African American Studies at Beinecke Library

Collections, events, and news from the James Weldon Johnson Memorial Collection of African American Arts and Letters.

Welcome Giamatti Felllow Nadia Nurhussein
October 1, 2012
Welcome A. Bartlett Giamatti Fellow Nadia Nurhussein, University of Massachusetts, Boston. Fellowship project: Documenting Abyssinia: Imperial Ethiopia and African-American Literature.
James Weldon Johnson Memorial Lecture
September 12, 2012
Arnold Rampersad is the author of many books, including: Ralph Ellison; The Life of Langston Hughes; The Art and Imagination of W.E.B. DuBois; Jackie Robinson: A Biography; Days of Grace: A Memoir (1993), co-authored with Arthur Ashe.
Solomon Sir Jones Films
September 4, 2012
The Beinecke library is pleased to announce that the Solomon Sir Jones film collection is now available for research.
"Beauty and Success"
August 2, 2012
Madam C. J. Walker (1867-1919) was a leading African-American businesswoman in the 1910s, and a pioneer in the beauty industry. Her products not only promised “good hair” and a “smooth, clear complexion” but also success for black women, a narrative that reflected Walker’s own ambition and remarkable rise as the first free-born American citizen in a family of slaves.
88 Books that Shaped America
July 12, 2012
The Library of Congress has recently identified a list of important American books: 88 Books that Shaped America.
New Research from the JWJ Collection
July 12, 2012
Article Abstract: Contemporary social history is premised on the idea of writing histories of ordinary people.
Beinecke Fellow Named Poet Laureate
June 7, 2012
Congratulations to 2009 James Weldon Johnson Memorial Fellow Natasha Trethewey, the next Poet Laureate of the United States.
Travel & Tourism
June 4, 2012
The James Weldon Johnson Memorial Collection includes various materials documenting 20th century African American travel and tourism.
Student Research in Beinecke Collections
May 29, 2012
The Negotiation of Authority in Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Visual Art and Writing
Student Research in Beinecke Collections
May 24, 2012
“Lost in the Zoo: The Art of Charles Sebree”