Selected Items from the Archives
Abbott-Sengstacke Family Papers
The papers of Robert S. Abbott, John H. Sengstacke, and Myrtle E. Sengstacke tell the story not only of one of the most significant African-American papers and publishing companies of the twentieth century, but also of a rich family history. (read more.)
Barbara E. Allen Papers
The Barbara E. Allen Papers document the making of the 2005 Emmy-winning documentary, Paper Trail: 100 Years of the Chicago Defender. (read more.)
Etta Moten Barnett Papers
Hailed as “The New Negro Woman” – an early twentieth century term used to describe African American women who fought for the liberation of the race in particular and the human race in general – in 1933 for her groundbreaking performance on the Hollywood screen, Etta Moten Barnett was an extraordinarily talented entertainer and devoted civic activist. (read more.)
Alice Browning Papers
Alice Browning was a writer and publishing entrepreneur, best known as the founding editor of Negro Story magazine (1944-1946) and the founder of the annual International Black Writers Conference (1970-present). (read more.)
Ben Burns Papers
Ben Burns had a long and distinguished career as “a white editor in black journalism.” (read more.)
Cyrus Colter Papers
Beach Umbrella was Cyrus Colter's first book, published in 1970, when he was sixty years old. (read more.)
Chicago Chapter, Congress of Racial Equality Archives
The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) was one of the most important civil rights organizations in twentieth century United States; it is arguably most celebrated for its organization of the Freedom Rides of 1961. (read more.)
Frank Marshall Davis Papers
Frank Marshall Davis (1905-1987), poet, journalist, and educator, lived in Chicago from 1924-1928 and again from 1934-1948. (read more.)
Chicago Defender Archives
From 1942-45, Lena Horne frequently entertained American soldiers in camps along the West Coast and throughout the South. (read more.)
Earl B. Dickerson Papers
Earl Burrus Dickerson was among the most prominent leaders in African American business, politics, and law in the twentieth century. (read more.)
Dungill Family Papers
The Dungill Family Papers document the history of the musical accomplishments of the Dungill family between the 1930s and the 1980s. (read more.)
Hope Dunmore / Chicago Old Settler's Club Collection
Hope Ives Dunmore (1890? - 1974), Chicago native and clubwoman, was a longtime member of Chicago's Old Settlers Social Club, founded by Ida McIntosh Dempsey in the early 1900s. (read more.)
Richard Durham Papers
Richard Durham is best remembered as the creator of Destination Freedom, a groundbreaking radio series that dramatized the struggle for civil rights in America. (read more.)
DuSable Museum of African American History Moving Image Collection
The DuSable Museum of African American History Moving Image Collection contains over 800 items over a range of formats from VHS to smaller gauge film such as 8mm, Super 8mm, and 16mm that pertain either to the museum itself (its history and productions) or that were donated and collected for their greater relevance to African American history. (read more.)
Walter Henri Dyett Papers
Walter Henri Dyett, known as "Captain Dyett" to his many students and admirers, was a band instructor, music educator, and influential figure in fostering the development of jazz and black music in Chicago. (read more.)
George Cleveland Hall Branch Archives
The George Cleveland Hall Branch Library opened in January 1932 and quickly became a community institution and foci for the Chicago Black Renaissance. (read more.)
Heritage Press Archives
Award-winning poet Robert Hayden, published The Night-Blooming Cereus in 1972, in honor of Heritage Press's ten-year anniversary. (read more.)
Willa S. Jones Papers
Willa Saunders Jones was an Arkansas-born playwright, known for writing, producing, and directing the Chicago Passion Play, produced annually from 1926 to 1981. (read more.)
Frances Minor Papers
Frances Minor is a Chicago-born art collector, long-time educator, and wife of Byron C. Minor, Superintendent of Chicago Public Schools. (read more.)
Madeline Stratton Morris Papers
As an educator, historian, and activist, Madeline Stratton Morris dedicated her professional life to raising awareness of African American history and to institutionalizing its teaching at all levels of public education. (read more.)
Willard F. Motley Papers
Willard F. Motley was a Chicago-born writer, best known for his novel Knock on Any Door, published in 1947, and its later film adaptation in 1951. (read more.)
Path Press Archives
Path Press, originally founded in 1969, was one of the first black-owned publishing companies in the United States. (read more.)
Joseph Rollins, Sr. and Charlemae Rollins Collection Artifacts
Charlemae Hill Rollins and Joseph Walter Rollins, Sr. were a prominent couple in Chicago's African American community from the 1920s through the 1970s. (read more.)
Chicago SNCC History Project Archives
The Chicago Area Friends of SNCC (CAFSNCC) was founded in January of 1963 by a small group of Chicago activists interested in supporting and lending financial assistance to SNCC’s work in the South through fundraising, clothing and food drives, and recruitment. (read more.)
South Side Community Art Center Archives
Housed in a historic brownstone on South Michigan Avenue, the South Side Community Art Center was founded in 1940 under the auspices of the WPA Federal Art Project. (read more.)
Theodore Charles Stone Papers
An accomplished baritone and music journalist, Theodore Charles Stone also served for many years as president of the Chicago Music Association (CMA) and National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM). (read more.)
Charles Walton Papers
Charles Walton was a jazz drummer, music educator, and author of “Bronzeville Conversations,” a research and oral history project that documented the jazz and blues world in Black Chicago. (read more.)
Edith Wilson Papers
Highly regarded as a blues singer and vaudeville performer by the 1920s, Edith Wilson went on to perform on radio, television, and as a spokeswoman for the Quaker Oats Company. (read more.)
Reverend Addie Wyatt Papers
The papers of Rev. Addie Wyatt and Rev. Claude Wyatt document important aspects of African American life in Chicago and the course of mid-twentieth century movements for racial, gender, economic and political justice. (read more.)