News & Blog

In honor of Black History Month, the UCF Libraries and the Department of Africana Studies would like to announce the acquisition of five new African American primary source databases. These collections, which were acquired as part of a technology fee proposal, fill a crucial need for primary source material related to the far-ranging field of African Americana studies. They contain a treasure trove of unique material that will be invaluable to subjects such as Africana studies, history, political science, legal studies, literature, art, and more. Here’s what’s included in the package:

Black Abolitionist Papers: Brings together a disparate collection of primary sources that tell the story of the abolitionist movement in the voices of the activists themselves. The collection ranges from 1830-1865 and contains reform newspaper articles, essays, editorials, speeches, sermons, lectures and more.

Black Thought & Culture: A foundational collection that consists of 100,000 of documents spanning 250 years of African American history. Highlights include the transcript of the Muhammad Ali trial, a full run of The Black Panther newspaper, and 2,500 pages of exclusive Black Panther oral histories.

Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive: 1.5 million pages of historical documents including 7,000 books and pamphlets as well as 80 newspapers and a dozen manuscript collections.

Slavery and the Law & Slavery in America: The most comprehensive collection of legal documents pertaining to slavery and emancipation. Highlights of this unparalleled collection include Petitions to State Legislatures, Petitions to Southern County Courts, and State Slavery Statutes, a master record of the laws governing American slavery from 1789–1865.

All five collections can be accessed via the Africana Studies database page. If you have any questions, please contact John Venecek, the Africana Studies subject librarian.

Join us for a lunch break Open Heart Open Mic on Tuesday, February 7th from 12-1:30PM in John C. Hitt Library room 223. The UCF Libraries is partnering with the Women’s & Gender Studies Program to present an ongoing open mic event series.

You are welcome to bring a story, poem, song, or any other vocal presentation to share – on any topic.

For more information, check our event page.

The national celebration of African American History was started by Carter G. Woodson, a Harvard-trained historian and the founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, and first celebrated as a weeklong event in February of 1926. After a half century of overwhelming popularity, the event was expanded to a full month in 1976 by President Gerald Ford.

Here at the library we are passionate about celebrating African American culture and history (no seriously, I got a massive amount of emails with suggestions). We are proud to present our top 22 favorite books by, and/or about, African Americans, plus two streaming films.

Click the link below for full descriptions and catalog links.

UCF Libraries Bookshelf: Black History Month