Historically Marginalized Communities Resources in Special Collections and University Archives: Black/African American
This guide includes information about which Special Collections and University Archives holdings contain materials about the history of historically marginalized communities.
Virginia Tech's College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences offers an undergraduate minor in Africana Studies and and Africana Studies concentration for both the M.S. in Sociology and Ph.D. in Sociology programs. These programs offer students an opportunity to "learn to critically assess the present cultural forces, structural forces, and historical conditions affecting the economic, legal, educational, social, and moral status of people of African descent." (Quoted description from the M.S. in Sociology Africana Studies Concentration site.)
Black or African American?
This question is not easily answered and is well beyond the scope of this guide. It is, however, relevant to consider when approaching research on the topic of people of African descent. Here is a good short article from Afro.com that introduces some of the thoughts around this topic. At Virginia Tech, it is common to find any people of African descent grouped under the term "black".
People of African descent, or black people, come from all over the world. It is important to consider the ways a person might identify or be identified by others when crafting a search for materials about this population.
The terms Black and African American are both commonly used at Virginia Tech but you might also find people referred to by their nation of origin (for example: Nigerian American, Somali American, Afro-Brazilian, Afro-Cuban, etc.).
When referring to issues of diversity or talking more broadly, it is also common to encounter the phrase "people of color". This phrase may refer to any people of color, not just those of African descent.
Suggested books & manuscripts in Special Collections and University Archives
- Associate Provost Patricia Hyer Papers, 1937-2013The Associate Provost Patricia Hyer Papers contains materials from her tenure as Associate Provost at Virginia Tech, covering subjects such as diversity, women's issues, the AdvanceVT program, and strategic planning at the university. The collection also includes some biographical information. Materials date from 1937 to 2013.
- Black Appalachians Oral History Project, 1991The Black Appalachians Oral History Project consists of approximately twenty-five taped interviews concerning black life in Appalachia, especially in Montgomery County, Virginia. The interviewees represented communities such as Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Elliston, Riner, Shawsville, and Wake Forest. Transcripts are currently available for six of the interviews.
- Black History Pamphlet Collection, 1920s-1970sThis collection consists of pamphlets relating to a variety of specific topics in black history, as well as pamphlets relating to both black history and Africa, the West Indies, Communism, and Asia. Materials date from the 1920s through the 1970s.
- Blacksburg Virginia Odd Fellows Records, 1902-1969 | Ms1988-009This collection contains information regarding the Blacksburg Virginia lodge, formed in 1904, of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, a mutual relief society for people of color. It consists of financial records, correspondence, and more for the men's lodge and for the women's organization, the Household of Ruth.
- Black Women at Virginia Tech Oral History Project, 1995-PresentThe materials in this collection include audio cassettes, digital audio tapes, and transcripts of interviews with some of the first black women students at Virginia Tech. The interviews focus on the entry experience of the individual into the Virginia Tech community and the interviewees' perceptions of the climate and attitudes within the university community, particularly as pertains to race and gender.
- Christiansburg [Virginia] Industrial Institute Historical Documents, 1866-1991The Christiansburg Industrial Institute (CII) materials consist of photocopied historical documents about the school, its history, and the alumni association. Many of the materials are from the Edgar A. Long papers held by Christiansburg Institute, Inc., a non-profit organization focused on preserving the remaining facilities and history of CII. Information about the non-profit can be found at www.christiansburginstitute.com.
- Gary Ann Giovanni Culinary Papers, 1997-2004Papers of Gary Ann Giovanni, a chef, caterer and cooking teacher active in Blacksburg, Virginia. The collection contains records, menus, and recipes from her catering jobs and from the cooking classes she taught for the local YMCA Open University. Also includes material related to the various community organizations for which Gary worked or volunteered, and some material associated with her sister, poet Nikki Giovanni.
- Hidden History: The Black Experience in the Roanoke Valley Cassette Tapes and Transcripts, 1992Oral history project designed to interview African American residents of Roanoke, Virginia, on the cultural, social, and political history of black people in the city. The collection consists of approximately forty-six interviews. Transcripts are available for forty of the interviews.
- Norma Merrick Sklarek Biographical Material, no dateNorma Merrick Sklarek was born in New York, NY, in 1928. Sklarek was a graduate of Barnard College and the School of Architecture at Columbia University. Sklarek was the first African-American woman to become a licensed architect in both New York (1954) and California (1962), and a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. She became a principal of the Jerde Partnership in Los Angeles, and director of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
- Patrick A. Bowmaster Papers, 1994-1995Included in this collection is a paper titled "Occupation - Soldier: The Life of Sgt. Emanuel Stance of the 9th U.S. Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers, the First African-American to Wind the Congressional Medal of Honor for Action in the Post-Civil War Period".
- Piedmont Tuberculosis Sanatorium (Burkeville, Virginia) Collection, 1926-1971The Piedmont Tuberculosis Sanatorium (Burkeville, Virginia) was a hospital open to African-Americans in order to treat tuberculosis from 1917-1965. Shortly after the sanatorium opened, a two-year school for training African-American nurses was opened.
- Records of the Office of Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action, 1986-2006The collection contains materials from Michele Holmes relating to Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action (EO/AA) at Virginia Tech from 1986 through 2006. It includes EO/AA minutes, affirmative action plans, proposals, grants, executive orders, and information on faculty recruitment, the Family Friendly Policy Task Force, and awards. It also contains materials relating to various events, including Black Alumni Reunions, and areas of concern as well as information regarding the work force and lists of black alumni.
- Records of the Virginia Tech Black Organizations Council, 1982-2017This collection contains a variety of material documenting the Virginia Tech Black Organizations Council, including operational records, information about member organizations, and documentation of organizational events. It also includes some material about other campus organizations such as the Jewish Student Union, Student Budget Board, and Asian American Student Union.
- Robert Younger Norman Papers, 1956-1976This collection contains the papers of Robert Younger Norman, an amry veteran, laborer, and singer. Most materials relate to the Pilgrim Gospel Singers, a Black gospel choir active in Virginia from 1951 through the 1970s, of which Norman was a member. Materials include correspondence related to performances, church programs and event flyers, financial notes, other personal notes, and other bills and official correspondence addressed to Norman.
- Virginia General Assembly Bill No. 233, circa 1859-1861Virginia General Assembly Bill No. 233 contains several amended versions of Bill No. 233. Each of the bills lists the rights and privileges given to free African-Americans living within the Commonwealth of Virginia. The bill also discusses the process by which a free person can be sold into slavery if they have been convicted of a crime.
- Virginia Republican Party Flyer, 1921The Virginia Republican Party Flyer lists the African American Republican candidates for Virginia elected offices in 1921 and includes Maggie L. Walker, the first American female bank president, as the candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction and John Mitchell, Jr., the editor of the Richmond Planet, as the candidate for Governor.
Online resources
- African-American Tenant Farmer Photographs (Clarksville, Virginia), circa 1920-1930This collection includes six photographs of a tenant farmer known as Aaron working a piece of land on the John T. Lewis, Jr., estate in Clarksville, Virginia. These photographs, taken around 1930, show the conditions in which tenant farmers lived and worked during the Great Depression.
- Black History at Virginia TechThis exhibit explores significant events surrounding the history of the Black community at Virginia Tech and the surrounding areas from the 1770's to today. It includes a timeline for the period before the 1950s and then a separate timeline for each decade since 1950.
- Christiansburg Industrial Institute Research GuideA guide to archival materials and other resources about Christiansburg Industrial Institute at Virginia Tech Special Collections and University Archives and elsewhere.
- Jeffrey T. Wilson Diary, 1913This online exhibit focuses on the 1913 diary written by Jeffrey T. Wilson (1843-1929). Wilson was a former enslaved person who spent most of his life in and around Portsmouth and Norfolk, Virginia. He worked as a bailiff in the Norfolk courts after leaving the U. S. Navy and wrote a column, "Colored Notes," for The Portsmouth Star from 1924 until his death in 1929. He outlived four wives and had at least twelve children. Wilson's diaries include entries on a range of topics from local news and politics, race issues in the South, and much of his personal history. The 1913 diary contains extra pages on which Wilson recorded events from that date in the past (i.e. "Fifty one years ago today...").
- New Town: Across the Color Line Digital ExhibitionNew Town, a predominantly African American community central to the history of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech and Montgomery County, advanced alongside Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI) through the better part of a century. The community eventually dissolved as Virginia Tech developed into the sprawling university that it is today.
- Virginia Tech Black Oral Histories, no dateA collection of oral history interviews with prominent black figures in Virginia Tech history.
A mural in the Black Cultural Center painted by artist Rhakim Smith in 2018.
Suggested search terms
Language used to describe marginalized populations shifts over time. Sometimes terms that would not be considered respectful today were in common usage in the past and may still yield valuable results when conducting research. Please note that search terms are always plural which leads to terms like "Blacks" showing up as subject terms in databases even though they are considered disrespectful.
- African Americans
- African diaspora
- Afro-Americans
- Afrocentrism
- Afrofuturism
- Black English
- Black lives matter movement
- Black nationalism
- Black power
- Blacks
- Caribbean Americans
- Caribbean people
- Civil rights movement
- Colored people
- Discrimination
- Equal rights
- Garifuna (Caribbean people)
- Haitian Americans
- Haitians
- Negroes
- Pan-Africanism
- Race relations
- Reconstruction
- Segregation
- Slavery
There are many more possible search terms depending on the specific focus of your research. If you need help crafting your search, please contact us.
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