Administrative Information
Provenance
The Library of Congress Manuscript Division first acquired the records of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as a gift from the Association in 1964.
Processing History
Records were processed by the Manuscript Division at various intervals between 1969 and 1993 as additional inactive files were received from the NAACP national headquarters. During processing in the Manuscript Division, visual materials found interfiled with the textual records or housed in separate containers were transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division (P&P) for processing and cataloging.
Visual materials transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division from the Manuscript Division were in no particular order, thus Prints and Photographs Division staff developed a logical arrangement reflecting the activities and interests of the Association. Images have been grouped into nine categories, which approximate the overall arrangement of the NAACP manuscript records.
Within most of the nine categories, related images are sub-arranged into smaller, more cohesive subject groupings, called LOTs, to help researchers locate particular people, events, and topics. Within LOTs, items are organized either chronologically (to reflect the development of a specific subject over time) or alphabetically, by person's name, geographic area, or subject. Each LOT is identified by a unique five-digit call number, e.g., LOT 13074. Most LOTs contain between 10 and 200 items; the largest, in the "People and Groups" category, contains 1,001 items.
Because of subject overlap within the collection, researchers are encouraged to search among several categories for comprehensive coverage of a given subject. For example, photos of the NAACP Baltimore branch picketing the segregated Ford's Theater are in LOT 13094 in the "General Programs and Related Subjects" category, while photos of Baltimore branch administrative meetings and groups are in LOT 13075 in the "Administrative Programs" category. Additionally, individual portraits of branch members or officers may be under the sitter's name in LOT 13074 in the "People and Groups" category.
NAACP Collection motion pictures, sound and video recordings, and manuscripts are located in the appropriate custodial divisions of the Library.
Collection processed by Vickie Crawley, Philip Michel, Anne Mitchell, Charles Noble, Jeanna Penn, and Alberta Prosser.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Visual Materials from the NAACP Records, [reproduction number, e.g., LC-USZ62-90145]
Online Content
To see already digitized images from this collection, search our Online Catalog by call number or descriptive words.
Microfilm of the Collection
The images in the collection are not available in digital form. However, microfilm of this collection on 19 reels is available from the Library's Duplication Services for purchase subject to the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.)
Researchers requesting access to the collection in the Prints and Photographs Division must use the microfilm surrogate in order to safeguard original materials from deterioration that results from repeated handling. The microfilm should be used in conjunction with the finding aid, which summarizes the contents of each category and LOT and provides folder-level identifications.
Microfilm Specifications
The microfilm surrogate was made by the Library of Congress Photoduplication Service using an Elke Library Camera and Kodak direct duplicating film to maximize continuous tone capability. Items 21" x 25" or smaller were filmed at a reduction ratio of 18:1. Items larger than 21" x 25" were filmed at a reduction ratio of 21:1. A change in reduction ratio is indicated by the presence of a ruler along the lower edge of the frame.
Contents and Arrangement of the Microfilm
All cataloged images appear in the microfilm--excluding Supplementary Archives materials and some color transparencies (described in the Scope and Content Note).
Materials appear in the microfilm in the order in which they are arranged within the categories and LOTs. Reverse sides of images (versos) were filmed only when there was information present--i.e., notes, markings, photographer stamps, captions, etc. Using the microfilm surrogate together with the finding aid, researchers are supplied with all available information pertaining to the images. Versos were not filmed specifically for copy negative information; researchers must search the Library's automated system for up-to-date information on the availability of copy negatives for images.
The call number for each image--e.g., "LOT 13074, no. 1"--appears in the lower right corner of the microfilm frame, and corresponds to the number listed in the left-hand column of the Contents List in the finding aid. The storage designation for each item appears in parentheses, following the call number, only in the Contents List. If an original item is needed, researchers must consult the finding aid to determine its storage designation.
The front (recto) of an image appears with its corresponding call number in the lower right corner; the call number does not appear in frames of versos of images, nor does it appear in frames of accompanying caption information. In most cases caption information immediately follows the image to which it relates and is accompanied by the phrase: "information from previous image" (in the lower right corner of the frame). Occasionally, an image recto will be followed by more than one frame of related caption information; and, rarely, a series of related images--filmed consecutively--will be followed by more than one frame of related caption information.
In a few instances, images have the same LOT number and item number and a distinguishing letter suffix. This indicates one of the following conditions:
- Images are part of a set or album that was given one item number
- Items were inadvertently given identical numbers during processing and the letter suffix is used to distinguish among them
Reel Concordance
REEL | FIRST CALL NUMBER | LAST CALL NUMBER |
1 | LOT 13074, no. 1 | LOT 13074, no. 301 |
2 | LOT 13074, no. 302 | LOT 13074, no. 634 |
3 | LOT 13074, no. 635 | LOT 13074, no. 843 |
4 | LOT 13074, no. 844 | LOT 13074, no. 987 |
5 | LOT 13075, no. 1 | LOT 13077, no. 6 |
6 | LOT 13078, no. 1 | LOT 13078, no. 201 |
7 | LOT 13078, no. 202 | LOT 13080, no. 53 |
8 | LOT 13081, no. 1 | LOT 13084, no. 46 |
9 | LOT 13085, no. 1 | LOT 13088, no. 211 |
10 | LOT 13088, no. 212 | LOT 13092, no. 18 |
11 | LOT 13093, no. 1 | LOT 13095, no. 20 |
12 | LOT 13096, no. 1 | LOT 13099, no. 64 |
13 | LOT 13099, no. 65 | LOT 13102, no. 151 |
14 | LOT 13103, no. 1 | LOT 13105, no. 131 |
15 | LOT 13105, no. 132 | LOT 13106, no. 195 |
16 | LOT 13106, no. 196 | LOT 13111, no. 74 |
17 | LOT 13111, no. 75 | LOT 13119, no. 102 |
18 | LOT 13120, no. 1 | PGA -Sartain (J.) -Cinqué |
19 | FINDING AID |
Related Material
Papers of prominent NAACP activists and records of NAACP branches and adjuncts are listed below. An asterisk (*) following an entry denotes that a microfilm version is available in the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division.
Papers
Ella Baker
State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Archives Division (Papers, 1959-1965)
Daisy Bates
State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Archives Division (Papers, 1946-1966)
Mary McLeod Bethune*
Dillard University, Amistad Research Center (Papers, 1923-1942)
Ralph Bunche
New York Public Library, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (Papers, 1937-1971)
Nannie Helen Burroughs
Library of Congress, Manuscript Division (Papers, 1900-1963, bulk 1963-1978)--photographs transferred to Prints and Photographs Division
Robert Lee Carter
Library of Congress, Manuscript Division (Papers, unprocessed)
Kenneth Bancroft Clark
Library of Congress, Manuscript Division (Papers, 1897-1994, bulk 1935-1990)--photographs transferred to Prints and Photographs Division
W.E.B. Du Bois*
New York Public Library, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (Papers, 1912-1966, bulk 1942-1948)--includes photographs
William Hastie*
Harvard University, Law School Library (Papers, 1916-1976, bulk 1937-1976)--photographs transferred to Law Library's Art Collection
William LePre Houston
Library of Congress, Manuscript Division (Papers, ca. 1901-1935)
Thurgood Marshall
Library of Congress, Manuscript Division (Papers, 1949-1991, bulk 1961-1991)
John E. Milholland
New York State Historical Association (Papers, 1887-1924)--includes photographs E. Frederic Morrow Dwight D. Eisenhower Library (Papers, 1957-1960)
Mary White Ovington
Radcliffe College, Schlesinger Library (Papers, 1865-1951)
William Pickens
New York Public Library, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division (Papers, 1881-1954)--photographs transferred to Schomburg Center Photographs & Prints Division
A. Philip Randolph
Library of Congress, Manuscript Division (Papers, 1956-1969, bulk 1941-1968)--photographs transferred to Prints and Photographs Division
Joseph Rauh
Library of Congress, Manuscript Division (Papers, 1913-1988, bulk 1950-1984)
Charles E. Russell
Library of Congress, Manuscript Division (Papers, 1864-1941, bulk 1900-1930)--includes scrapbooks--photographs transferred to Prints and Photographs Division
Bayard Rustin
Library of Congress, Manuscript Division (Papers, 1942-1987, bulk 1963-1980)--photographs and photocopies transferred to Prints and Photographs Division
Arthur Barnett Spingarn
Library of Congress, Manuscript Division (Papers 1850-1967, bulk 1912-1967)
Joel E. and Amy Spingarn
New York Public Library, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscript, Archives and Rare Books Division (Papers, 1890-1939)--photographs transferred to Schomburg Photographs & Prints Division
Moorfield Storey
Library of Congress, Manuscript Division (Papers, 1847-1930, bulk 1876-1929)--includes photographs and scrapbook
Mary Church Terrell
Library of Congress, Manuscript Division (Papers, 1851-1962, bulk 1886-1954)--photographs transferred to Prints and Photographs Division
Oswald Garrison Villard
Harvard University, Houghton Library (Papers, 1872-1949)
William English Walling
State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Archives Division (Papers, 1877-1936)
Roy Wilkins
Library of Congress, Manuscript Division (Papers, 1901-1980, bulk 1932-1980)--photographs transferred to Prints and Photographs Division
Robert Franklin Williams
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Bentley Historical Library (Papers, 1959-[ongoing])--includes photographs
NAACP Branch and Other Records
NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund
Library of Congress, Manuscript Division--includes photographs
NAACP Cleveland Branch (Records, 1924-1967)
Western Reserve Historical Society
NAACP Montgomery Branch (Minutes, 1954-1955)
New York Public Library, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
NAACP Philadelphia Branch (Records, 1943-1963)
Temple University Libraries, Urban Archives
NAACP West Coast Region (Papers, 1946-1970)
University of California, Berkeley, Bancroft Library