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Go directly to the collection, African American Perspectives: Pamphlets from the Daniel A. P. Murray Collection, 1818-1907, in American Memory, or view a Summary of Resources related to the collection.
The African-American Perspectives collection documents a wide range of events, topics, and issues
in African-American history and culture. This collection recreates
the public dialogue among African Americans a century ago, and highlights political, cultural, and social issues still debated today.
1) The materials cover important social issues and movements such
as race relations, the development of racial pride, migration
of African Americans to the North, and the colonization of Africa
by freed slaves.
 Daniel A. P. Murray (1852 -1925). Photographer unknown. Photograph, undated.
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Search on race relations, pride, migration, and
colonization. For example, search on pride
for text such as,
My first advice then to the black man would be, be not ashamed
of your race or color. Dare to be a black man, and accept the
position that God has assigned you, and do not believe that it
is an inferior or degrading one. Be a black man. It is as honorable
to be a black man as it is a white one. Aim to make yourself not
a white man, but a perfect black man. Have faith in your race,
in its capability and in its future. Give your presence, your
influence, your support to your own race and color.
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From the pamphlet: "A duty which the colored people
owe to themselves. A sermon delivered at Metzerott hall, Washington,
D.C., November 17, 1867 by Charles Brandon Boynton." |
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2) The collection covers changes in the political issues faced
and the political causes espoused by African Americans during
a one hundred year period.
 The 1st Vote. Artist unknown. Wood engraving, in
Harper's Weekly, November 16, 1867. |
Search on politics and government for text such as,
Never in human history did men so belie their own professions
as did our forefathers when they set up, what they claimed to
be, a free government and then made constitutional provision for
the enslavement of a portion of the people. From the pamphlet: "A constitutional defense of the
Negro: by Algernon Sidney Crapsey; delivered at a mass meeting
of citizens in the Metropolitan A.M.E. Church, Washington, D.C.,
December 15, 1901." |
3) The collection presents an excellent selection of well known
African-American authors including Frederick Douglass, Booker
T. Washington, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Mary Church Terrell, Benjamin
W. Arnett, Alexander Crummel, and Emanuel Love. The collection
also includes less well-known African-American writers whose work
helps illuminate the concerns of generations from another era.
 [Stock poster announcing a lecture to be given by
Mrs. Mary Church Terrell, "1st Pres. of Nat'l Assoc. of Colored
Women," with an illus. of Mrs. Terrell]. Artist unknown.
Poster, undated. | Search on prominent authors by name. Search on specific topics to discover writings of lesser known authors. For example, search on Mary Church Terrell (President of the National Association of Colored Women) for text such as,
Consider if you will, the almost insurmountable obstacles which
have confronted colored women in their efforts to educate and
cultivate themselves since their emancipation, and I dare assert,
not boastfully, but with pardonable pride, I hope, that the progress
they have made and the work they have accomplished, will bear
a favorable comparison at least with that of their more fortunate
sisters, from the opportunity of acquiring knowledge and the means
of self-culture have never been entirely withheld. For, not only
are colored women with ambition and aspiration handicapped on
account of their sex, but they are everywhere baffled and mocked
on account of their race.
From the pamphlet: "The Progress of Colored
Women." |
4) The collection offers a strong chronicle of civil rights issues.
 Negro expulsion from railway car, Philadelphia.
Artist unknown. Wood engraving, in Illustrated London News, September
27, 1856. | Search on voting rights, franchise, rights of women, segregation, Jim Crow laws, violence, employment, and education. For example, search on segregation for text such as,
Mr. Morse introduced a bill to provide separate schools for colored
children, and for other purposes. This bill gave to all colored
children rights in the common schools, but where there was not
room for them, or where popular prejudice would not permit their
attendance, separate schools were to be provided.
From the pamphlet: "The black laws: speech of Hon. B.W. Arnett of Greene County, and Hon. J.A. Brown of Cuyahoga County, in the Ohio House of Representatives, March 10, 1886." |
5) Religion and the role of the church in African-American history
figure prominently in the collection. Many sermons and church-sponsored
conferences feature speeches on politics, government, and civil
rights. Other pamphlets focus on family life and personal issues.
 American Sketches: A Negro Congregation in Washington. Artist unknown. Wood Engraving, Illustrated London News, November 18, 1876. | Search on religion, sermon, church, and specific topics.
For example, search on sermon for text such as,
The conflict of right and wrong is not confined to the human heart,
but found in the laws and customs of men. They find themselves incorporated into the fundamental law of nations. In the declaration
of rights and wrongs, they are often sanctioned by the Legislators
formulating them, and spreading them on the Statute book. They
are seen in the judicial decision of the Supreme Court, in the
dissension of the minority from the majority. But though wrong
may be written in the constitution, and affirmed by the judicial
decision of a thousand courts, it will not be right. It may be
law, but law is not always right.
From the pamphlet: "Centennial Thanksgiving sermon,
by Benjamin William Arnett, 1876." |
6) One fascinating aspect of the collection is presentations on American
history by African Americans. Pamphlets such as "History
of American Abolitionism: Its Four Great Epochs" (1861),
"The Negro as a Soldier in the War of Rebellion" (1897),
and "Chronology of the War with Spain" (1898) document
how history has been written and perceived by African Americans
over time. These historical narratives were written at important moments in history, when the issues were
passionate, contemporary concerns. Search on specific
topics or titles of pamphlets. The collection especially is
strong in titles that reflect on the meaning, experience, and
memory of the Civil War.
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