Research Guides: Integration at Davidson: Primary Source Databases

Primary Source Databases

Databases about Integration and Civil Rights

In this box, you will find a selection of databases containing primary and secondary source materials focused on integration and the Civil Rights movement of the mid-twentieth century in the United States. Databases are grouped by subject and type. If you are interested in integration and Civil Rights resources beyond those listed here, please explore the "Interested in Other Databases?" box below.

African American Communities
Focusing predominantly on Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, New York, and towns and cities in North Carolina this resource presents multiple aspects of the African American community. Key themes include desegregation, civil rights, race relations, African American culture.
Note: This collection is owned in perpetuity by Davidson College.
Documenting the American South
A collection of primary sources on Southern history, culture, and literature from the colonial period through the early twentieth century. Includes diaries, first-person narratives, literary works, photographs, and other materials.
North Carolina Digital Collections
Historic and recent photographs, state government publications, manuscripts, and other resources on topics related to North Carolina. The Collections are free and full-text searchable, and bring together content from the State Archives of North Carolina and the State Library of North Carolina.
Each item in the collections has a rights statement included in its description, which identifies any restrictions on use.

American Race Relations: Global Perspectives, 1941-1996
Reports, publications, and news broadcasts covering America's fight for racial justice, with firsthand analysis of race relations in Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Church Missionary Society Periodicals
Documenting missionary work from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, the periodicals include news, journals and reports on global missions and cultural encounters.
Note: This collection is owned in perpetuity by Davidson College.
Civil Rights in America: From Reconstruction to the Great Society
Archive of official publications and primary source material related to civil rights in the United States from the 19th century through the 20th century.
Digital Transgender Archive
Contains an array of digitized materials on transgender history and culture. The collection functions as an extensive hub of resources, drawing content from archives across the U.S. and Canada.
Indigenous Peoples: North America
Gain insight into the cultural, political, and social history of Native Peoples from the seventeenth to the twentieth century.

The Sixties Video Online
The video component of The Sixties: Primary Documents and Personal Narratives 1960-1974, this collection contains fifty hours of primary footage and secondary documentaries that explore the key events of the sixties and early seventies, including the civil rights movement, the women's rights movement and the sexual revolution. It features interviews with major players of the decade.

African American Historical Serials Collection
Includes more than 170 unique titles related to African American life and culture. Approximately 60,000 pages of searchable primary source content.
Reports and annuals from African American religious organizations and social service agencies, as well as African American periodicals. Extensive coverage of African American religious organizations, churches and institutions
American Race Relations: Global Perspectives, 1941-1996
Reports, publications, and news broadcasts covering America's fight for racial justice, with firsthand analysis of race relations in Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Accessible Archives
Search Nineteenth Century newspapers across the following collections:
African American Newspapers: The 19th Century, The Civil War: A Newspaper Perspective, The Liberator, and Godey's Lady's Book.
America's Historical Newspapers
Database of newspapers including African American Newspapers (1827-1998), Caribbean Newspapers (1718-1876), Early American Newspapers (1690-1922), Hispanic American Newspapers (1808-1980).
Part of the Archive of Americana.
Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980
Includes many newspapers published bilingually in Spanish and English, including many long scattered and forgotten titles published in the 19th century.
This collection is based on the “Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project” directed by Professor Nicolás Kanellos at the University of Houston. It is a subset of America's Historical Newspapers and part of the Archive of Americana.

Archive of Americana
Historical collections that contain books, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, government documents and ephemera printed in America over centuries.
Afro-Americana Imprints, 1535-1922: From Library Company of Philadelphia
A record of African American history, literature, and culture, this collection of books, broadsides, and pamphlets spans the nearly 400-year arc of the fight for freedom and equality.
Part of America's Historical Imprints.
History Vault
History Vault provides access to digitized letters, papers, photographs, scrapbooks, financial records, diaries, and many more primary source materials.

Library of Congress Digital Collections
A rich collection of primary sources related to U.S. history and culture; materials are drawn from the Library of Congress and other research libraries.
This collection is public domain and are not protected by copyright.
Digital Public Library of America
Contains materials from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions across the United States.

The International Civil Rights Museum, Greensboro, NC
The International Civil Rights Center & Museum is an archival center, collecting museum and teaching facility devoted to the international struggle for civil and human rights. The Museum celebrates the nonviolent protests of the 1960 Greensboro sit-ins that served as a catalyst in the civil rights movement.
National Museum of African American History and Culture
The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. It was established by Act of Congress in 2003, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans
Smithsonian Collections Online
Digital facsimiles of primary and secondary sources from the Smithsonian Institution's archives, libraries, and museums.

Interested in Other Databases?

See our A - Z Databases guide for a complete listing of the library's offerings. Search within the "primary sources" database type if you are looking for additional primary resources.

A-Z Databases