Locating Primary Sources - America's Great Migration - Greensburg Campus

Locating Primary Souces in Library Databases

African American Communities This link opens in a new window
A diverse range of primary source material is showcased in this collection that focuses on race relations across social, political, cultural and religious arenas. Focusing predominantly on Atlanta, Chicago, Brooklyn, and towns and cities in North Carolina this collection presents multiple aspects of the African American community. Through pamphlets, periodicals, correspondence, official records and in-depth oral histories, it reveals the challenges of racism, discrimination and integration, and the expressions of a unique African American culture and identity.
Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Organizational Records and Personal Papers, Part 1 (ProQuest History Vault) This link opens in a new window
The Organizational Records and Personal Papers bring a new perspective to the Black Freedom Struggle via the records of major civil rights organizations and personal papers of leaders and observers of the 20th century Black freedom struggle. The three major civil rights organizations are the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs. Papers of civil rights leaders included in this module are those of the civil rights and labor leader A. Philip Randolph; the long-time civil rights activist and organizer of the March on Washington, Bayard Rustin, and the papers of the pioneering educator Mary McLeod Bethune. Through records of Claude A. Barnett’s Associated Negro Press, this module also branches out to cover other aspects of African American life in the 20th century, like religion, sports, education, fraternal organizations, and even the field of entertainment.
Historical Statistics of the United States This link opens in a new window
Presents mainly US census data for the nation as a whole, such as immigration statistics by country of origin or mortality rates by disease, ranging back to the 1800s.
Historic Pittsburgh This link opens in a new window
Historic Pittsburgh is a digital collection that provides an opportunity to explore and research the history of Pittsburgh and the surrounding Western Pennsylvania area on the Internet. It is a joint project of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Most of the materials in Historic Pittsburgh's Full-Text Collection were published or produced before the early 1920s and are out of print or not readily accessible.
NAACP Papers: The NAACP's Major Campaigns - Scottsboro, Anti-Lynching, Criminal Justice, Peonage, Labor and Segregation and Discrimination Complaints and Responses (ProQuest History Vault) This link opens in a new window
This NAACP module focuses on the NAACP’s efforts regarding anti-lynching, peonage, and discrimination in employment and the criminal justice system. A rich set of records in this module is the NAACP file on one of the most celebrated criminal trials of the 20th century – the case of the Scottsboro boys. In this case, nine young black men were accused of raping two white women on a train in northern Alabama. Sixteen days after their arrest, eight of the nine teenagers were sentenced to death in the electric chair. All eight escaped execution when the Supreme Court, in the landmark case of Powell v. Alabama, ruled that the defendants had been inadequately represented by counsel.
North American Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window
When complete this collection will include approximately 150,000 pages of published letters and diaries from individuals writing from Colonial times to 1950, plus 4,000 pages of previously unpublished materials. Drawn from more than 1,000 sources the collection represents all age groups, ethnicities, regions and the famous and the not so famous.
The Sixties: Primary Documents and Personal Narratives This link opens in a new window
A place to find primary source material and personal narratives from the United States 1960-1974.
Slavery, Abolition and Social Justice This link opens in a new window
A Resource that brings together documents and collections from libraries and archives across the Atlantic world, covering an extensive time period from 1490-2007. Topics covered include the varieties of slavery, the legacy of slavery, the social justice perspective and the continued existence of slavery today.
Slavery and Anti-Slavery This link opens in a new window
A digital archive in four parts devoted to the study and understanding of the history of slavery in America and the rest of the world from the late 15th through the early 20th century.
U.S. Declassified Documents Online This link opens in a new window
U.S. Declassified Documents Online provides immediate access to a broad range of previously classified federal records spanning the twentieth and twenty first centuries. The collection brings together the most sensitive documents from all the presidential libraries and numerous executive agencies in a single, easily searchable database. Former title: Declassified Documents Reference System (DDRS).
Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000 This link opens in a new window
WSM brings together books, images, documents, scholarly essays, commentaries, and bibliographies, documenting the multiplicity of women’s reform activities and examines perspectives on women’s social movements from Colonial times to the present.

Newspapers

African American Newspapers in the South This link opens in a new window
African American Newspapers in the South, 1870-1926 -- documents the African American press in the South from Reconstruction through the Jazz Age. Written by African Americans for African Americans, the first-hand reporting, editorials, and features kept readers abreast of current domestic and international events, often focusing on racial issues.

These newspapers also featured poetry, lessons on manners and prayer, instruction for raising children, and lifestyle advice for young men and women. It also included news about churches and their governing bodies, particularly the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Zion church.
African American Newspapers – Series 1 & 2: 1827 - 1998 This link opens in a new window
African American Newspapers, Series 1 and 2, 1827-1998, provides online access to more than 350 U.S. newspapers chronicling a century and a half of the African-American experience. This unique collection, which includes historically significant papers from more than 35 states, features many rare 19th-century titles. Newly digitized, these newspapers published by or for African Americans can now be browsed and searched as never before.
Atlanta Daily World This link opens in a new window
The Atlanta Daily World had the first black White House correspondent and was the first black daily newspaper in the nation in the 20th century.
Baltimore Afro-American This link opens in a new window
The most widely circulated black newspaper on the Atlantic coast. It was the first black newspaper to have correspondents reporting on World War II, foreign correspondents, and female sports correspondents.
Chicago Defender This link opens in a new window
A leading African-American newspaper, with more than two-thirds of its readership outside Chicago.
New York Times (Historical) This link opens in a new window
The New York Times from 1851-2013 with searchable full text, full page, and article-level images.
Philadelphia Tribune This link opens in a new window
The oldest continuously published black newspaper, it was dedicated to the needs and concerns of the fourth largest black community in the U.S. During the 1930s the paper supported the growth of the United Way, rallied against the riots in Chester, PA, and continuously fought against segregation.
Pittsburgh Courier 1911-2002 This link opens in a new window
The Pittsburgh Courier was one of the most nationally circulated Black newspapers and reached its peak in the 1930s. A conservative voice in the African-American community, the Courier challenged the misrepresentation of African-Americans in the national media and advocated social reforms to advance the cause of civil rights.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Historical) This link opens in a new window
This database provides full page and article images with searchable full text for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (1786-2003). The collection includes digital reproductions of every page from every issue in PDF format.
Washington Post (Historical) This link opens in a new window
The Washington Post from 1877-2000

University of Pittsburgh Library System

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America's Great Migration - Greensburg Campus

What are primary sources?

Locating Primary Souces in Library Databases

Newspapers