Williams College Receives the Archives of Alumnus Sterling Brown

Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, has received collections of books, manuscripts, and record albums documenting the life and work of Sterling Brown, one of America’s most influential poets and scholars. Brown was a member of the Class of 1922 graduate at Williams College.

Brown’s family made the donation to the Williams College Archives, where the materials will be preserved, cataloged, and made accessible to researchers in Special Collections. The gift includes Brown’s personal library, manuscripts, photographs, and sound recordings, providing deeper insight into his legacy, especially his devotion to the development of a literature about authentic Black folklife.

“The Sterling A. Brown archive will be the cornerstone of our 20th-century American literary collections,” said Lisa Conathan, head of Special Collections. “With this generous gift, Williams Libraries has acquired an extraordinary resource for the study and teaching of African American poetry.”

Brown was a graduate of Dubar High School in Washington, D.C. After graduating from Williams College in 1922, he earned a master’s degree at Harvard University. Brown taught in the English department at Howard Univesity for more than 40 years. He died in 1989.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

Recent Books of Interest to African American Scholars

The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education regularly publishes a list of new books that may be of interest to our readers. The books included are on a wide variety of subjects and present many different points of view.

Higher Education Gifts or Grants of Interest to African Americans

Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

Online Articles That May Be of Interest to JBHE Readers

Each week, JBHE will provide links to online articles that may be of interest to our readers. Here are this week’s selections.

The University of Texas School of Architecture Names Its Library After Its First Black Graduate

John Chase graduated from the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin in 1952, making him the school's first-ever Black graduate. Over seven decades later, the university has established the John S. Chase Architecture and Planning Library in his honor.

Featured Jobs