Black History at Duke University

These collections are prepared by Duke University Archives staff to provide brief overviews of popular topics in Duke University's history. You may want to begin your research by studying the materials in these collections as a way of orienting yourself to this topic.

• Student Activism Reference Collection, 1934-ongoing
• Campus Groups Reference Collection, 1892-[ongoing]
• Student Organizations Reference Collection, 1913-[ongoing]
• Black History at Duke Reference collection, 1948-2001 and undated

Primary source materials on African American students at Duke can be found in the archival collections listed below.

Please note that administrative office records are restricted for a period of twenty-five years from the origin of the material. To use these materials, permission must be obtained from the office of origin and the University Archivist.

• Associated Students of Duke University Records, 1965-1993: Includes photographs and correspondence related to a 1978-1979 yearbook of African-Americans at Duke called Ebony Visions)

• Black Graduate and Professional Student Association Records, 1988-1989: Includes materials on the 1988-1989 Julian Abele Awards and Recognition banquet; these awards celebrate the presence of African Americans on campus

• Black Student Alliance Records, 1969-2006

• H. Keith H. Brodie, President, Records, 1963-1994 (Includes files on 30th anniversary of black undergraduate students, as well as Brodie's speeches to black applicants and current students)

• Douglas M. Knight Records, 1949-1970 (Includes file on Black Solidarity Committee, faculty committee on the concerns of black students, and the Allen Building protest)

• Theodore W. "Ted" Minah Records and Papers, 1941-1975 and undated: The "plaques" folder in box 25 contains documentation about the creation of the Afro-American Society's plaque, hung above their table in the Cambridge Inn.

• Minister to the University (Dean of the Chapel) Records, 1940-1984: Includes surveys from black students on quality of life and student services at Duke, as well as materials related to Duke course "White Racism" and to 1972 YM-YWCA conference on racism

• Office of Minority Affairs Records, 1969-1993: Includes general files on black graduate and undergraduate students at Duke, the Black Student Alliance and other organizations for black students, the Office of Black Affairs, the President's Council on Black Affairs, the Black/White Relations Task Force, as well as materials on Duke's recruitment of black students. Also includes scrapbooks of clippings and flyers related to black student activities on campus

• President's Committee to Address Discrimination in the Classroom Records, 1982-1989: Convened in 1988, this committee conducted an extensive survey of students to assess perceptions of discrimination among students of different racial backgrounds. Survey results were analyzed and presented in a report to President Brodie, along with recommendations to eliminate racial discrimination at Duke.

• A. Kenneth Pye, Chancellor, Records and Papers, 1960-1983: Includes file on black students at Duke and on the Afro-American Society

• Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, Office of the Dean Records, 1934-2003: Includes materials on Afro-American Society, Association of African Students, Black Student Alliance, and Black/White Relations Student Task Force

• Woman's College Records, 1928-1974: Includes materials on the 1970 events series "Beauty of Black Week" and on the Allen Building Takeover

• University Archives Photograph Collection, 1861-ongoing: Includes photographs of Allen Building Sit-In and Takeover, Vigil, as well as of the Duke students who participated in the the Durham Woolworth's Sit-In