Special Collections houses various manuscripts, rare books, photographs, oral histories, and exhibits that document African American History. The materials span topics including slavery in the United States, the lives of the enslaved, emancipation, Reconstruction, early-20th Century segregation, and the Civil Rights Movement. They also highlight stories of perseverance, resourcefulness, and resilience, reflecting African American agency in creating organizations and institutions that nurtured community, service, and mutual support.
Reparative work is actively underway to expand our holdings by incorporating additional materials that document 20th century narratives of Black history.
Primary source documents related to the institution of slavery and the lives of the enslaved can be found in the Small Manuscripts Collection. The James C. Bonner collection contains information on Reverend Wilkes Flagg (1802-1878), a formerly enslaved African American, who purchased his and his family's freedom and became a civic and political leader in Milledgeville.
Additional resources, such as the Baldwin County Registry of Free Persons of Color (1832-1866) and Freedmen's Bureau documents for Baldwin County are located in the Local History Vertical Files. To search the full listing of available files, refer to the Local History Vertical Files list.
Further historical, cultural, social, and political contextualization of the periods of slavery, abolition, Emancipation, Reconstruction, and post-Reconstruction are supported through our rare book collection, reflecting how communities and writers responded to and reflected on these pivotal eras and their legacies.
A selection of resources from the Rare Books Collection that providing further contextualization of the periods of slavery, abolition, Emancipation, Reconstruction, and post-Reconstruction. To locate additional Special Collections Rare Book resources, search our library catalog.
Anti-Slavery Texts
Travelogues Documenting Slave Life
Post-Emancipation & Reconstruction
Boddie High School, Milledgeville, Baldwin County
J.F. Boddie High School opened in 1958 to serve Milledgeville’s African American students. Named after Julian Franklin Boddie, Sr., who was for some time the only African American doctor in Baldwin County, the school served as the African American high school until 1970. That same year, integration of Baldwin County High School was fully implemented, effectively ending segregation in Milledgeville schools.
Boddie High School, The Spotlight, 1962
Boddie High School, The Rattler, 1967
Boddie High School, The Rattler, 1968
Hancock Central High School School, Hancock County
Hancock Central High School evolved from the Sparta Agricultural and Industrial Institute, founded in 1910 by Linton S. Ingraham, which became the Hancock Training School in 1959 and then Hancock Central High School in 1963. Hancock Central served the African American students of Hancock County until full integration occurred in 1973 with the closing of Sparta High School. Hancock Central is one of 10 formerly all-Black high schools still open in Georgia, and the only one located in a rural area.
Hancock Central High School, The Bulldog, 1967
Floyd L. Griffin, Jr., a Milledgeville native, has led a distinguished career as U.S. Army Colonel, Georgia State Senator and Representative, and Mayor of Milledgeville. A Vietnam veteran, he served as a helicopter pilot, professor, and ROTC director before retiring from the Army in 1990. Griffin made history as the first African American to represent a majority-white district in Georgia's legislature and later as Milledgeville's first Black mayor. He also ran for Lieutenant Governor in 1998 and Secretary of State in 2022. Beyond politics, he led Slater's Funeral Home, served on numerous boards, and authored an autobiography. The Floyd L. Griffin, Jr. papers consists of five series spanning his career in the Army, Georgia General Assembly, office of Mayor of Milledgeville, and position of President and CEO of Slater's Funeral Home, as well as momentos from his induction to the Tuskegee University ROTC Hall of Fame and Winston Salem State Football Hall of Fame, his civic organizations, and family gatherings.
To explore the collection, click here.
Below are samples of Graduate Theses pertaining to African American studies. A link to all graduate theses is located at the bottom.
Digital Library of Georgia Historic Newspapers
Free access to 478,838 issues of 1,111 newspapers spanning Georgia history from 1763 – 2025
African American Newspapers available on the DLG
African American Newspapers available through Georgia College Library
Atlanta Daily News
The Atlanta Daily World is Atlanta's oldest continuously publishing African American newspaper, and one of its oldest African American-owned businesses. Search and access full-text articles from 1931 - 2003.
A link to the Library of Congress’ Slave narratives compiled by the WPA between the years 1936-1938
Generally regarded as one of the leading institutions of it’s kind, The Schomburg Center has a vast collection of primary and secondary sources pertaining to persons of African descent.
The nation’s oldest, largest and most comprehensive independent archive specializing in the history of African Americans and other ethnic minorities. Located at Tulane University.
A repository for African and African American studies documentation and an outreach division of the Rare Book, Manuscript and Special Collections Library at Duke University
A repository of films and related materials by and about African Americans including films with substantial contribution by African Americans as writers, actors producers, directors and consultants.
The Freedmen's Bureau Project
The Freedmen’s Bureau Search Portal provides unprecedented opportunities for family historians and genealogists to search for their ancestors and for scholars to research a variety of topics related to slavery and Reconstruction in the Freedmen’s Bureau records.
A new initiative by Michigan State University, will create an online hub - linking together dozens of databases from all over the world.
The collection at Rhodes House, Oxford, is a major unresearched source for the history of the anti-slavery movement in the nineteenth century. The major part of the collection relates to the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. The Society was founded in 1839, its aim being to secure the abolition of slavery in general and in America in particular, It convened the first world Anti-Slavery Convention in 1840 and this was followed in 1842 and 1843 by further conferences.
The Salvation Project: Preserving Middle Georgia's Black Gospel Music, partnered with Baylor University's Black Gospel Archive, intends to preserve digital audio copies of local and regional Black gospel music long term, providing discovery through Baylor University's Black Gospel Archive and the Digital Library of Georgia (DLG). This music is presented free of charge for personal, non-commercial use as a contribution to education and scholarship. Through digitization, this beautifully vibrant music will be preserved for researchers to study and more importantly, for all to enjoy and love.
Common Heritage traveling/digital exhibit highlights how African Americans shaped change throughout the twentieth century by building organizations and institutions that fostered community, service, and mutual support. Central to this work were African American women, whose roles in families, churches, schools, clubs, and health institutions were vital to community life and reform efforts. These stories underscore the perseverance, resourcefulness, and resilience that define African Americans’ contributions to the American story.
The Soul of Georgia physical/digital exhibit touches upon the historical progression of musical forms, from spirituals to gospel and the blues, and rhythm & blues to soul. By discussing the history of R&B and soul music and the impact and contributions made by Milledgeville, the surrounding region, and the state of Georgia to these music genres, we hope to generate community awareness of the importance of the historical context that music is made within, while at the same time, educating the community on the talent that sprung from it and how the area was an eye witness to the evolution of music.
The Sky's the Limit digital exhibit shares the story of Adam Hawkins, of Milledgeville, Georgia, and the 555th Parachute Infantry. Known as the "Triple Nickels," the 555th played a pivotal role in U.S. military history as the first all-Black airborne unit during World War II. Despite facing racial segregation and discrimination, these courageous soldiers demonstrated exceptional combat abilities, professionalism, and resilience. Their primary mission was to combat forest fires caused by Japanese balloon bombs on the U.S. West Coast, showcasing their adaptability and resourcefulness. Beyond their firefighting duties, the Triple Nickels challenged racial stereotypes, paving the way for greater integration in the U.S. military. Their legacy exemplifies the importance of diversity, equal opportunity, and the contributions of African Americans in the armed forces.
The Vietnam War dominated U.S. culture during the 1960s and early 1970s. Eventually costing the lives of 58,520 U.S. military personnel and wounded 153,372 more, it also resulted in between one and two million Vietnamese deaths. Approximately 1,600 Georgians lost their lives, including nine from Milledgeville. In March 1973, the last American combat soldier left Vietnam, and on April 30, 1975, Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese, ending the war. To this day, many Americans continue to ask whether the U.S. involvement in Vietnam was a blunder, a necessary war, or a failed idealistic effort to defend a country from a totalitarian government.
Explore the experiences of some of our local African American Vietnam veterans: (left to right) Marion Johnson, C. Nolan Stephens, Willie Jackson, Jr., Floyd L. Griffin, Jr.
