Amistad Celebrates 100 Archival Collections!

In December 2009, the staff of the Amistad Research Center unveiled a new online finding aid database, which has brought unparalleled access to the Center’s unique archival holdings. Beginning with core research collections, such as the American Missionary Association archives, the papers of civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer, the papers of Harlem Renaissance figures such as Countee Cullen and Richmond Barthe, as well as historian Gwendolyn Midlo Hall and New Orleans mayor Ernest “Dutch” Morial, the database has continued to grow.

Pages from the life reminiscences of
teacher and missionary Esther W.
Douglass regarding her work in
McLeansville, North Carolina, in 1880.

With the help of students and volunteers, the Center’s staff reached the milestone of 100 online collection inventories when the finding aid for a collection of letters and a diary written by American Missionary Association teacher and missionary Esther W. Douglass went live recently. In addition to the archival finding aids listed in the database, over 500 accession records for various donations given to the Center since its founding in 1966 are also available to a global audience of researchers, students, teachers, and media.

Amistad would like to thank the many individuals who have assisted with this project over the course of the last 18 months. As a commitment toward greater access to its collections, the Center endeavors to continue to add more collections to the database. Look for a couple major announcements regarding new online finding aids in the next few days...

Posted by Christopher Harter

(Image from the Esther W. Douglass Papers. Image may not be reproduced without permission.)