African American Communities

African American Communities is a collection of primary source material related to African American community life from the mid-19th century through the late 20th century. It focuses on communities in Atlanta, Chicago, and Brooklyn and towns and cities in North Carolina. Material types include oral histories (including audio and video files), correspondence, leaflets and pamphlets, magazines and periodicals, legal documents and official records, photographs, maps, ephemera, and images of objects. Key themes include desegregation, urban renewal and housing problems, civil rights activities and protests, race relations and community integration, and African American culture. The collection includes archival materials from the following institutions:

• Atlanta History Center
• Richard J. Daley Library, University of Illinois at Chicago
• Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• The Newberry Library
• Weeksville Heritage Center

Additional features include essays by academic and collection specialists, themed visual galleries and guides, community case studies, and an interactive exhibition on the African American community of Weeksville in Brooklyn.