Research Guides: Researching Historically Marginalized Communities: Black/African American

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, 1937-2013
The 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.

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Series V: Diversity Issues, 1990-2013, contains reports and research on diversity, multicultural affairs, affirmative action issues, and strategic planning for diversity. There are also reports on undergraduate African-American enrollment, results from a 1999 campus climate survey, and documents from "Growing and Sustaining a Diverse and Inclusive Environment: 2010-2013 VT Diversity Strategic Plan."
Black Appalachians Oral History Project, 1991
The 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-1970s
This 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 | Ms1988-009
This 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-Present
The 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, 1866-1991
The 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.

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The Christiansburg Industrial Institute (CII) was founded in 1866 in Cambria (now Christiansburg), Virginia, by Civil War Union Captain Charles S. Shaeffer as a private primary school for black children. Through the support of the Friends Freedmen's Association in Philadelphia (a Quaker organization), Shaeffer received financial backing for the school. In 1896 Booker T. Washington molded the program to one that would emphasize technical training for blacks. A 185-acre farm was purchased as the school's campus in 1905. In 1934 the Montgomery County School Board began its management of the school. CII was converted in 1947 to a regional high school for black students, and closed in 1966 when the local schools were integrated.
Gary Ann Giovanni Culinary Papers, 1997-2004
Papers 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, 1992
Oral 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 date
Norma 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.

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The materials found in the collection includes a curriculum vitae, a reprint of an article (November 1987), "Designing Women," from The California Executive, and photographs of and information about several of her design projects in California.
Patrick A. Bowmaster Papers, 1994-1995
Included 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".

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Patrick A. Bowmaster was a graduate student in history at Virginia Tech. The collection consists of papers that Bowmaster wrote for his graduate classes.
Piedmont Tuberculosis Sanatorium (Burkeville, Virginia) Collection, 1926-1971
The 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.

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The Piedmont Tuberculosis Sanatorium (Burkeville, Virginia) Collection includes materials from 1926-1971. The collection contains information relating to the operation of the sanatorium from 1918-1965. The collection contains administrative papers, published works of doctors, ephemera, and images.
Records of the Office of Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action, 1986-2006
The 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, 1982-2017
This 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, 1956-1976
This 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 1859-1861
Virginia 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, 1921
The 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 1920-1930
This 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 Tech
This 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 Guide
A 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, 1913
This 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...").

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Special Collections and University Archives also has Jeffrey T. Wilson's 1928 diary in collection Ms2011-015. The finding aid is available here: https://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaxtf/view?docId=vt/viblbv00982.xml.
New Town: Across the Color Line Digital Exhibition
New 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.

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In a campaign to uncover and highlight the history of lost, forgotten or marginalized groups and events, Virginia Tech’s Public History program participated in a collaborative project that would emphasize the geographical, spatial and population dynamics of New Town by providing this socially engaging and experiential exhibit for the public.

This digital version of the Virginia Tech Public History program’s efforts highlights the work done through the physical exhibition and through additional outside research.
Virginia Tech Black Oral Histories, no date
A collection of oral history interviews with prominent black figures in Virginia Tech history.

Researching Historically Marginalized Communities

A mural in the Black Cultural Center painted by artist Rhakim Smith in 2018.

Suggested search terms

About Special Collections and University Archives

Black or African American?

Suggested books & manuscripts in Special Collections and University Archives

Online resources