African American History: Primary Sources: Pittsburgh Focused

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, ARCHIVES SERVICE CENTER-AIS MANUSCRIPTS AIS 78:8
Black lawyer, state legislator and judge prominent in Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh politics and government.

Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
The papers of K. Leroy Irvis document the life of one of Pennsylvania’s most prominent politicians. The collection contains a wide variety of material including correspondence, legislative material, interviews, campaign literature, publications, photographs, and newspaper clippings. Areas of concentration in the collection include: the Pennsylvania Legislature, higher education, prison reform, housing, Pennsylvania history, senior citizens, National Democratic Conventions, the development of Pittsburgh’s African-American culture and history, mental health, civil rights, and Irvis’ relationship with his family and constituents.

Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
The Records of the NAACP, Pittsburgh Branch, consist of correspondence, reports of chapter to national headquarters; minutes of Executive Board meetings, reports of chapter’s activities, chapter programs on: segregation in labor and industry, employment, education, housing, and public accommodations; membership campaigns, cards, and record books; financial statements, paid bills, and receipt books. The records also include public relations information, and miscellaneous pamphlets.

Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
Contains correspondence, memorabilia, and miscellaneous material pertaining to civil rights and interracial programs in the Pittsburgh Area Camp Achievement, George Washington Carver Week, Pittsburgh Interracial Home Visit Committee, Project Friendship, SHARE, United Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (Pittsburgh Presbytery) Membership Exchange Plan, and Mississippi Project; includes tape of Jazz for Freedom Concert, 17 January 1965.

Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
The records of the Urban League of Pittsburgh, founded in 1918, contain minutes, correspondence, department reports, photographs and Urban League Fellows theses from 1915-1963, with a concentration of materials between 1918-1945. Many of the records were destroyed in a fire that occurred in the League offices in 1945. The collection is divided into 9 series according to subject and are arranged chronologically and alphabetically. The strength of the collection concerns African-American employment and training. Topics such as federal housing projects, youth employment, worker discrimination and African-American welfare work. The records contain extensive material about the National Urban League, Negro Industrial Welfare Workers, National Vocation Opportunity Campaign and Camp Weldon Johnson. The photographs separated from the general collection maintain the file numbers present in this finding aid.

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The African American Collection, comprised of archives and museum artifacts located at the History Center, is dedicated to the preservation, dissemination, and interpretation of the life, history and culture of Africans and African Americans in Western Pennsylvania.