Long neglected in studies of the anti-slavery movement that precipitated the Civil War, the important writings, speeches, and correspondence of black abolitionists are drawn together in a comprehensive collection for researchers.

Now libraries can supplement their African-American studies holdings with primary sources necessary for a complete study of this major historical topic. The collection encompasses approximately 15,000 articles and documents of nearly 300 black abolitionists in the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, France, and Germany and includes:

• the correspondence of key African-American leaders
• speeches, sermons, and lectures
• articles, essays, editorials, and other major writings from more than 200 African-American, abolitionist, and reform newspapers
• receipts, poems, and other miscellaneous documents

The Black Abolitionist Papers project was conceived, compiled, and edited by George E. Carter, University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, and C. Peter Ripley, Florida State University, who recognized that these reformers were a persuasive force in the 19th-century anti-slavery movement who had been virtually ignored.

Among research topics to be explored in this collection are:

• northern/southern separatism within the church
• black colonization and emigration
• black political action
• church support of black educational institutions
• black intellectual and social life

This collection constitutes the largest single collection of materials touching antebellum African-Americans. A black studies program would not be complete without access to these documents outlining the integral role played by African-Americans in the anti-slavery crusade.