Primary sources on American race relations in the mid–20th century speak to today’s dilemmas

Readers can expect to be surprised. This collection is truly unbelievable...rich with photographs and lectures from a variety of scholars that many—or most—users might not have associated with race-related efforts in the United States. The collection is reflective of the true genius that was [sociologist] Charles S. Johnson and his ability to marry his scholarly self with his visionary self. Patrons who explore the database will quickly ascertain that the dialog models and workshops that many scholars and activists utilize today in addressing tolerance and diversity issues were actually used in, and some might argue born from, Johnson’s work at Fisk.

As for particular gems, the Race Relations Institute programs and the essays on race and race relations by the anthropologists, sociologists, legal scholars, business executives, and ministers who attended the Institute are priceless.

Scholars need data. For historians in particular, locating and accessing that data, in the form of archival documents, can be problematic. The digitization of this material provides researchers whose time and/or budgetary constraints might have prohibited them from traveling to New Orleans a chance to take advantage of the collection. Researchers can now focus on the data and their projects without having to...travel and pair their schedules with the archive’s operating hours.

It also means that we are likely to see more—and more robust—research on American race relations because there can now be an easier synthesis between the collection itself, which contains the diverse thoughts and opinions of those associated with the Race Relations Department and its Race Relations Institute, and scholars from a variety of disciplines and ­experiences.

[It] reminds us, sadly, that intolerance in this country is not new but that neither is the human spirit to address that racism, bigotry, and hate. The collection is a story of hope and perseverance. Because the Race Relations Institute itself was active from 1944 to 1969, we see different perspectives on how to make the American ideals that we all learn in the curriculum a reality for all.

We see a generation of people who were children when the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision legally established Jim Crow [laws] and who up until that time had encountered a more racially integrated South. By way of their scholarship, this generation tried to utilize the same legal system that produced Jim Crow to correct de jure segregation. We also see another generation that had only known a segregated South, the members of which believed less and less that the social sciences and dialog were the best ways to bring about legislative change, enter the Race Relations Institute and begin agitating in different ways. They questioned top-down and academic-based efforts and sought a more bottom-up approach.

READ ALL DIVERSITY 2016 ARTICLES:

• Aspiration to Action
• Q & A with Katrina M. Sanders
• Building Equity from the Ground Up (Los Angeles County Public Library)
• Learning from History (Nashville Public Library)
• Coming Together Around a Divided Past (Johnson County Public Library, KS)
• Reworking the Workforce (St. Paul Public Library)
• Experience Success (ACRL Diversity Alliance)