Other Primary Sources
- Black Life in America This link opens in a new window
This primary source collection offers an expansive window into centuries of African American history, culture and daily life—as well as the ways the dominant culture has portrayed and perceived people of African descent. In particular, content focuses on the experience and impact of African Americans as recorded by the news media, 1976 to today.
- Black Thought and Culture This link opens in a new window
Contains the non-fiction works of more than 1000 American black leaders, including speeches, leaflets, essays, interviews and transcripts. The collection includes more 100,000 pages covering 250 years of history.
- County and Regional Histories & Atlases: Ohio This link opens in a new window
Included in this collection on Ohio are 21 cities and regions covered in 305 titles. These titles comprise tables and lists of vital statistics, military service records, municipal and county officers, chronologies, portraits of individuals and views of urban and rural life. The atlases provide additional information on land use and settlement patterns and early town and city plans. Coverage runs from 1852-1920 and includes access to more than 165,000 images.
- Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Enforcement of Federal Law in the South, 1871-1884 This link opens in a new window
This collection on law and order documents the efforts of district attorneys from southern states to uphold federal laws in the states that fought in the Confederacy or were Border States. Includes access to more than 59,000 images from the US National Archives. - Sanborn Insurance Maps This link opens in a new window
Contains large scale street plans of Ohio cities produced by the Sanborn Fire Insurance Company from 1882 to 1962.
National Archives and Library of Congress Resources
- Dayton Remembers: Preserving the History of the Miami ValleyThis site contains thousands of digitized images and documents pertaining to the history of Dayton and the Miami Valley. All items included in this site are owned by the Dayton Metro Library.
- Selected Bibliography, The Great Migration and LynchingBibliography of sources on the Great Migration, compiled for the Ohio State research guide on the Great Migration and Lynching. Includes sources related to Ohio.
- The Great Migration at the National ArchivesRecords on the Great Migration (1910-1970) at the National Archives and Records Administration.
- Great Migration: Finding PicturesThis Library of Congress guide provides strategies for finding related visual resources to the Great Migration.
- Primary Source Set: The Great MigrationA collection of newspapers, maps, photographs, oral histories, and film that help to inform an understanding of the Great Migration. Format-specific source analysis requires students to think about what a particular type of source can—and cannot—tell them about the Great Migration.
- Primary Source Sets: The Great MigrationDigital materials on the Great Migration from the Digital Public Library of America.
External Libraries and Archives
These resources are hosted at other libraries and archives, occasionally with digital content. Be sure to contact a repository before you plan a visit in person, as many require appointments.
- African American Catholics: A CRRA subject guideThis research guide has links to information about African American Roman Catholics in Catholic Research Resources Alliance member collections (both print and electronic materials) and online.
- The Dayton Room, Dayton Metro LibraryThe Dayton Room on the second floor of the Main Library houses more than 200 years of historical materials about Dayton, Montgomery County and the Miami Valley area. The Collection includes books, photographs, pamphlets, magazines, newspapers, maps, manuscripts, postcards, videos and more.
- Archives of the Archdiocese of CincinnatiAs the official repository for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, the Archives is entrusted with collecting, preserving, and providing access to the official records of the archdiocese, as well as related materials reflecting the Catholic Church’s presence in Southwestern Ohio. The collection spans from the establishment of the archdiocese in 1821 to the present day.
Oral Histories
- African American Migration to Philadelphia Oral HistoriesThe first wave of the Great Migration begins in 1916 when African Americans leave the South to escape terror and segregation in search of better jobs, housing and education. The 269 interviews were recorded between 1987 and 1988. They include family history and all aspects of Black urban life experienced by the migrants in the City of Philadelphia.
- Black Catholic History Project, Diocese of SavannahPart of the Black Catholic Community Archives in the Diocese of Savannah, this project interviewed subjects on their experiences as being Black and Catholic, or serving the Black Catholic community in South Georgia.
- Goin' North: Tales of the Great Migration Oral History ProjectGoin' North documents the First Great Migration of southern Blacks to northern cities unleashed by the First World War. The interviews were conducted between 1979 and 1986 with Southern Blacks who had migrated to Philadelphia and Black Philadelphians who witnessed their arrival and impact upon the city. The interviews were conducted for "Goin' North: Tales of the Great Migration," a 5-part public radio documentary series.
