Research Guides: HIST 3322/ 4333/ 5386: African American Civil Rights Movement: Find Primary Sources from the Library

Librarian

Contact:

936-294-1520
kclaunch@shsu.edu
Library (NGL) Room 223G

Help with Primary Sources

How to Understand and Find Primary Sources

What Did They Call...?

Language changes constantly over time. For example, African American is common today, but historically people have used Afro-American, black, colored, Negro, African, slave, etc. How do you know what word historical people used for an idea?

Search the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary (or find it in the library in the 2nd floor Reference section, call number PE1591 .H55 2009, volumes 1-2).

Historical Document Collections

American Periodicals, 1740-1940 This link opens in a new window U.S. periodicals, including special interest, general, children's, women's, literary, and professional. Includes American independence and Civil War articles.
History Vault: Black Freedom Struggle & NAACP Papers This link opens in a new window Documents diverse topics of the black Civil Rights Movement from the last decade of 19th century through last decade of 20th century. Click "more" for details of content.
Documents diverse topics of the black Civil Rights Movement from the last decade of 19th century through last decade of 20th century. Includes:
- Portions of the official NAACP Papers, including selected branch files by region.
- Federal government agency records.
- Papers from major organizations such as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Black Power Movement groups, and many more.
- Papers from major civil rights figures such as Bayard Rustin, Mary McLeod Bethune, and others.
Periodicals Archive Online This link opens in a new window Journal articles, 1802-2000, international and in many subject areas. Journals in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and other Western languages.
Presidential Recordings Digital Edition: The Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon White House Tapes This link opens in a new window Hundreds of hours of presidential audio recordings (and full text transcripts) from the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations. Covers many major issues, from the Kennedy Assassination and the Civil Rights Movement to the Vietnam War, the War on Poverty, and much more. Also includes photo and video galleries and a linked timeline.
U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1994 This link opens in a new window Reports, documents, journals of U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, 1817-1994. Every publication, over 415,000 documents, from 15th - 103rd Congresses.
U.S. Congressional Serial Set Maps This link opens in a new window Over 65,000 maps, 1872-1979, 42nd Congress 3rd session - 96th Congress 1st session. Diverse topics such as diseases, railroads, migrations, explorations, international events.

Historical Newspapers & Periodicals

African American Newspapers 1827-1998 This link opens in a new window Approximately 270 U.S. newspapers, 1827-1998, document African American experiences.

The Afro American Newspaper, 1902-1992
Freely available from Google News Archive. Many issues from 1906-1917 are titled Afro-American Ledger (below).

America's Historical Newspapers 1690-1998 This link opens in a new window American and U.S. local newspapers from all 50 states, ranging from 1690 to 1998.

The Crisis Magazine of the NAACP (April 1911-present)
(NAACP / Google Books)

Dallas Morning News Historical Archive 1885-1984 This link opens in a new window Documents major events in Texas, the U.S. and the world, 1885-1984. Full papers: articles, photos, graphics, maps, political cartoons, editorials, ads, recipes, etc.

The Liberator Magazine, 1961-1964

New York Times Historical, 1851 to 3 years ago This link opens in a new window Every page of every issue of the New York Times, from 1851 until approximately 3 years ago.
The Times Digital Archive, 1785 to 2014 This link opens in a new window "World's newspaper of record." Covers all major international historical events. Every page of every issue, from 1785 to 2014.

The Washington Afro-American Newspaper, 1938-1988
Freely available from Google News Archive.
The Washington Afro-American Newspaper, Red Star Edition, 1975
Freely available from Google News Archive.

Video: How to Search America's Historical Newspapers

Click the icon in the bottom right corner of the video player to view it in full screen!

Video: Using Dates to Search History Databases

Many primary source databases cover a long period of history, so you can really improve your searching by knowing how to search only the dates you need.

Click the icon in the bottom right corner of the video player to view it in full screen!

Find More Printed Primary Sources

To find more primary sources in the Library's book collection, try these search strategies on the catalog's Advanced Search page:

1. Enter some words to describe your topic in the keyword row. In the subject row, enter the word "sources".

2. Enter some words to describe your topic in the keyword row. In the subject row, enter a word such as "correspondence", "diaries", or "personal narratives".

3. Enter some words to describe your topic in the keyword row. In the next row, change the first box to also say keyword, and enter the phrase "documents OR documentary" in that second search box.

4. For primary sources written by a certain person, click Browse on the right side of the search page. Enter the person's name backwards, like "Washington George" and click subject. In the list of subject headings that appear, look for headings that end with words such as "correspondence", "diaries", "notebooks sketchbooks etc.", "manuscripts", or "oratory."

Video: Finding Primary Sources in the Catalog

Click the icon in the bottom right corner of the video player to view it in full screen!

Printed Collections

Often a variety of primary documents are collected together into a book (usually related to a time period, topic, or theme).

Below are just a few collections in the Library; each book contains many original documents (note: many of these books will contain both primary and secondary content, so use your judgement or ask a librarian for help in distinguishing the two).

Search the library catalog for more sources . . .

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Archives, 1950-1990

Guide to the ACLU Archives, 1950-1990, Series 2
Call Number: REF JC599 .U5 A547 Guide
Use this guide to help you dig into the microfilm archives detailed below.
American Civil Liberties Union Archives, 1950-1990, Series 2: ACLU Foundation Project Files
Call Number: JC599 .U5 A547 REEL 1-42, 1st floor Microfilm
Use the guide detailed above to help you dig into the archive files. Includes administrative, litigation, publicity, and correspondence files related to African American Civil Rights as well as Vietnam War protests, conscientious objection, and amnesty.

Other Printed Collections

The Civil Rights Movement: An eyewitness history
Call Number: REF E185.61 .W548 1993
Uses speeches, articles, and other writings of those involved to trace the history of the civil rights movement in the United States, primarily from 1954 to 1965.
The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Call Number: E185.97 .K5 A2 1992, volumes 1-7
Faithfully reproduces the texts of Dr. King's letters, speeches, sermons, student papers, and articles.
v. 1. January 1929-June 1951
v. 2. July 1951-November, 1955
v. 3. December 1955-December 1956
v. 4. January 1957-December 1958
v. 5. January 1959-December 1960
v. 6. September 1948-March 1963
v. 7. January 1961-August 1962
Documentary History of the Modern Civil Rights Movement
Call Number: E185.61 .D64 1992 - 4th floor
Kennedy, Johnson, and the Quest for Justice: The civil rights tapes
Call Number: E185.61 .R816 2003 - 4th floor
Actual transcripts--most never before published--from the secret recordings that Presidents Kennedy and Johnson made of White House meetings and telephone conversations between the violent crisis in 1962, when James Meredith attempted to enroll at the all-white University of Mississippi, and the groundbreaking passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.
Living Through the Civil Rights Movement
Call Number: E185.61 .L595 2007 - 4th floor
Martin Luther King, Jr. , Malcolm X and the Civil Rights Struggle of the 1950s and '60s: A brief history with documents
Call Number: E185.61 .H69 2004 - 4th floor
Women and the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1965
Call Number: E185.61 .W828 2009 - 4th floor
The Scottsboro Boys in Their Own Words
Call Number: KF224 .S34 S35 2014 - 4th floor
Collection of letters written by the nine African American defendants in the infamous March 1931 Scottsboro, Alabama, rape case. Though most of the defendants were barely literate teenagers when incarcerated, over the course of almost two decades in prison they learned the rudiments of effective letter writing and in doing so forcefully expressed a wide range of perspectives on the falsity of the charges against them. Includes some correspondence from attorneys and members of Scottsboro support committees. The original grammar, syntax and vernacular of the defendants are maintained in a desire to preserve the authenticity of these letters.
The Black Power Mixtape
Call Number: E185.615 .O47 2013 - 4th floor
Features images recently discovered in the archives of Swedish television; shows the Black Power movement as never seen before. Interviews with key figures, such as Stokely Carmichel, Angela Davis, and others who shaped the struggle are mixed with the contemporary reflections of leading activists, musicians, and scholars.
Black Panthers Speak
Call Number: E185.615 .B54646 2014 - 4th floor
Collected party writings. Tells of the party's court battles and acquittals; its positions on black separatism, the power structure, the police, violence and education; as well as songs, poems and political cartoons.
Ed King's Mississippi: Behind the Scenes of Freedom Summer
Call Number: Read Online - Or print is available at E185.93 .M6 K46 2014 (4th floor)
Features more than forty unpublished black-and-white photographs and substantial writings by the prominent civil rights activist Reverend Ed King. The images and text provide a unique perspective on Mississippi during the summer of 1964.