government documents, public records, eyewitness accounts, newspaper clippings, etc."
(Dictionary for Library and Information Science / Joan M. Reitz, 2004).

To find primary sources in OneSearch add terms such as: sources, letters, documents, papers, etc. to the subject search. For example,

Subject	Civil rights movements -- United States
AND Subject	sources

Collections / Select sources

► A-Z Databases: Newspapers (https://csus.libguides.com/az.php?t=31959)

► A-Z Databases: Primary Sources (https://csus.libguides.com/az.php?t=52266) Among the list are:

Black Abolitionist Papers
This primary source collection details the extensive work of African Americans to abolish slavery in the United States prior to the Civil War. Covering the period 1830-1865, the collection presents the international impact of African American activism against slavery, in the writings of the activists themselves.
Black Freedom Struggle in the United States
Includes historical newspaper articles, pamphlets, diaries, correspondence and more from specific time periods in history marked by the opposition African Americans have faced on the road to freedom.
Race Relations in America
Includes primary source materials from the Race Relations Department of the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries which document different responses to the challenges of overcoming prejudice, segregation and racial tensions in the United States.
Slavery And Anti-Slavery
This collection is devoted to the study and understanding of the history of slavery in America and the rest of the world from the 17th century to the late 19th century. It includes more than five million cross-searchable pages sourced from books, pamphlets, newspapers, periodicals, legal documents, court records, monographs, manuscripts, and maps from many different countries covering the history of the slave trade.
Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law
A collection of primary source materials about slavery, including laws, legal cases, Congressional debates, historic books & pamphlets, and modern histories and law reviews.

Note: This is an online resource free to all who register. The Sac State Library provides access for current students, faculty and staff. Anybody without a current SacLink account can register with the provider here: http://home.heinonline.org/access-registration/

► Slavery and the Judiciary, 1740 to 1860 (Library of Congress)
https://www.loc.gov/collections/slavery-and-the-judiciary-from-1740-to-1860/about-this-collection/

► African American History -- Primary Documents (Blackpast.org)
https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/primary-documents-african-american-history/

► Digital Archives (Blackpast.org)
https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/digital-archives/

► Jim Crow New York: a documentary history of race and citizenship, 1777-1877 (eBook and print ) Library 2 SOUTH ; E 185.93 .N56 J56 2003

►The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. (7 volumes) Library 2 SOUTH E 185.97 .K5 A2 1992

► Black Americans: the FBI files Library 2 SOUTH E 185.615 .O73 1994

► Civil Rights Digital Library (CRDL) delivers educational content on the Civil Rights Movement via the Web
https://crdl.usg.edu/

► African American Perspective: Materials Selected from the Rare Book Collection (Library of Congress) is primarily comprised of two collections in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division: the African American Pamphlet Collection and the Daniel A. P. Murray Collection with a date range of 1822 through 1909. https://www.loc.gov/collections/african-american-perspectives-rare-books/about-this-collection/

► To find more primary sources in OneSearch, add terms such as: sources, letters, documents, papers, etc. to the subject search.

Last Updated: Oct 16, 2024 12:37 PM