Collections

The Alex Haley papers consists of manuscripts including those from his time with the Saturday Evening Post, Boy's Life Magazine and Kiwanis Magazine; correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, business files, awards, and other materials documenting Alex Haley's literary career. The papers also include fan mail during the popularity of the book and the subsequent television series "Roots", and photographs in Gambia.

The Arthur B. Steinman Collection contains twentieth century African sculptures and masks from the central and western regions of Africa. It also contains one lithograph print of "Planting" signed by Thomas Hart Benton.

The Burnett Roth Collection contains books and pamphlets published between 1946 and 1999 related to the Civil Rights Movement and African American history. The collection also contains Jet magazines dated 1951 to 1973 and Ebony magazines dated 1964 to 1973. Also included are four VHS tapes on Jim Crow and Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Clinton Mack Collection contains more than 290 images of the Black community in Pompano Beach taken during the 1930s. The photographs are primarily portraits of African-American and Bahamian men, women, children, and families, but there are also group photographs, images of parades, Masons, and church groups. The original negatives from the 1930s form the bulk of the collection, along with the original box they were stored in. The collection also includes materials from Bob Pool Jewelry and Photo, and materials documenting Kurt Mulder's efforts to preserve the images and identify the people in them.

The Daniel M. Johnson Collection consists of approximately 5,200 books published between the 1780s to 2002 that are by and about Africans and people of African descent. The collection includes many first edition and signed copies as well as pamphlets, articles, letters and photographs. The major categories that Daniel M. Johnson delineated for his collection are: African-American literature and children's literature; African and Caribbean literature; African-American history and critical thought; African, Egyptian, and Middle-Eastern history; and African-American art, music, dance, and sports. The catalog includes 4164 nonfiction books and 907 fiction books.

The Derrick Joshua Beard Collection contains the "Fats Waller" pencil sketch by George E. Neal. It also contains books.

The Earl Chesler Book Collection contains 84 books published between 1928 and 2001. Subjects include African American history and culture, Black biographies, Haitian history and art, African history, and fiction.

Papers and 12 original photographs from Lt. Col. Eldrige F. Williams' time in the United States Army and Air Force. The materials date from 1941 to 1992 and document Williams' experience as a Tuskegee Airman as well as his life after World War II. The photographs include a portrait of Captain Charles "Buster" Hall, the first Black pilot to down a German fighter, official Air Force photographs of Black military basketball, football, baseball, and tennis players and teams (including the Tuskeegee War Hawks), and photographs of Tuskegee airmen with their planes.

The Ellyn F. Walters Collection contains correspondence, professional papers, programs, photographs, awards, objects, and a scrapbook belonging to Ellyn F. Walters of Fort Lauderdale, Florida during her service as a teacher, fundraiser, and community leader.