The Black Materials Project was an initiative of the Disciples of Christ Historical Society (DCHS) to identify and provide access to the Historical Society’s materials on Black Disciples and race relations within the “Disciples” movement. The Black Materials Project culminated in the publication of the Preliminary Guide to Black Materials in the Disciples of Christ Historical Society in 1971.
Around 1970, Marvin J. Williams Jr., Director of the Library and Archivist at DCHS, launched the Black Materials Project in Nashville, Tennessee, in response to increased interest in materials related to Black Disciples churches, individuals, and organizations. The Historical Society had maintained such resources since its founding in 1941; however, locating these materials proved challenging for DCHS staff members, impeding their ability to provide researchers with pertinent information.
The project aimed to provide researchers with greater access to historical information about Black Disciples, encourage donations of records about African-American Disciples, and promote “racial harmony, dignity, and mutual respect.” With Williams at the helm, DCHS undertook a concerted effort to identify, locate, and compile resources relevant to the project within the DCHS collection. Multiple DCHS staff members were involved in the work. Three individuals, in particular, were notable contributors to the endeavor: Assistant DCHS Librarian Marsha B. Uselton and two student workers from the Divinity School of Vanderbilt University, Richard L. Harrison Jr., and James O. Duke.
Staff members unearthed both invaluable documentation and notable gaps regarding African-Americans in the Stone-Campbell movement. To compensate for the underrepresentation of this history, DCHS received additional materials and support from Disciples church leaders and notable individuals, such as Ann Dickerson, former secretary of the National Christian Missionary Convention; J. F. Whitfield, director of the Capital City Christian Church Corporation; Robert H. Peoples; and Pablo Cotto.
In 1971, DCHS published its findings in the Preliminary Guide to Black Materials in the Disciples of Christ Historical Society. This thirty-two-page guide contains bibliographic entries regarding African-American Disciples and was designed to reflect the organizational structure of DCHS holdings at the time of the project. Each section is categorized by material type and includes explanatory summaries for additional guidance.
The historical society maintains a collection of citations, notes, and primary sources compiled by Marvin D. Williams Jr. and other staff members of DCHS while working on the Black Materials Project (PP-00152). The bulk of the collection consists of index cards with citations to DCHS collection materials about Black Disciples and African-American ministries arranged into five broad categories: topical, state work, biographical, “used,” and “not used.” The cards include the names of the organization/person/topic of interest, related source material citations, brief material descriptions and summaries, significant dates, and locations within the DCHS collection. It is unclear how much of the content on the index cards was published in the Preliminary Guide to Black Materials in the Disciples of Christ Historical Society.
Works Cited
Duke, James O., “DCHS and Its Black Materials Project” (1971). Stone-Campbell Movement Monographs. 4.
Williams, Marvin D. Jr, “Preliminary Guide to Black Materials in the Disciples of Christ Historical Society” (1971). Stone-Campbell Movement Monographs. 3.