Spelman College Archives

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The Spelman College Archives Mission Statement

The primary mission of the Spelman Archives is to collect, preserve, organize, and make available for research historically significant documents and other materials which reflect the College’s origins and development as well as the activities of its constituents and affiliates.

The Archive’s Historical Significance

As one of two remaining historically, Black colleges founded to specifically educate women of the African Diaspora, Spelman College has a rich archival legacy going back to its founding. The Spelman College community has had an ongoing and strong interest in documenting the history of the College. This interest has manifested itself in a continuing commitment to the preservation of its administrative records as well as collecting letters, photographs, audio, documents, personal papers, monographs, and other material created by Spelman College graduates, faculty, staff and affiliates. The campus remains an integral part of Atlanta’s educational landscape, and the archives document the crucial history of one of the nation’s foremost educational institutions. The Spelman college archives and special collections serve as a microcosm of activities in Atlanta’s Black communities and facilitate a deeper understanding of the activities and issues affecting Black communities and internationally.

Holdings of the Spelman College Archives

As the official repository of the College, the greater part of the Archives’ collection consists of administrative records, departmental and program records, publications, photographs and other material relating to the history and administration of the College from its founding to the present. A component of the Women’s Resource and Research Center, the Archives also collects materials on women of the African Diaspora. The Spelman College Photograph Collection includes approximately 30,000 images of faculty, staff, students, alumnae, visitors, campus events and the physical plant. The Spelman College Publications Collection includes catalogs, bulletins, pamphlets, brochures, yearbooks, Campus Mirror, Spelman Spotlight, Spelman Messenger.

The archives is also the repository for the records of the National Alumnae Association of Spelman College and the Atlanta Chapter of the National Alumnae of Spelman College.