History & Geography

Electronic Resources Available Through DBRL

• African-American History Online
  Provides expansive and in-depth information on the people, events, and topics important to the study of Black history.
• Biography Resource Center
  Do a name search to find biographical information on a huge range of people or browse categories such as African Americans.
• HeritageQuest
  Search the US census 1790-1950, selected Revolutionary War records, a variety of local and family histories plus articles of interest to genealogy researchers.
• NewsBank
  Check the Suggested Topics for information on topics including the Civil War, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and celebrating Black History Month.
• SIRS
  Leading Issues section includes information on civil rights and racial profiling.

Local Events & Exhibits

• Black Studies Program – University of Missouri
  The central mission of the Black Studies Department is to prepare students to critically understand, conduct research, and interpret the complex histories, societies, and cultures of people of African descent in the United States, Africa and the Diaspora.
• City of Columbia’s Black History Month Events
  Includes presentations, panel discussions and performances.
• Columbia Parks and Rec
  Columbia Parks and Recreation offers several activities in honor of Black History Month in February.
• Columbia Values Diversity Celebration
  Annual “community breakfast and celebration of the life and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”
• We Always Swing Jazz Series
  See full schedule of performers and links to the artists’ websites.

Local Newspaper Articles

• Columbia’s Historic Sharp End
  A series of articles in the Columbia Daily Tribune commemorating the importance of the Black-owned business district that was the cultural heart of the Black community for more than 50 years.
• “Early Black senator had local roots”
  Article by Bill Clark about Blanche Kelso Bruce, published in the Columbia Daily Tribune, Dec 23, 2013.
• “Jumping society’s hurdles. Black horseman made big name for himself”
  Article by Jim Harrison about Tom Bass, published in the Columbia Daily Tribune, July 21, 2009.

Local Landmarks

• Blind Boone Home
  The Victorian house at 10 N. 4th Street in Columbia was the home of John W. “Blind” Boone, born in 1864, who overcame blindness, poverty and discrimination to become an amazing composer and concert pianist.
• Frederick Douglass High School
  A history provided by the Columbia Public Schools.
  Nomination form entry from the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
• Lincoln University
  Founded in 1866 by the 62nd and 65th United States Colored Infantries, Lincoln University now stands as the oldest Historically Black College and University west of the Mississippi and the only institution in America founded by African American Civil War veterans.
• Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Garden – Columbia
• McQuitty Shotgun House
  The historic shotgun house originally residing at the corner of Garth and Worley was moved to the Boone Junction Historic Village next to the Walters-Boone County Historical Society.
• St. Paul A.M.E.
  African Methodist Episcopal Church founded in 1880. The current church building was dedicated in 1892.
• Second Christian Church
  The Second Christian Church is the smallest of the three Black churches in Columbia. The present church building was built in 1927.
  Nomination form entry from the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
• Second Missionary Baptist Church
  Founded in 1866 by “recently emancipated slaves and free people of color who banded together,” it was originally called the African Union Church. The current church at 4th and Broadway was completed in 1894.
  Nomination form entry from the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Genealogy

• The African Names Database
  Identifies over 91,000 Africans aboard slave ships, using name, age, gender, origin and place of embarkation.
• African-American Genealogy: What’s Out There?
  Part one of a five part series by Traci L. Wilson-Kleekamp for the Missouri State Archives.
• Ozarks Digital Library – Black Families of the Ozarks
  “Digital copy of Greene County Archives Bulletin Number 45: Black Families of the Ozarks” – from the Springfield-Greene Library.

History – Local Resources

• Lloyd L. Gaines Digital Collection – MU Law Library
  This project seeks to illuminate Lloyd Gaines’ life, document his pioneering pursuit of true equal rights to a legal education, and memorialize the long overdue, posthumous recognition of his personal sacrifice in the advancement of civil rights.
• State Historical Society Black Community Photographs Collection
  Photographs from 1958-1963 depicting Black businesses and communities in Columbia.

History – State Resources

• African American Experience in Missouri
  This digital collection includes digitized manuscripts by or about African Americans, including personal papers, records of Black organizations and churches, collections with significant information on African Americans, civil rights, slavery, and daily life.
• Eyes on the Prize: Interviews
  Washington University’s collection of interviews from the definitive documentary on the Civil Rights Movement.
• George Washington Carver National Monument & National Park – Diamond, Missouri
  Information on field trips, activities for kids and teaching resources.
• Missouri Historical Society
  Search the Missouri Historical Society’s online collections, using “African Americans” as a search term.
• Missouri State Archives – Missouri’s African American History
  Includes educational materials, a timeline of Missouri’s Black history and links to original documents available online.
• Musicians Local Number 627 – The Cradle of Kansas City Jazz
  History of the African American Musician’s Union by the University of Missouri–Kansas City University Library.
• Progress Amidst Prejudice: Portraits of African Americans in Missouri, 1880-1920.
  Includes the African American Portrait Database from the collection of the Missouri State Archives.

History – National Resources

• A&E Biography Channel
  Featured biographies, places and events plus an interactive Black History timeline and information on upcoming programming on the A&E Biography channel.
• Documenting the American South
  “Internet access to texts, images and audio files related to southern history, literature and culture” from the library collection of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• History Channel
  Black history interactive timeline, Black history milestones, profiles of African American icons and information on upcoming programming on the History channel.
• Library of Congress
  • African American History Month
    The Library of Congress has access to books, manuscripts, historic maps, photos, documents, audio and video documenting the American experience.
  • The African American Pamphlet Collection, 1822-1909
    Text and images from pamphlets published by African American authors including first-person accounts of slavery.
  • Library of Congress Web Guides
    Choose from a wide list of topics on American history, literature and culture including “The African-American Mosaic.”
  • Library of Congress Resource Guide
    A guide to online documents and websites related to the African American experience plus a selected bibliography for adult and younger readers.
• NAACP Records
  Since 1964, the Library of Congress has served as the official repository of NAACP records, the “cornerstone of the Library’s unparalleled resources for the study of the Civil Rights Movement.”
• National Archives – African American Research
  Find online documents and texts about famous and notable African Americans in the National Archives.
• Slave Narratives from the Federal Writer’s Project
  • Library of Congress, American Memory
    Full page texts of slave narratives collected by the WPA program.
  • Voices Remembering Slavery: Freed People Tell Their Stories
    A sample of transcripts and some sound files form the slave narratives collected by the WPA from 1936-1938.

Local Events for National Women’s History Month

• Programs and Resources at DBRL
• Women’s History Month at the University of Missouri

Women Throughout History

• American Women Collection from the Library of Congress
  This link is a gateway for searching the Library of Congress’ extensive digital collection.
• Living the Legacy: The Women’s Rights Movement 1848-1998
  Provides historical background and a timeline of the Women’s Rights Movement.
• National Archives
  Organized by topic, these links point to some of the best online resources & digital projects about the many facets of American women’s history and their lives.
• National Organization for Women
  The “largest grassroots organization of feminist activists in the United States.”
• National Women’s History Alliance
  A resource for teachers, students, parents, public employee organizations and individuals.
• Women’s History Exhibits in the Digital Public Libraries
  Website brings together some of the world’s best digital collections showcasing women’s issues across history.
• Women’s History at the Smithsonian Museum
  Site includes teacher resources and links to digital collections.
• Women’s History Month
  A website developed by the Library of Congress. Includes links to various United States government websites.

Biographies

• Famous Missouri Women
  Want to learn more about Helen Stephens, AKA, “The Fulton Flash,” Josephine Baker or other famous women of Missouri? The State Historical Society of Missouri profiles famous Missouri women.
• Encyclopedia Britannica
  This site includes video, biographies, maps and timelines about 300 influential women throughout history.
• Women Come to the Front
  Library of Congress exhibit on women journalists, photographers and broadcasters during World War Two.

Databases

• American Women’s History Online
  Covers the important people, events, legislation and issues relevant to the study of women’s history in the United States.
• Biography Resource Center
  Biographies on more than 5,300 people from key reference sources plus full-text articles from magazines and newspapers.