the afro
archives
Afro Charities maintains and cares for the expansive AFRO Archives, which document 130+ years of AFRO history.
Folders inside the AFRO Archives
WE ARE THE STEWARDS OF THE AFRO’S RICH HISTORY & LEGACY
The AFRO-American Newspapers have been chronicling world history through a Black lens since their founding in 1892. At its height, the company had 13 editions across the eastern seaboard as well as European bureaus during World War II.
Because of this geographical breadth, the archives extend well beyond our home city of Baltimore. Our collection represents one of the best preserved Black newspaper archives in the country, inclusive of more than 3 million photographs, thousands of letters, rare audio recordings, and other ephemera related to the publishing business.
WHAT’S IN THE AFRO ARCHIVES?
THE HISTORY OF THE ARCHIVES
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The AFRO was founded by William Alexander in Baltimore, Maryland in 1892. John H. Murphy, Sr. (pictured) purchased the paper in 1897 with $200 from his wife Martha. Their descendants own and operate the company today.
Laura Phillips served as Librarian for the AFRO, organizing the company’s files for their in-house library, or “morgue”. These morgue files form the bulk of the archival collection today.
Afro Charities established.
In preparation for the AFRO’s move from its longtime home at 628 N. Eutaw street to 2519 N. Charles Street, the full collection was relocated to Bowie State University.
In late 80s through early aughts, the AFRO established the AFRO American Newspapers Archives Research Center in its offices on North Charles Street.
The Mellon Foundation awarded Johns Hopkins University a grant to partner with the AFRO on cataloging the collection down to a folder level, making the collection more navigable.
In preparation for the sale of 2519 N. Charles Street, the AFRO Archives were temporarily relocated to Morgan State University.
Afro Charities assumes responsibility for managing the AFRO Archives.
To support its expanding team, and to pilot new digitization protocols, the AFRO Archives are moved to a Maryland State Archives facility.
Baltimore’s Upton Mansion will serve as the permanent home and research center for the AFRO Archives. We can’t wait to welcome you there!
Archival Processing Project
Processing the physical materials
The AFRO Archives have historically been an internal reference archive for AFRO editors and reporters. Afro Charities has taken on the labor-intensive work of converting these materials into a public-facing research archive. To process the collection, we pull files from throughout the collection and arrange them in alphabetical order, working one letter at a time. We make simple interventions to physically stabilize archival documents in the folders.
Documentation
Once the materials have been organized alphabetically, we verify and amend their metadata, and migrate that information to an internal database. We do this folder by folder ensuring that the folder title is accurate, adding women’s names to the file data if it’s not present, and adding relevant dates when possible.
Publication
Finally, we upload our newly cleaned data to our public ArchivesSpace database, so that researchers like you can easily find what’s available in the collections. We do more detailed work on large subjects that may have dozens of folders of content in the archives, to help researchers discover and use their rich content. We also create cross-references for related content that may be housed in different boxes.
Digitization
Our processing work supports in-person research, but it also helps with our digitization project. Currently on hold, our digitization production will resume once we move into the Upton Mansion.
HOW TO ACCESS THE COLLECTIONS
PROQUEST
To search for articles published in the Baltimore AFRO during the past 130+ years, use this database. Requires Pratt Library card.
ARCHIVEsSPACE
Our internal database allows you to see what folders are in the collection, including material that was never published. This database is updated daily as we continue to process the collection.
VISIT THE UPTON MANSION
Once open, we invite you to explore the AFRO Archives in person at the Upton Mansion.
AFRO Columnist, Frank F. Newton
Have Questions about THE Afro Archives?
Check out our Frequently Asked Questions Page on the AFRO Archives.
Archives room at the AFRO's former headquarters at 2519 N. Charles Street
Moving the AFRO Archives from 2519 N. Charles Street
Archive alumni
Many hands have contributed to preserving this history. To honor their labor and contributions, we have listed their names below. If we missed you, please reach out, so we can document your work on this multi-generational project. This is a living database.
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