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The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center

Welcome to the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center

The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center (MSRC) is the largest and most comprehensive repository of books, documents, and ephemera on the global Black experience, including the personal and official papers of Kwame Nkrumah, Paul Robeson, Alain Locke, Mary Frances Berry, Dr. Benjamin Mays, Vernon Jordon, and Amiri Baraka, to name but a few from its over seven hundred collections. It was founded in 1914 as the Moorland Library and became a research center within Howard University in 1973, consisting of the University Archives Division, the Manuscripts Division, Library, Museum, and the Black Press Archive. Our mission is to provide access to history through diverse formats and to preserve it for generations to come.

Monday-Saturday 9am-4pm

Sunday 1:30-8:30pm 

 
 

A Conversation With Dr. Michael R. Winston: Historian & Storyteller PART TWO

In Celebration of Moorland at 50 years, A Conversation With Dr. Michael R. Winston: Historian & Storyteller is presented by The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center and was recorded at the Studios of WHUT-TV on the campus of Howard University. As a student leader, professor, director, vice president, and presidential advisor, Dr. Winston, who was the founding director of the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, has witnessed many events and led several initiatives at his alma mater. MSRC Publications and Communications Specialist, Teddy Abebe sat down with Dr. Winston, and in this interview, Dr. Winston shares his extraordinary knowledge and experiences as a Howard student, professor, and executive. You can view Part One and Two of this Three Part series on MSRC TV, our Youtube Channel! 

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Our Resources

The way to get the information you need, when you need it. The resources of the University Archives, Manuscript Division, and Library are at your disposal

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Junious Whitaker

Student - History (Ph.D)

Living History: Graduate Student Junious Whitaker on the Importance of Preserving and Talking About the Past

Junious Whitaker IV is a first-year master’s/PhD candidate of history from Raleigh, North Carolina who also works at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center. His research focus is on African American history and the African diaspora, with interest in the impact of Black scientists on the Black experience; the ramification of bills that outlaw critical race theory; and unique cultural areas such as hip hop and other urbanized outlets as a form of oral history internationally (he has found links between what he’s studying in class and what artists such as Kasim, Eleven9, Zeddy, are providing as historical narrative). He believes that music and other areas are modern ways to record and share history, particularly in a pandemic where resources like libraries and traditional ways of reading and writing were limited.

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Revival of a MSRC Publication: "The Moorland"

The Moorland is the newly revived Moorland-Spingarn Research Center monthly newsletter. In an effort to keep you all informed on everything that is happening at the center, we relaunched this periodical in January of 2023. As we approach our 50th year of operation, our minds are set on development and progress as we continue to champion MSRC as one of the essential sites responsible for the preservation of the global Black experience. The Moorland has been instrumental in detailing the exciting and extensive work of both MSRC staff and scholars. You can keep up with the latest publications via Digital Howard. Stay tuned!

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Michigan Chronicle

Howard University receives $2M to digitize Black newspaper archive.

Howard University has received a $2 million donation to digitize its Black Press Archives, that contains more than 2,000 domestic and international newspaper titles including publications like the New York Amsterdam News, Chicago Defender, Washington Informer, Baltimore AFRO. The Black Press Archive Digitization Project will make all of these publications publicly available through Digital Howard.   

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