African American Studies at Beinecke Library

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

  • Brava! at the Beinecke shines spotlight on women in theater

    February 28, 2022

    ansberry is one of a cast of dozens of women featured in “Brava! Women Make American Theater,” an exhibition on view at Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library through July 22. Drawing on archival materials from the Beinecke’s collections, the show shines a spotlight on women’s contributions to the American stage, sharing the stories of playwrights, producers, directors, actors, costume designers, choreographers, stage managers, and other professionals involved in making theater. It begins in 1787 with “The Contrast” — the first play professionally produced in the United States — and continues through to the present day.

  • Jonathan Edwards and slavery: An interview with Edwards Center Director Kenneth Minkema

    February 23, 2022

    Kenneth Minkema is Executive Editor of The Works of Jonathan Edwards and Director of the Jonathan Edwards Center (link is external) at YDS. The Center supports inquiry into the life, writings, and legacy of the iconic 18th-century theologian (and Yale alumnus) by providing resources that encourage critical appraisal of his historical importance and contemporary relevance. Earlier this academic year, Minkema joined Yale University’s efforts to uncover and account for the university’s historical involvement in slavery and racism.

  • Students present research detailing Yale’s history with slavery (Yale Daily News)

    February 4, 2022

    On Monday, three students from the “Slavery, Race and Yale” fall seminar shared historical findings about the University’s ties to slavery. The students spoke virtually at a Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library event entitled “Yale & Slavery Research — Student Perspectives.” Taught by Professors Edward Rugemer and Crystal Feimster with teaching fellow Teanu Reid, the “Slavery, Race and Yale” seminar developed from the Yale and Slavery Research Project and its mission to explore and detail Yale’s history with racial slavery from its inception in 1701 through the late-19th century. Miguel Ceballo-Countryman ’23, Patrick Hayes ’24 and Mackenzie Hawkins ’22 each dis

  • Goldsby named Donnelley Professor of African American Studies and English

    December 9, 2021

    Goldsby’s digital scholarship has been a model for scholars across and beyond the humanities, and has changed how researchers and archivists approach the study of Black American culture. Most recently, her work as the co-principal investigator of the Black Bibliography Project, a collaboration with colleagues at Rutgers University and archivists at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, has made understudied works by Black authors available and accessible to new audiences through digital finding aids and new guidelines and standards for cataloguing Black literature.

  • Yale’s Beinecke Library Acquired 200+ Prints by Legendary Photographer Gordon Parks (Culture Type)

    November 20, 2021

    AN IMPORTANT REPOSITORY of images, books, and materials documenting African American history and culture, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University announced the addition of more than 200 photographs by Gordon Parks to its collection. The prints were acquired directly from The Gordon Parks Foundation and include selections from 11 of the legendary photographer’s most poignant and prized series capturing African American life.