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COLLECTION Identifier: HUD 3125.2000

Records of the Association of African and Afro-American Students at Harvard and Radcliffe, 1963-1976

Overview

The Association of African and Afro-American Students of Harvard and Radcliffe, also known as AFRO, was founded in the spring of 1963. The records document the history, activities, and interests of this group.

Dates

  • Creation: 1963-1976

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Boxes 1 and 2 of the Records of the Association of African and Afro-American Students at Harvard and Radcliffe are open for research. University records in boxes 3 and 4 are restricted for 50 years from their date of creation. Student records in boxes 3 and 4 are restricted for 80 years from their date of creation. Specific restrictions are noted at the folder level.

Extent

1.4 cubic feet (4 containers)

The records document the history, activities, and interests of this group. In addition to documenting the Association itself, these records document the relationships between Afro-American groups at Harvard and beyond in the 1960s and 1970s. Many but not all of these groups were student organizations.

Documents include newsclippings, flyers and mailings, collected articles, correspondence, meeting agendas and notes, and subject files relating to student activism, recruitment, and affirmative action at Harvard and elsewhere.

History of the Association

The Association of African and Afro-American Students of Harvard and Radcliffe, also known as AFRO, was founded in the spring of 1963 and officially recognized as an undergraduate student organization that December. The student group identified itself as Pan-Africanist and automatically granted membership to any black student at Harvard. The group's activities were both social and political; the emphasis changed from year to year. By 1977, due to a lack of funding and student support, the group was no longer active and had been replaced by the Harvard-Radcliffe Black Students Association.

The Association of African and Afro-American Students at Harvard and Radcliffe also used the acronym AAAAS and the name Harvard-Radcliffe Association of African and Afro-American Students.

Series in the collection

  1. General information about the Association, 1963-1975
  2. Current affairs and interest files, 1963-1976
  3. Administrative records, 1963-1976

Acquisition Information

The Records of the Association of Afro and African-American Students at Harvard and Radcliffe were received with the Papers of Nathan I. Huggins. Accession 11984; 1990 June 21, Mrs. Nathan Huggins

Related Material in the Harvard University Archives

  1. Records of the Harvard Black Students Association, (Harvard University Archives call number: HUD 3222.5000): http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.ARCH:hua12008 and records of other student groups in the Harvard University Archives.
  2. Records of the Harvard-Radcliffe Afro-American Cultural Center (Harvard University Archives call number: HUD 3125): http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.ARCH:hua11008
  3. Papers of Nathan I. Huggins, 1927-1990 (Harvard University Archives call number: HUGFP 91.xx): http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.ARCH:hua07001
  4. The Sarah Anoke Collection (Harvard University Archives call number: HUM 51)
  5. Search HOLLIS (Harvard's online library system) for works by and about the Association of African and Afro-American Students at Harvard and Radcliffe.

Separated Materials

The records were received by the Harvard University Archives with the papers of ProfessorNathan Huggins,W.E.B. Dubois Professor of History and Afro-American Studies and Director of the W.E.B. Dubois Institute for Afro-American Research at Harvard from 1980 to 1989. Presumably, these records were acquired by Huggins in his role as an advisor to the Association.

Inventory update

This document last updated 2023 August 24.

Processing Information

The Records of the Association of African and Afro-American Students at Harvard and Radcliffe were first classified and described in the Harvard University Archives shelflist prior to 1980 under the call number HUD 3125.525. In December 2007, Juliana Kuipers re-processed the material. Re-processing included consolidating and re-classifying the records from the Harvard-Radcliffe Afro-American Cultural Center collection. The collection had been roughly organized into overlapping chronological and subject files. The archivist re-organized the collection into three series, re-housed materials in the appropriate containers, photocopied news clippings onto acid-free paper, and created this inventory. All call numbers were simplified.

Title
Association of African and Afro-American Students at Harvard and Radcliffe. Records of the Association of African and Afro-American Students at Harvard and Radcliffe, 1963-1976: an inventory
Author
Harvard University Archives
Language of description
und
EAD ID
hua08008

Repository Details

Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository

Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.

Contact:
Pusey Library
Harvard Yard
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2461