African Americans
A
A.M.E. Church (Paris, Mo.) Record Books, 1880-1933 (C4722)
0. 2 cubic foot (2 volumes)
Quarterly conference minutes and financial records of the A.M.E. church.
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African American Celebration Poster and Program, 1895 (C2844)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
Poster and program of a celebration by the African American population of Clinton, Missouri, on 3 August 1895.
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African American Heritage in the Ozarks Collection, 2021-2023 (SP0078)
31 oral history interviews
The African American Heritage in the Ozarks Collection contains oral history interviews, transcriptions, and photographs related to the African American Heritage in the Ozarks project coordinated by the State Historical Society of Missouri from November 2021 to November 2022. The interviews cover a wide range of topics related to the African American experience in the Ozarks including family, community, education, religion, travel and leisure, labor, and military service.
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African American Heroines of Jericho Guiding Star Court No. 15, Joplin, Missouri Records, 1916-1959 (R0970)
(30 folders)
These are records of the African American organizatin of the Heroines of Jericho at Joplin in Japser County, Missouri. The records consist of minutes of meetings, memership records, attendance rolls, miscellaneous papers, financial records, and communications to and from the Grand Court of Missouri.
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African Americans in St. Louis Collection, 1920-1991 (S0036)
0.5 cubic foot, 21 folders
The African Americans in St. Louis Collection is an artificial collection containing histories, unpublished manuscripts, programs, directories, reports, pamphlets, and articles documenting St. Louis's African American Community from 1920 to 1991.
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African-American Healing Arts and Lore Collection, 1996 (S0749)
0.5 cubic foot, 5 folders, 2 audio cassettes
The records of the African-American Healing Arts and Lore Collection documents methods of natural healing passed down from generation to generation through interviews and public discussions. Additionally, the collection contains correspondence, grant proposals, meeting minutes, and budget narratives. Included in this collection are two cassette tapes with audio recordings. The first recording is a group discussion and performance about the relationship between song and healing arts; the second recording is of a group interview discussing various natural remedies for common ailments.
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African-American Pioneers in Journalism Collection, 1920-1980 (S0624)
1 cubic foot, 15 cassette tapes, 15 folders with transcripts
The African American Pioneers in Journalism and Broadcasting Oral History Collection contains photographs, cassette tapes, and oral history transcripts on journalists and broadcasters from the St. Louis African-American community. Subjects of interest include Bernie Hayes and Gloria Pritchard.
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Kamau Agyei a/k/a Carroll L. Jenkins Collection, 1986 (K1023)
0.2 c.f.
Kamau Agyei was a musician, as secretary-treasurer the Musicians Protective Union Local No. 627 and president of the Mutual Musicians Foundation as well as other organizations. Includes photocopies of articles about him.
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Albert Wenzlick Real Estate Company Report, 1926 (S0026)
0.01 cubic foot, 1 folder, 36 pages
This collection contains an unpublished 36-page report titled "Studies and Analyses Covering a Proposed Colored Amusement and Building Project to be Located in Saint Louis, Mo." In the report, the Albert Wenzlick Real Estate Company proposes the erection of an entertainment and residential complex containing a theater, dance hall, five retail stores, a bowling alley, and 28 efficiency apartments for African Americans in St. Louis.
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Allen Chapel A.M.E. Collection, 1959-1982 (K0820)
3.6. cubic feet
The Allen Chapel A.M.E. Collection contains files related to Hazel Browne Williams’ service as a board member of the African American church in Kansas City, Missouri. The collection includes church bulletins and programs, correspondence, board and financial reports, newsletters, conference information, newspaper clippings, and board minutes.
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Alley-Brewer Family Letters, 1857-1866 (C0196)
0.16 cubic feet (8 folders)
Letters to Margaret E. Brewer Alley and her husband, Hadley Alley, Mercer County, MO, from her brother James S. Brewer, a Civil War soldier with the 28th Illinois Volunteer Infantry; from George W. and John W. Deen who address her as sister; and from other brothers and sisters. Comments on army matters and family business.
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Alpha Kappa Alpha, Career Achievements Among Black Women in St. Louis, Missouri Collection, 1974 (S0101)
0.01 cubic foot, 1 folder
The Alpha Kappa Alpha Collection contains material that documents the display Career Achievements Among Black Women In St. Louis, which was exhibited in branches of the St. Louis Public Library in 1974. The collection contains brief biographies of 23 Black career women of St. Louis, Missouri, along with their photographs. Also included are the original exhibit labels.
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Alpha Kappa Alpha, Gamma Omega Chapter Scrapbook, no date (S0108)
1 microfilm roll
Scrapbook contains correspondence, photos, newsclippings, programs, hisotry, and biographies of members of the St. Louis Chapter of the oldest academic soroties for black women in the United States.
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Henrietta Ambrose Papers, 1887-1999 (S0698)
3.5 cubic feet, 96 folders, 3 oversize folders, 666 photographs, 7 volumes
The Henrietta Ambrose Papers includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, awards, memorial service programs, scrapbooks, graduation programs, meeting minutes, and photographs. Together they chronicle Henrietta Ambrose's interest in the public life of Webster Groves, Missouri.
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Anniversary Club Records, 1915-1978 (S0388)
0 .4 cubic feet
The Anniversary Club is the oldest continuing black men's social organization in St. Louis. Members, who are from business and the professions, meet once a month to socialize and to hear talks on issues of concern to African Americans. The collection includes bylaws, meeting minutes, and two attendance books.
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Antioch Baptist Church Souvenir Program, 1979 (S0418)
0.01 cubic foot, 1 folder
A souvenir program and history for the 100th Anniversary Celebration of a prominent African American St. Louis church.
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John Appleby Letter, 1848 (C0498)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
Typescript copy of a letter to his parents, Berlin, Tennessee, from Dade County, Missouri, January 2, 1848. The letter describes local prices of land, enslaved persons, stock, and grain; national and local politics. Sketch of Appleby by his great-nephew, A.B. Appleby.
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"As I Recall" Oral History Project Records, 2006 (C4280)
0.2 cubic feet (8 folders), 11 CDs, 13 audio cassettes, 1 computer disc
The "As I Recall" Oral History Project records contain audio recordings and some transcripts from a collaborative project between KBIA-FM and the State Historical Society of Missouri. Most oral histories in this collection were conducted by Gary Kremer, Director of the State Historical Society, in 2006.
Auroran Club, Phyllis Wheatley Branch, YWCA Scrapbooks, 1958-1981 (S0391)
0.25 cubic feet
The Auroran Club, Phyllis Wheatley Branch, YWCA Scrapbooks collection contains programs, histories, photographs, newspaper clippings, and invitations of the Auroran Club of the Phyllis Wheatley Branch of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) Metro St. Louis.
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Charles Bannister Photograph Collection, 1940s-1950s (S0583)
0.01 cubic foot, 1 folder, 31 photographs
Charles Bannister worked as a photographer in his native St. Louis, Missouri. The collection contains thirty images documenting African Americans in St. Louis, civil rights activists, prominent entertainers, nightlife, and the Lamb’s Club on Delmar.
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John T. Barker Letter, 1951 (C1589)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
John Barker's letter to William E. Kemp, Democratic Mayor of Kansas City, MO, gives Kemp advice on what he would need to do if he ran for U.S. Senator from Missouri and who else might run for the seat.
Charles Merlin Barnes Papers, 1892-1965 (C2802)
8 cubic feet
The Barnes Papers consist of the diaries, correspondence, photographs, financial records, and miscellaneous material of a Marston, Missouri, businessman and University of Missouri graduate. The Barnes family owned and operated a series of successful business enterprises in southeastern Missouri during the early twentieth century.
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Basye Family Papers, 1812-1960 (C2505)
3.9 cubic feet
Correspondence, legal documents, clippings, account books, scrapbooks, photographs, Bible records, and papers collected to establish the Basye family genealogy. Included are Bowling Green Methodist Episcopal Church and Cumberland Presbyterian Church registers, and early letters describing activities and family life in Missouri and other states, notably California and Wisconsin. Mining, the California gold rush, and the Civil War are also described. Numerous correspondents are women.
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Benecke Family Papers, 1816-1989 (C3825)
90.8 cubic feet (7592 folders, 62 volumes, 413 glass plate negatives), 4 audio tapes, 5 audio discs
Correspondence, business and law firm records, civic, political, legislative, and personal papers of a German American family of Brunswick, Missouri.
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Arthur A. Benson II Papers, 1975-1986 (K0250)
593 c.f.
Legal records, documents and working papers related to the plaintive's case in the Kansas City Desegregation case, Chinyere Jenkins v. Kansas City Missouri School District.
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Chuck Berry Project Research Papers, 1958-1984 (S0196)
0.04 cubic feet, 13 folders, 2 microfilm rolls
The Chuck Berry Research Project Collection contains newspaper clippings, research papers, and oral histories chronicling Kenn Thomas and George Lipsitz’s effort to document the life and career of singer and songwriter, Chuck Berry.
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Mary McLeod Bethune Draft Statements, 1945 (S0079)
0.01 cubic foot
This collection consists of typescript drafts of statements Bethune wrote near the end of World War II for an unspecified conference of African American organizations. In the statements, Bethune demands “the eradication of all handicaps upon African American’s political, social, and economic life.”
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Bibliography of Material Pertaining to Black History at the State Historical Society Library, no date (S0400)
0.1 cubic foot
The Bibliography of Material Pertaining to Black History in the State Historical Society of Missouri Library is a list of library and archival materials concerning African-American history that the State Historical Society of Missouri possessed in the 1960s and 1970s.
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Bill of Sale for Adisson by Forrest and Maples, 1855 (C2017)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
Photostat of a bill of sale for Adisson, an enslaved 22-year old, who was sold by Forrest and Maples to V. Beckworth for $1000 on July 9, 1855.
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Bill of sale for Constance and her daughter Mary, 1824 (C0298)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
Bill of sale for Constance, an enslaved 30-year-old woman, and her daughter Mary, an enslaved 1-month old girl, who were sold by George Day of Randolph County, Illinois, to James A. James for $400 on October 2, 1824.
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Bill of sale for Isaac, 1819 (C1841)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
Copy of bill of sale for Isaac, an enslaved boy, who was sold by Dennis Callahan to William Callahan for $600 in Bath County, Virginia, on January 20, 1819.
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Bill of sale for Lucy, 1842 (C1588)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
Bill of sale for Lucy, an enslaved woman, sold by Mason McCormack to John M[arshall] Yates, [Randolph County, MO], May 24, 1842. Witnessed by C.F. Burckhartt and R.G. Gilman. Also includes a biographical sketch of John Marshall Yates (1795-1872).
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Bill of sale for Rossy, Nelson, and infant, 1808 (C1567)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
Bill of sale for three enslaved people sold to Daniel Munro, Sr., Warren County, Kentucky, November 10, 1808, by Benjamin Ray. Witnessed by John Ray, William Ray, and Daniel Munro, Jr.
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Bird Family Papers, 1831-1959 (R0170)
0.1 cubic foot (5 folders)
The Bird Family Papers contain photocopies of miscellaneous correspondence, estate papers, land records, business records, and biographical materials pertaining to the Bird, Byrd, Moore, and Hunter families of southeastern Missouri. The papers concern the business and estates in Mississippi, New Madrid, and Scott counties in Missouri and the Bird estate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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Black Jack Project Records, 1968-1976 (S1227)
0.5 cubic foot
This collection contains a timeline, research on housing by the Inter-Religious Council, and newspaper articles on Black Jack, Missouri, compiled by the Parkview Heights Corporation.
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Black Jack, Missouri, Housing Controversy Collection, 1973-1976 (S0007)
0.05 cubic foot, 13 folders
The collection contains court documents, memoranda, newspaper clippings, and a University of Missouri-St. Louis student paper regarding the city of Black Jack, Missouri's attempt to prevent the Park View Heights Corporation from building an integrated housing complex within its borders.
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Black Pages Collection, 1984-2010 (S0578)
0.4 cubic foot, 9 folders
This collection contains issues of Black Pages, a telephone directory of African-American businesses in the St. Louis area. Publisher Melvin Jones began Black Pages in 1984 and publishes the directory annually.
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Henry William Blair Papers, 1876-1894 (C2224)
0.66 cubic feet (33 folders)
Correspondence and other papers of a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from New Hampshire. Arranged chronologically.
Blind Boone Memorial Foundation, Inc. Papers, 1886-1976 (C3664)
0.4 cubic feet (60 folders)
Included in this collection are some of the compositions of John William "Blind" Boone, a musician and composer of classical and ragtime music. Also included are orchestrations and choral arrangements of Boone's music, correspondence, programs, and posters from a memorial concert in 1961. Correspondence concerning recovery of Boone's piano and posters and tickets from some Boone concerts are also part of the collection.
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"Blind Boone's Piano Music", 1998 (CA5761)
1 CD
Audio recording of music composed by African-American John W. "Blind" Boone, performed by Frank Townsell.
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Abner Blize Papers, 1830 (R0579)
0.01 cubic foot (1 folder)
The Abner Blize Papers consist of an agreement between Abner Blize and Nathaniel Bacon of St. Louis County, Missouri, regarding the control of the bondage of Charles, an enslaved person in the estate of John Bacon.
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Anita Lyons Bond Papers, 1964-1995 (S0656)
0.2 cubic foot, 4 folders
The Anita Lyons Bond papers document her life and career as a civil rights activist, her involvement in Missouri politics, and her presidential appointment to the Missouri Citizens Advisory Committee to the United States Civil Rights Commission. The collection contains correspondence writings, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and pamphlets.
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Book Lovers Club Program, 1978-1979 (S0354)
0.01 cubic foot
Booklovers Club. Literary Club for Black women. 1978-1979 program guide.
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Book Lovers' Club Records, 1915-2011 (K0901)
2.25 c.f.
Organizational records of the oldest African American women's club in Kansas City. Includes minutes, yearbooks, meeting programs, photographs, financial records, and other related materials.
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Boone County Black Archives Collection, 1867-2014 (C4057)
0.6 cubic feet (38 folders), 1 video cassette, 4 compact discs, 1 computer disc, 1 DVD
The Boone County Black Archives Collection is an artificial collection documenting the lives of Blacks living in Boone County, Missouri. The materials include photographs, scrapbooks, correspondence, news clippings, booklets, and other ephemera.
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John William "Blind" Boone and Wesley Boone Papers, no date (C2883)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
Publicity poster announcing the appearance of Blind Boone in Columbia, MO. Program of piano concert of Little Blind Wesley, nephew of Blind Boone.
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John William "Blind" Boone Piano Roll, c. 1920 (CA5843)
1 piano roll
Performance by Blind Boone of "Nearer My God To Thee," published by the QRS Company, c. 1920.
William C. Boone Letter, 1841 (C2209)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)
To William Carson, from Fayette, MO, Aug. 12, 1841. Informs Carson that Claiborne Fox Jackson wants to hire Ben for two months at $12.50 per month, and Jackson will provide clothes.
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Bootheel Project Records, 1993-1997 (C3928)
3.2 cubic feet (122 folders), 157 audio cassettes, 9 audio discs, 2 video cassettes
The records of the Bootheel Project document the art, culture, and heritage of the Missouri Bootheel. The records include photographs, color slides, audio cassettes, transcripts, and video cassettes of interviews with Bootheel residents. Sound recordings, planning documents, field workers’ notes, and miscellaneous items collected throughout the project are also included.
Botts-Lewis Family Letters, 1837-1877 (C0213)
0.06 cubic feet (3 folders)
Letters from the Botts and Lewis families in Virginia to the Peyton and James Botts families in Missouri. Farm crops, operations, land conditions, prayer meetings, collection of debts, slave prices, family matters, and other miscellaneous topics.