In 1940, for the 75th anniversary of the proclamation of the 13th amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which abolished slavery, the Library prepared and issued a bibliography of its special materials on the Negro. In connection with this anniversary, the Library also mounted an exhibition of books, manuscripts, and works of art and arranged a series of concerts. The festival of music and the exhibits that opened on December 18, 1940, vividly presented the contribution of the American Negro to American culture.
Without question both scholars and the general public are aware that the Library of Congress has extensive holdings on the Negro, not only printed books and periodicals but also manuscripts, music, prints, photographs, motion pictures, and sound recordings. This awareness is reflected in the steady flow of requests for bibliographies and other guides to Negro studies that the Library receives. The factors that stimulate such requests are rooted in the national—indeed, the worldwide—interest in the American Negro which recent social and cultural events in this country have intensified. For many years the Library has responded to this interest by issuing from time to time typed lists relating to various aspects of Negro life.
The mounting interest in Negro history and culture, manifested particularly by the introduction of courses in these subjects in high school, college, and university curricula, has given rise to a demand for lists of books that can be used to support such studies. The present bibliography is designed to meet the current needs of students, teachers, librarians, researchers, and the general public for introductory guidance to the study of the Negro in the United States.
This bibliography is selective rather than exhaustive. Among the topics covered are the urban Negro, relations between the races, discriminatory practices in all areas, and efforts to obtain political and economic freedom, as well as the education and cultural history of the Negro, his religious life, the social conditions under which he lives, and his historical past. Included are works depicting the lives of outstanding Negroes—abolitionists, fugitive slaves, educators, civil rights leaders, scientists, journalists, religious leaders, artists, athletes, and literary figures.
The selection of many of the titles, especially in the fields of literature and history, was based on the frequency of requests for particular works in large library collections on the Negro and on their inclusion in the numerous bibliographies and reading lists now being compiled for use in junior colleges, colleges, and universities. In addition, bibliographic lists and essays appended to such works as From Slavery to Freedom, by John Hope Franklin; North of Slavery, by Leon F. Litwack; The Burden of Race: a Documentary History of Negro-White Relations in America, by Gilbert Osofsky; The Negro in the Civil War, by Benjamin Quarles; The Black Power Revolt, edited by Floyd B. Barbour; and The Negro in the United States, by E. Franklin Frazier, were consulted. Use was also made of previously published bibliographies such as Monroe Work's Bibliography of the Negro in Africa and America and Erwin A. Salk's A Layman's Guide to Negro History.
While some books written especially for children and young people are included, and some of the other publications cited are well adapted to their use, no systematic effort was made to represent material of this type. Lists such as Miles M. Jackson's Bibliography of Negro History & Culture for Young Readers may be used as guides in this field.
Identification of writers by race has not been attempted except in the section on fiction, which lists only novels and short stories written by representative Negro authors. While the writings of white novelists are not cited, the importance of the treatment of Negro characters and the educational, moral, and artistic value of works by such authors as Howard Fast, William Faulkner, Harper Lee, Du Bose Heyward, Julia Peterkin, Lillian Smith, Harriet Beecher Stowe, T. S. Stribling, and Mark Twain are undisputed. Apart from fiction, the publications of both white and Negro writers are included throughout the bibliography.
The compiler gratefully acknowledges the invaluable editorial assistance of Mary Jane Gibson, assistant head of the Bibliography and Reference Correspondence Section, General Reference and Bibliography Division, Library of Congress. Miss Gibson also prepared the index. The compiler wishes to express her appreciation as well to Ruth S. Freitag, head of the Bibliography and Reference Correspondence Section, for helpful suggestions and for assistance in indexing and proofreading, and to Robert H. Land, chief of the General Reference and Bibliography Division, for emphasizing the need for the bibliography and offering encouragement while the work was in progress.
Dorothy B. Porter
April 1969