UBC Library acquires NAACP papers documenting the Black freedom struggle in 20th Century America

UBC Library has acquired access to the digital database  the NAACP Papers, documenting the Black freedom struggle in 20th Century America.  This collections consists of digitized primary source materials documenting the major campaigns of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) from 1909 to 1972. This collection is made available through the ProQuest History Vault. Permanent access to select content was purchased thanks to funding provided by the UBC President’s Academic Excellence Initiative (PAEI).

ProQuest History Vault’s coverage of the Black Freedom Struggle offers the opportunity to study the most well-known and also unheralded events of the Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century from the perspective of the men, women, and sometimes even children who waged one of the most inspiring social movements in American history. The NAACP Papers collection is fully searchable and available remotely to UBC Library users with a CWL through Indexes and Databases and the library catalogue.

The NAACP Papers collection is divided into six modules, which contain internal memos, legal briefings, and direct-action summaries from NAACP branch offices located throughout the United States of America. These archival materials provide a unique view into the NAACP’s early legal battles to fight discrimination of Black students in schools and their campaigns to end segregated education. The collection also includes key records from campaigns for voting rights, fair employment legislation, and against residential segregation and discrimination against Black servicemen and women in the US military.