BOOKS
Daniel M. Johnson Collection contains more than 5,600 books. Of special note is the extensive collection of books on the history of ancient Egypt, Nubia and West African kingdoms. African-American literature of the “New Negro” era is another strong component of this book collection.
Dorothy Porter Wesley Collection contains more than 2,000 books to conduct research on African-Brazilian history and culture, the history of early African-American families, women and gender studies and historically black social organizations and publishers.
Jack Abramowitz Collection concentrates on the history of African-Americans in the southern United States primarily during the slavery and reconstruction eras.
Frederic Gomes Cassidy Collection focuses on the history and culture of the Caribbean islands with a strong emphasis on Jamaica.
Charles Mills Collection provides an outstanding collection of books relating to the art and music of the Harlem Renaissance cultural movement during the 1920s and 1930s. Accompanying this collection are jazz music recordings on CDs, audiocassettes and record albums.
Black Heritage Library Collection contains more than 300 volumes selected from the collection of slave narratives, biographies, literature and historical texts originally collected as part of the Negro Collection at Fisk University Library.
EPHEMERA AND MANUSCRIPTS
The ephemera and manuscripts consist of well over one million items. Included are calendars, broadsides, posters, postcards, game kits, obituaries, vertical files, sheet music and collectable stamps.
Alex Haley Collection includes eight unfinished manuscripts, multiple letters and postcards from prominent individuals and fans.
Niara Sudarkasa - Papers contains nearly 200 archival boxes of documents. These papers also provide research on Yoruba language and culture, minorities in higher education and the Black Power Movement in the U.S.
Sixto Campano - Sheet Music Collection contains approximately 1,000 pieces of well-preserved sheet music. Song themes cover early 19th century plantation life in the American South, early 20th century popular music and the stereotypical themes associated with black face minstrelsy.
Esther Rolle Collection focuses on the life of this Pompano Beach, Florida native. Included are artifacts, news clippings, books, photographs and a record album by Rolle titled In the Garden of My Mind.
Margaret and Cato Roach Collection consists of personal papers, awards, pamphlets and news clippings documenting these Fort Lauderdale pioneers and mentors in the field of education and civil rights during the 1960s and 1970s.
ARTWORK AND ARTIFACTS
An awe-inspiring collection of artwork and artifacts was created from donations by African art collectors Arthur B. Steinman and Mary Sue and Dr. Paul Peter Rosen, award-winning African-American artists Charles Mills and Jonathan Green, illustrators Ashley Bryan, Kadir Nelson and Jerry Pinkney, and Jamaican artist Errol “Elgo” Lewis.