The Last Negroes at Harvard website is a companion to the book of the same name by Kent Garrett and Jeanne Ellsworth. The book tells the story of the Harvard class of ’63, whose Black students fought to create their own identities on the cusp between integration and affirmative action. The Last Negroes at Harvard website provides information on the students, the authors, reviews, and events. The website also contains a documentary trailer featuring interviews with some of the students.
See also:
A history of Black students and events at Harvard. Includes sections on Martin R. Delany, Richard T. Greener, W.E.B. Du Bois, W. Monroe Trotter, Booker T. Washington, Eva Dykes, Merza Tate, Alain Locke, and others.
Book: Blacks at Harvard : a documentary history of African-American experience at Harvard and Radcliffe (HUG 3215.8)
Available online.
Temporarily available online via HathiTrust (requires login).
Book: The Black revolution on campus by Martha Biondi
A history of the black student movement on college campuses in the United States during the 1960’s and 1970’s and how it relates to civil rights and black activist history. Chapter 6 discusses the student movement for Black Studies with a focus on Harvard University.
Video: Colloquium with Orlando Patterson: ‘Race and Diversity at Harvard Over the Past Fifty Years’
Seminar with sociology professor Orlando Patterson about the history of race and diversity at Harvard.
Photo Exhibit: The Extraordinary Commission: Student Activism and the Birth of Afro-American Studies at Harvard
Gallery exhibit at the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research featuring photographs documenting the student rallies and protests leading to the development of the African American Studies Department at Harvard.
Website: African and African American Studies 50th Anniversary Symposium
Official website of the Harvard African and African American Studies 50th Anniversary Symposium held February 28-29, 2020. Includes the event program and event schedule of panels and speakers.
Video: African and African American Studies 50th Anniversary Symposium, February 28, 2020 Day 1 of a symposium celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Harvard African and African American Studies Department. Includes performance by the Kuumba Singers of Harvard College and a roundtable discussion on the founders and early days of the department featuring Lee A. Daniels (AB 1971), Jeffrey P. Howard (AB 1969), Octavia Hudson (AB 1971), sociology professor Orlando Patterson, and former Dean of Faculty of Arts and Sciences Henry Rosovsky.
Video Playback Instructions and Troubleshooting
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Video: 50 Years of African and African American Studies at Harvard
Tribute video created for the 50th Anniversary of the Harvard African and African American Studies Department featuring reflections from Harvard alumni who concentrated in African and African American Studies. Speakers discuss how the major has shaped their life and the impact of their educational experience personally and professionally.
Digital collections: Umbra Search African American History
“Umbra Search is a digital library that aggregates materials documenting African American history and cultural life from archives, libraries, museums, and other US repositories. Umbra Search features thumbnail images and descriptive information about photographs, manuscripts, documents, books, sound files, video files, and other freely available resources.”
Try searching for Harvard student or other keywords for material relating to the Black student experience at Harvard.