University Archives Student Research Guide: Black & African American-centered collections
Black and African American History in the University Archives - An Introduction
The University Archives holds collections by and about Black and African American individuals and organizations in Western New York. Personal papers comprise some of the collection. Notable collections include the papers of Dr. Lydia T. Wright, the first African American member of the Buffalo Board of Education, and Eva M. Noles, the first African American nurse in the city and eventual Director of Nursing at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Records of institutions and organizations include those of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, founded in 1861, and the Michigan Avenue YMCA, which opened its doors in 1928. Institutional records of UB individuals, departments, and student organizations are also present, notably the records of the Black Student Union. Selections of some collections have been digitized and are accessible via UB Digital Collections, including some of the Black Student Union periodicals and ledgers of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church.
Images
Dr. Joseph Robert Love, the first known Black graduate of the School of Medicine, circa 1880. Taken from biographical file.
Malcolm X debating with Rev. Clarence Hillard to a UB audience, April 24, 1963. #AVC_D91_44_001
Angela Davis' Distinguished Speakers Series and Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration address, February 27, 2019. #RG 11-6-1410
Michigan Avenue Y.M.C.A. Certificate of Award to Arthur O. Eve, circa 1967. #MS-0004
Dr. Lydia T. Wright at an event. #MS-0015
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Kleinhans Music Hall, November 9, 1967 #UA015-martin-luther-king-01
Spectrum article about activist Martin Sostre, March 1, 1972. Spectrum Vol 22. No. 60., page 1.
Recommended Collections
The following are collections in the University Archives related to Black and African American history in Western New York. You can use any of these resources to identify collections and primary sources of interest. You can also conduct your own keyword search via our Finding Aids Database. If you see the description of an item you would like to view, contact lib-archives@buffalo.edu.
- MS-4: Michigan Avenue Y.M.C.A. records
- MS-15: Lydia T. Wright papers
- MS-21: Buffalo Urban League reports
- MS-116: Sigma Pi Phi Alpha Kappa Boule records
- MS-125: Eva Noles papers
- MS-144: Uncrowned Queens Digital Oral History project
- MS-182: Attica Prison uprising printed materials
- MS-220: Artwork by incarcerated people at Monroe County Jail and 40 Years After the Attica Uprising: Looking Back, Moving Forward conference displays
- MS-244: Manhattan Hotel photographs
- MS-264: Georgia Burnette papers
- MS-269: St. Philip's Episcopal Church records
- 9/5/1366: Black Student Union collection
- 9/12/191: Joseph E. Nechasek collection on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- 11/6/1392: Office of University Events, William J. Regan papers
- 11/6/1410: Office of University Events Distinguishes Speakers Series images [also includes digital content]
- 17/F/146: Frank P. Besag papers
- 22/15/1023: Department of African American Studies records
- 48/F/1354: Frank J. Corbett papers
- Black Student Union periodical collection [digital collection]
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Buffalo [digital collection]
Online Resources
Use the following resources to supplement your primary source research.
- Black and African American Collections in the University Archives guide - Highlights some of the collections by or about Black and African American people and organizations in Western New York
- Finding Aids database
- Finding aids are documents that describe/list the items in archival collections
- Navigate to the link to conduct a search for a subject or topic to reveal relevant collections in the University Archives
- If you see the description of an item you would like to view, contact lib-archives@buffalo.edu
- Digital Collections
- UB Spectrum (1955-1979) via NYS Historic Newspapers
- Full-text searchable database, allowing you browse issues of the Spectrum, 1955-1979 (missing a couple years in the '60s)
- Navigate to search bar to conduct an advanced search
- See other years, 1950-1952 and 1952-1955 here
- After 1979, you can browse the Spectrum via Digital Collections, but this does not have a search feature