Microfilm and Microfiche: African-Americans

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Organizational Records & Personal Papers, Part 1" for online access.

• Part 1: Minutes of National Conventions, Publications, and President's Office Correspondence
• Part 2: President's Office Files, 1958-1968

The National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, Inc. (NACWC) is the oldest African American secular organization in existence today. The NACWC series provides researchers access for the first time to the records of this crucial social movement. This collection documents the founding of the organization and the role that it has played in the political, economic, and social development of the modern African American community, as well as its involvement in national and international reform movements.

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Organizational Records & Personal Papers, Part 2" for online access.

The Arthur W. Mitchell Papers, 1898-1968 comprise a collection of some 73,000 pages within ProQuest History Vault's module Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Organizational Records and Personal Papers, Part 2. Held by the Chicago History Museum Research Center of the Chicago Historical Society, the correspondence and collected professional papers span a period of 70 years, with particular emphasis on the period 1935-1943 during which Mitchell was the first Black American elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Congress. The collection documents the activities and insights of the Congressman who was a keen chronicler of the changing role of Black Americans in society and on a handful of key civil rights issues, among them: anti-lynching legislation, abolishment of Jim Crow laws that permitted racial segregation in interstate transportation, and increased employment opportunities for Black Americans tied to Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and the entry of the U.S. into World War II.

• Microfilm HN 53 .N375
• 91 reels
• 4-volume guide -- Reference HN 53 .N375
• part 1
• part 2
• part 3
• series A (1913-1940)
• series B (1940-1950)
• part 1 : meetings of the Board of Directors, records of annual conferences, major speeches, & special reports, 1909-1950
• part 2 : personal correspondence of selected NAACP officials, 1919-1939
• part 3 : the campaign for educational equality; Legal Department & Central Office records, 1913-1950

Online guides to the following parts not available at UCF are available at the UPA Microform Collection link below:

• part 1 : meetings of the Board of Directors, records of annual conferences, major speeches, & special reports
• supplement 1 (1951-1955)
• supplement 2 (1956-1960)
• supplement 3 (1961-1965)
• supplement 4 (1966-1970)
• part 3 : the campaign for educational equality;
• series C (1951-1955) - Legal Department & Central Office records
• series D (1956-1965) - General Office Files
• part 4 : the voting rights campaign, 1916-1965
• (1916-1950)
• supplement 1 (1956-1965)
• part 5 : the campaign against residential segregation, 1914-1965
• (1914-1955)
• supplement 1 (1956-1965)
• part 6 : the Scottsboro Case, 1931-1950
• part 7 : the Anti-Lynching Campaign, 1912-1955
• series A (1912-1953) - Anti-Lynching Investigative Files
• series B (1916-1955) - Anti-Lynching Legislation & Publicity Files
• part 8 : discrimination in the criminal justice system; Legal Department & Central Office records, 1910-1955
• series A (1910-1939)
• series B (1940-1955)
• part 9 : discrimination in the U.S. Armed Forces, 1918-1955
• series A (1918-1955) - General Office Files, Armed Forces Affairs
• series B (1940-1950) - Armed Forces Legal Files
• series C (1940-1950) - the Veterans Affairs Committee
• part 10 : peonage, labor, & the New Deal, 1913-1939
• part 11 : special subject files, 1912-1939
• part 12 : selected branch files, 1913-1939
• series A - The South
• series B - The Northeast
• series C - The Midwest
• series D - The West
• part 13 : the NAACP & labor, 1940-1955
• series A - subject files on labor conditions & employment discrimination
• series B - cooperation with organized labor
• series C - Legal Department files on labor
• supplement (1956-1965)
• part 14 : race relations in the international arena, 1940-1955
• part 15 : segregation & discrimination: complaints & responses, 1940-1955
• series A - Legal Department files
• series B - administrative files
• part 16 : Board of Directors correspondence & committee materials, 1919-1955
• series A (1919-1939)
• series B (1940-1955)
• supplement 1 (1956-1965)
• supplement 2 (1966-1970)
• part 17 : national staff files, 1940-1955 & supplement, 1956-1965
• part 18 : special subjects, 1940-1955
• series A - Legal Department files
• series B - general office files: abolition of government agencies - Jews
• series C - general office files: Justice Department White Supremacy
• part 19 : youth file
• series A (1919-1939)
• series B (1940-1955) - American-Jewish Congress - Motion Picture Project
• series C (1940-1955) - NAACP - Youth Builders
• series D (1956-1965)
• part 20 : white resistance & reprisals, 1956-1965
• part 21 : NAACP relations with the modern civil rights movement
• part 22 : Legal Department administrative files, 1956-1965
• part 23 : Legal Department case files
• series A (1956-1965) - The South
• supplement (1960-1972)
• section 1 - Alabama, Arkansas, & Florida
• section 2 - Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, & Virginia
• section 3 - Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, & Texas
• series B (1956-1965) - The Northeast
• supplement (1960-1972)
• section 1 - Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Main, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania & Rhode Island
• section 2 - New York
• series C (1956-1965) - The Mid & Far West
• supplement (1960-1972)
• section 1 - Ohio
• section 2 - Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, West Virginia, & Wisconsin
• part 24 : special subjects, 1956-1965
• series A - Africa - films
• series B - foreign affairs - leagues & organizations
• series C - life memberships - Zangrando
• part 25 : branch department files
• series A (1941-1955) - regional files & special reports
• series B (1956-1965) - regional files & special reports
• series C - branch newsletters & printed matter
• series D (1956-1965) - branch department general subject files
• part 26 : selected branch files, 1940-1955
• series A - The South
• series B - The Northeast
• series C - The Midwest
• series D - The West
• part 27 : selected branch files, 1956-1965
• series A - The South
• series B - The Northeast
• series C - The Midwest
• series D - The West
• part 28 : special subject files, 1966-1970
• series A - Africa-Poor People's Campaign
• series B - Powell, Adam Clayton-White Supremacy
• part 29 : branch department files
• series A - field staff files, 1965-1972
• series B - branch newsletters, annual branch activities reports & selected branch department subject files, 1966-1972
• series C - branch newsletters & printed matter, 1966-1971
• series D - branch department general subject files, 1966-1970
• part 30 : general office subject files, 1966-1972
• series A - subject files

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Organizational Records & Personal Papers, Part 1" for online access.

A. Philip Randolph (1889-1979) was one of the leading black protest leaders of the twentieth century. He was best known as the editor of the Messenger (a radical Socialist journal), as organizer of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and as the leader of the 1941 and 1963 Marches on Washington.

The A. Philip Randolph Collection consists of the following series: Family Papers, 1942- 1963; General Correspondence, 1925-1978; Subject Files, 1909-1978; Speeches and Writings File, 1941-1978; Biographical File, 1945-1979; and Miscellany, 1920-1978.

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Federal Government Records" for online access.

This collection of Department of Justice files on civil rights offers a glimpse into the minds of ordinary men and women, both black and white, in the first half of the twentieth century. Ranging from 1911 until 1943, the documents center broadly on the practice of lynching and specifically upon the thousands of letters written to protest this form of extralegal "punishment." The core of the collection consists of two bundles of letters to the president, covering 1911-1941 and 1921-1940. Interspersed with the letters are clusters of documents on a variety of related topics: race riots, lynching investigations, press reports and meeting records from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), personal letters of complaint and requests for assistance, and newspaper clippings and memorandums concerning antilynching bills.

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Federal Government Records" for online access.

During World War I, approximately one-half million black Americans abandoned their southern homes and streamed into northern industrial centers, as the war economy, combined with the virtual cessation of foreign immigration and the mobilization of the armed forces, created new opportunities for black workers in northern industry. Known as the "Great Migration," this exodus continued during the next decade, with the movement doubling in volume. The urbanization and industrialization of black America continued for another half-century. This collection of documents from federal agencies focuses on the first decade of that long-term transformation of black America.

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Organizational Records & Personal Papers, Parts 1 and 2" for online access.

• Microfilm PN 4882.5 .S35
• 54 reels
• 55-page guide -- Reference PN 4882.5 .S35

Barnett founded and directed the Associated Negro Press.

UCF Library has microfilm for part of Series B (1945-1955) and part of Series C (1956-1964). The full collection is available online, including Series A (1928-1944).

• part 2 - Associated Negro Press organizational files, 1920-1966 - guide
• part 3 - subject files on Black Americans, 1918-1967 - guide
  • Series A, Agriculture, 1923-1966
  • Series B, Colleges & Universities, 1918-1966
  • Series C, Economic Conditions, 1918-1966
  • Series D, Entertainers, Artists & Authors, 1928-1965
  • Series E, Medicine, 1927-1965
  • Series F, Military, 1925-1965
  • Series G, Philanthropic & Social Organizations, 1925-1966
  • Series H, Politics & Law, 1920-1966
  • Series I, Race Relations, 1923-1965
  • Series J, Religion, 1924-1966
  • Series K, Claude A. Barnett, Personal & Financial, 1920-1967

Series 2: Africa and Other Foreign Interests, 1925-1966 -- contains approximately 46,000 pages of material on Africa through the perspective of American editor Claude Barnett, the founder of the Associated Negro Press (ANP). The focus of most of the collection material is on political, social, and economic developments in Africa, with an emphasis on the newly gained independence of countries that were former European colonies.

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Organizational Records & Personal Papers, Part 1" for online access.

• Microfilm E 185.97 .B34 B3...
• 32 reels
• 2-volume guide -- Reference E 185.97 .B34 B3...
• part 1 - Writings, diaries, scrapbooks, biographical materials, & files on the National Youth Administration and women's organizations, 1918-1955
  • 19 reels (only microfilm reels 14-18 are still available)
  • guide
• Bethune-Cookman College collection, 1922-1955: the administrative records of Mary McLeod Bethune as president of Bethune-Cookman College
  • 13 reels (microfilm is no longer available)
  • guide

Other online guides to materials can be found at the below link to UPA Microform Collection guides.

• part 2 - correspondence files, 1914-1955
• part 3 - subject files, 1939-1955
• part 4 - administration of Bethune-Cookman College & the Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation, 1915-1955

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Organizational Records & Personal Papers, Part 1" for online access.

Series A, Holdings of the Chicago Historical Society

• Part 1: Records of the BSCP, 1925-1969
• Part 2: Records of the Ladies Auxiliary of the BSCP, 1931-1968
• Part 3: Records of the BSCP Relations with the Pullman Company, 1925-1968

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Federal Government Records" for online access.

Subject files of Judge William Hastie, Civilian Aide to the Secretary of War.

William Henry Hastie, perhaps best known as the first African American federal trial judge, served the government in many capacities throughout his career. From 1940 to 1943, Judge Hastie served as civilian aide to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, specifically tasked to address any issues arising with African Americans in the military.

Subject Files of Judge William Hastie, Civilian Aide to the Secretary of War, chronicles Hastie's duties and daily interactions with African Americans attempting to overcome the systematic discrimination present in the government. The majority of Hastie's files contain personal correspondence from young African American men and their families seeking the opportunity to serve the government and assist the war effort. With the assistance of Truman K. Gibson and James C. Evans, Judge Hastie sought to provide young African American men with equal access to the military. The files show the frustrations associated with continued racial discrimination and segregation in the 1940s but also provide evidence of a growing movement for civil rights.

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Organizational Records & Personal Papers, Part 1" for online access.

As an organizer, strategist, and pioneer in the use of Gandhian tactics, Bayard Rustin (1910-1987) was one of the most influential black protest leaders of the twentieth century. Although he deliberately maintained a low profile throughout his fifty years of social activism, his skill at conceiving and planning protest demonstrations and his perceptive analysis of movement trends earned him the respect of wide sectors of the civil rights (and pacifist) movements. Moreover, his role as a behind-the-scenes adviser to both A. Philip Randolph and Martin Luther King Jr., allowed him to help shape the course of the post-World War II civil rights struggle.

In this arrangement there are four separate series of material: (1) Alphabetical Subject File; (2) Chronological Subject File; (3) Articles, Essays, Symposia Remarks, and Speeches; and (4) General Correspondence File.

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Organizational Records & Personal Papers, Part 2" for online access.

• Microfilm E 185.5 .C88
• 25 reels
• 77-page guide -- Reference E 185.5 .C88

"Papers that trace the history of CORE as a local and national organization and document its role in the civil rights struggles of this time period. The period covered most thoroughly is 1959 - 1964. The papers in the main collection are arranged in series according to the offices and departments by which they were designated when sent to the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Each series is arranged alphabetically by subject and each subject is arranged chronologically. The "Addendum" is a microfilm edition of the CORE papers held at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc. in Atlanta."

The main collection is 49 reels. UCF only had the 25 reel Addendum, but that microfilm is no longer available. The full collection is available online.

• Congress of Racial Equality Papers...
  • 1941-1967
  • Addendum, 1944-1968
  • Chicago Chapter, 1946-1966
  • Part 1: Western Regional Office, 1962-1965
  • Part 2: Southern Regional Office, 1959-1966
  • Part 3: Scholarship, Educational and Defense Fund for Racial Equality, 1960-1976
    • Series A: Administrative Files
    • Series B: Leadership Development Files
    • Series C: Legal Department Files

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Organizational Records & Personal Papers, Part 1" for online access.

• Part 1: ACOA Executive Committee Minutes and National Office Memoranda, 1952-1975
• Part 2: Correspondence and Subject Files on South Africa, 1952-1985

• Microfilm E 185.97 .L5 F23 1996
• 10 reels
• 36-page guide -- Reference E 185.97 .L5 F23 1996

Excerpts from the files are also available in the book, Malcolm X: The FBI File, by Clayborne Carson [BP223.Z8.L5794 1991]

See also FBI Freedom of Information Act Reading Room

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Federal Government Records" for online access.

The emphasis of the collection is on the desegregation of public schools, especially in the South after the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision of May 17, 1954. The collection, however, contains substantial material on other realms of racial discrimination, including the segregation of restaurants and other public facilities, sit-ins by students protesting this policy, the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott started by Rosa Parks and championed by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1955, discrimination in employment (including federal civilian departments and the armed services), discrimination in housing, and acts of violence against black citizens. The collection also contains documents on discrimination affecting other groups, including Indians, Jews, and Asians, as well as documentation of the efforts by states and localities to obtain federal funding for greatly needed school facilities construction.

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Federal Government Records" for online access.

• Records of the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, 1958-1973
• Records of the Interstate Commerce Commission on Discrimination in Transportation, 1961-1970
• Records of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
  • Police-Community Relations in Urban Areas, 1954-1966
  • School Desegregation in the South, 1965-1966
  • Special Projects, 1960-1970

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Organizational Records & Personal Papers, Part 1" for online access.

Part 1: Records of the President's Office -- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. served as president of the SCLC from its founding in 1957 until his assassination in April 1968. This edition consists of the President's Office records during Dr. King's tenure as well as a small number of public statements made by him between 1954 and 1957. The President's Office File consists of two series of records: Series I, Correspondence, 1958-1968 and Series II, Manuscripts and Appointment Calendars, 1954-1969.

Part 2: Records of the Executive Director and Treasurer -- Between 1957 and 1970 the SCLC had five executive directors. The records of four of these are preserved in the SCLC collection: John L. Tilley (1957-1959), Ella J. Baker (1958-1960), Wyatt T. Walker (1960-1964), and Andrew Young (1965-1967).

Part 3: Records of the Public Relations Department -- provide a good overview of the entire SCLC history from about 1960 when the department was established to disseminate information on Dr. King and the organization. Regular press releases and newsletters document all of the major episodes of the SCLC up through 1966. The records also provide much pertinent biographical material on King, including documentation of the mass media's growing interest in the SCLC leader. In addition, the Public Relations Department files hold an incomplete set of records of SCLC annual conventions and board of directors meetings dating from 1959.

Part 4: Records of the Program Department -- offer some of the most outstanding research opportunities in the SCLC collection. They include a wealth of primary material from the front lines of the civil rights movement, including field reports, survey materials, and correspondence.

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Federal Government Records" for online access.

FBI Files on Montgomery, Albany, St. Augustine, Selma, and Memphis.

The available FBI locale-oriented files, especially locales that were not the sites of FBI field offices (e.g., Montgomery, Albany, St. Augustine, and Selma), quickly reveal the extent to which FBI awareness of and interest in black activism was almost totally reactive in the South of the 1950s and 1960s. The FBI reaction was frequently to the onset of visible public action or appeals for change in the form of protest marches or demonstrations against racially discriminatory municipal officials and agencies.

• Microfilm E 185.61 .S916 1981 (no longer available)
• 73 reels
• 132-page guide -- Reference E 185.61 .S916 1981

"Microfilm edition of the papers of the SNCC in the Library and Archives of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Center for Nonviolent Change, Atlanta, Ga."

The microfilm is no longer available. See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Organizational Records & Personal Papers, Part 2" for online access.

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Federal Government Records" for online access.

• Microfilm JC 599 .U5 C49 1986
• 28 reels (UCF has reels 21-28)
• guide -- General Collection JC 599 .U5 C49 1986 Guide

pt. 2. The Papers of Burke Marshall, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights

UCF does not have microfilm for Pt. 1. The White House central files and staff files, and the president's office files (19 reels) but the content is available online in the "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century" database.

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Organizational Records & Personal Papers, Parts 1 and 2" for online access.

• Papers of the Revolutionary Action Movement, 1962-1996
• The League of Revolutionary Black Workers, 1965-1976
• Papers of Robert F. Williams, 1948-1996

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Federal Government Records" for online access.

• Microfilm JC 599 .U5 C5 1984
• 21 reels / 68-page guide -- General Collection JC 599 .U5 C5 1984 Guide
• Pt. 1. The White House central files. (15 reels) guide (UCF has reels 1, 4, 9-15)
• Pt. 2. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: administrative history. (3 reels) guide
• Pt. 3. Oral histories. (3 reels) guide
• Pt. 4. Papers of the White House Conference on Civil Rights guide [microfilm not available at UCF]
• Pt. 5. Records of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders guide [microfilm not available at UCF]

• Microfilm E 185.61 .U551 1991
• 2 reels
• 5-page guide -- Reference E 185.61 .U551 1991

See also FBI Freedom of Information Act Reading Room

• 76-page guide -- Reference PN 2277 .N4 F76

In 1963, the Free Southern Theater was organized by John O'Neal and Gilbert Moses to act as a cultural and educational extension for the Civil Rights Movement in the South.

Arranged by four major series with subseries: Administrative Series, Theater Production Series, General Correspondence Series, Financial Records Series.

• Microfilm E 185.615 .F3465 1986
• 2 reels
• 4-page guide -- Reference E 185.615 .F3465 1986

See also FBI Freedom of Information Act Reading Room

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Federal Government Records" for online access.

Part 1: The White House Central Files

This collection of documents is drawn entirely from the Human Rights (HU) classification in the White House Central Files (WHCF).

• Citizenship
• Equality
  • Education-Schooling
  • Employment
  • Housing
  • Voting
  • Women
• Freedoms
  • Civil Disturbances-Riots
  • Campus Disturbances
  • Speech
  • Worship (Religion)
• Genocide
• Ideologies

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Federal Government Records, Supplement" for online access.

Subject Files of Assistant Attorney General J. Stanley Pottinger (1973-1977) and Special Assistant Anne Clarke (1974-1977).

covers civil rights legislation and its enforcement from late in the administration of Richard M. Nixon (1973-1974) through the administration of Gerald R. Ford (1974-1977). The collection also contains select civil rights documents from earlier administrations, such as executive orders of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson relating to the status of women.

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Federal Government Records" for online access.

Part 1: Papers of the Special Assistant for Black Affairs, Sections A-D

The documents are those collected by the office of Louis E. Martin, special assistant to the president, whose primary (but not sole) focus was on civil rights issues and minority affairs. Although most documents concern black Americans, the collection contains interesting material on civil rights issues affecting Hispanics, Indians, and women.

One of the most significant features of this collection is its compilation of correspondence from a large number of civic and social associations, particularly black organizations, on civil rights and minority-related issues. Officials from these groups often present forceful policy proposals to President Carter or to Louis Martin and his deputies. These organizations include African Institute for the Study of Humanistic Values, Alliance of Black Businesswomen, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, American Business Council, Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History, Black Business Association of Los Angeles, various black colleges, Black Congress on Health and Law, Black Leadership Forum, Congress of National Black Churches, Congressional Black Caucus, Council of Urban League Guilds, Harlem Commonwealth Council, Joint Center for Political Studies, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Social Change, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, National Association of Manufacturers, National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs, National Bar Association, National Black Network, National Black Think Tank, National Black Veterans' Organization, National Caucus on the Black Aged, National Conference of Black Mayors, National Council of Negro Women, National Organization for Women, National Urban Coalition, National Urban League, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and United Negro College Fund.

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Federal Government Records, Supplement" for online access.

• FOIA Released Records on ...
  • Affirmative Action
  • Bob Jones University
  • Busing and School Desegregation
  • Civil Rights
  • Fair Housing
  • Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
  • the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988, Grove City College and the Civil Rights Restoration Act, and the Voting Rights Act of 1982
• Subject File of the White House Office of Records Management, 1981-1989

See the database "Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Federal Government Records" for online access.

This collection documents civil rights legislation and other human rights issues during the George H. W. Bush administration from 1989-1993. The collection is organized according to the White House Office of Records Management filing system. The documents cover the following categories: human rights, equality, education, employment, ethnic origin groups, right to housing, voting rights, women, freedoms, civil disturbances, genocide, and ideologies.