Africana Center Records

This collection consists of records from the Africana Center. It contains artifacts; photographs; publications; and subject files collected and created by the Africana Center from 1969 to 2019. Materials within the subject files date from 1939-2011. The majority of the collection dates from 1970 – 2005. The material was created or used in the day to day functions of the Africana Center and mainly consists of paper records in the form of subject files.

The artifacts in this collection include banners created by students for Africana Center events, as well as posters, a t-shirt, and buttons and a flag commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr. Photographs in this collection mainly record Africana Center events. Publications and subject files include many formats and cover a wide range of topics, including affirmative action, the Tufts Black Alumni Association, freshmen orientation, student life, Black History month, and guest speakers and performers.

The records relate to the Center's work to enhance the academic mission of the University by ensuring that students of African descent have access to resources supporting a successful Tufts experience and preparing them for leadership positions. The collection covers the Center's work from its founding in 1969 through to its development into a provider of academic and social resources and activities for students of African descent. Some of the larger projects represented in the records include the founding of the Tufts Black Alumni Association; the organization of the freshmen orientation Cape Cod retreat; the development of the Black Student Handbook; the development of the peer advisor program; Black History month events; and the administration of Capen House, a living and learning space for fifteen undergraduates interested in African diaspora history and culture who reside in the house, which is located on the second and third floors of the Africana Center building.

This finding aid contains language that may be offensive or outdated. Because such language is in existing titles or direct transcription of materials, it has not been changed. Keeping this language intact provides the most accurate depiction of the creators’ intent, and can potentially tell us important things about bigotry and bias on the part of the creators, or in a particular historical context. It can also preserve terms formerly applied by a group to self-identify that have since fallen out of common usage. For more information on TARC's content warning policy please visit our website.