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University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Resources for Colored Conventions Research: A Guide for National Affiliates and Public Use: 19th-Century Newspapers

ColoredConventions.org endeavors to transform teaching and learning about this historic collective organizing effort—and about the many leaders and places involved in it—bringing them to digital life for a new generation of students and scholars across di

Searching Historical Newspapers

Guides to African American Newspapers

Search WorldCat or your library catalog for these and other books on African American newspapers. Ask at the Reference Desk for suggestions.

Frequently-used Library of Congress Subject Headings are African American Newspapers--History and African American Newspapers--Bibliography.

Saving and Printing Newspaper Articles

Databases for Full-Text Historical Newspapers

19th Century U.S. Newspapers

Your library may have subscriptions to historical newspaper databases. The databases will allow you to locate articles and images about the Colored Conventions.

Check WorldCat or your library catalog for availability or ask for assistance at the Reference Desk.

Accessible Archives
Consists of various components, among them African American Newspapers: The 19th Century, which includes: the Christian Recorder, Colored American, Frederick Douglass' Paper, Douglass' Monthly, Freedom's Journal, National Era and North Star. Also search William Lloyd Garrison's Liberator. Use the "Browse the Archives" link to view available issues by title.

African American Newspapers, 1827-1998
This collection of African American newspapers features papers from more than 35 states, including many rare and historically significant 19th-century titles.

19th Century U.S. Newspapers
This collection features U.S. publications that shaped the nation, including Frederick Douglass's North Star and Frederick Douglass' Paper plus William Lloyd Garrison's Liberator.

America’s Historical Newspapers (1690s-1922)
An important collection of cover-to-cover reproductions of historic newspapers. Includes abolitionist papers such as the National Era and Liberator.

Ancestry Library Edition
Within Ancestry is a collection of newspapers entitled U.S., African American Newspapers, 1829-1947. To search this collection (only), click "Card Catalog" at the bottom of the initial search screen. Type U.S., African American Newspapers, 1829-1947 into the Title search box and click this title when it displays in the results.

Black Abolitionist Papers
Black Abolitionist Papers offers primary sources from African Americans actively involved in the movement to end slavery in the United States (1830-1865). The sources include articles from newspapers such as The Elevator.

ProQuest Historical Newspapers
ProQuest offers a range of historical newspaper collections including those for the Chicago Tribune, New York Times and Los Angeles Times. Check to see what collections are available through your library.

Freely-Available Newspapers on Websites

Search the web for freely available newspapers. This is a selected list of useful websites.

Black Abolitionist Archive (Access via University of Detroit Mercy)
"The Black Abolitionist Digital Archive is a collection of over 800 speeches by antebellum blacks and approximately 1,000 editorials from the period."

California Digital Newspaper Collection (1846 to present)
The California Digital Newspaper Collection is a project of the Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research (CBSR) at the University of California, Riverside.

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers (1836-1922, Library of Congress)
Identify African American titles by selecting the "All Digitized Newspapers" tab and choosing "African American" under Ethnicity.

Google News Archive  (historic and recent)

Historical Newspapers Online, USA (a useful gateway site)

Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Virginia Chronicle (Library of Virginia)
Includes the Richmond Planet (1889-1922) and other African American newspapers.

Borrowing Newspaper Issues from the Center for Research Libraries

Many libraries are members of the Center for Research Libraries (CRL). Materials can be borrowed from CRL through the library's interlibrary loan office, even if they are print newspapers. Check for microfilm copies, such as the microfilm reels for the Christian Recorder.. The CRL catalog lists items that are available for loan.

The CRL also offers selected digitized issues of historical newspapers. Click here to search the CRL catalog for the Weekly Anglo-African and other digitized newspapers.

Newspapers Available on Microfilm

Microforms are photographic reproductions of printed materials in reduced size. In order to be read, they must be enlarged by a machine. Microform equipment includes digital microform scanners, reader/printers, and some manual fiche and film readers.

Your library may have Negro Newspapers on Microfilm and other microfilm sets.