Research Guides: Civil Rights in St. Louis: Civil Rights in St. Louis

Contact Info

Archive, Manuscript & Rare Book collections are accessed in Olin Library at the Special Collections reading room.

HOURS: Monday - Friday 9:00-5:00 by appointment

LOCATION: Olin Library, 1st floor, Danforth Campus

REQUESTS / APPOINTMENTS: 314-935-5495 spec@wumail.wustl.edu

*collections stored offsite require advance notice for retrieval and use

Questions about a specific topic? Contact:

University Archives: Sonya Rooney

Rare Books: Cassie Brand

Manuscript: Joel Minor

Local History: Miranda Rectenwald

Dowd Illustration Research Archive: interim curator

Film & Media Archive: Andy Uhrich

Finding Aids by Subject: Civil Rights

This page is an overview of primary sources available at Special Collections in Olin Library about civil rights from the late 1940s-1970s.

Collections available include the Urban League of St. Louis, materials from the WUSTL chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Professor Dan Bolef's Papers, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri Records. Additional sources are St. Louis Mayor's papers covering the late 1940s through 1970s.

Finding aids for select collections:

Guide to St. Louis Mayor's Records
Describes several collections of former mayors, aldermen, and other officials.
Urban League of St. Louis Papers
The papers of the Urban League of St. Louis is quite a large collection of material. It includes 10 sections (series) that are linked on the above mentioned page.
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)
A collection of papers documenting the Washington University chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). This collection also includes many civil rights publications recently donated to the archives, including a number of rare St. Louis independent press publications.
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See Series 2 for pamphlets published in St. Louis.
SCAN Scrapbook
Student Committee for the Admission of Negroes (SCAN) scrapbook detail the activities of SCAN as they sought to persuade the Washington University administration to allow African American students admission to undergraduate studies.
Black Manifesto Collection
Documents of the Association of Black Students (ABS) outlining the areas they urgently felt needed improvement, including black student enrollment, treatment of blacks on campus, and the introduction of a Black Studies program to the curriculum. These points were expanded in the Black Manifesto of 1968.
Dan Bolef Papers (social activist)
The paper's of Professor Bolef (a former WU physicist and social activist) include one section (Series 05) focused on civil rights, and including folders related to Percy Green.
William Sentner Papers (labor organizer)
The personal papers of a local activist chiefly involved with labor organizing and worker rights. Sentner also advocated for racial equality and human rights.
ACLU of Eastern Missouri
The ACLU of Missouri has placed their archives at Washington University. In numerous cases the ACLU-MO worked on topics related to religion and civil rights. *Some materials in this collection are restricted, and Archive staff can help you with this if there are materials you would want to see.*