CSSR Archival Collections

The Center for Studying Structures of Race maintains two archival collections. Both utilize object-based learning to encourage critical, creative, and conceptual thinking about the history of race, and asks researchers to make connections between past and contemporary forms of structural racism.

Student researchers are involved in all aspects of the archive’s management including material handling and processing, inventorying, researching and writing catalog descriptions, photographing and scanning items, and assembling digital databases.

• The Maurice Berger Memorial Archive and Library: Named in honor of art historian, curator, and critic Maurice Berger, this archive is a collection of books, photographs, and objects focused on African American history, the history of photography, and the study of race and racism. 
• The CSSR Historical Objects Collection: This archive contains advertising, photographs, ephemera, household items, consumer goods, organizational and personal papers, and other objects that reveal the myriad ways in which racism has been produced and reproduced within American culture. It exists as a platform for research, teaching, and learning about the material history of systemic racism.

The CSSR archive also includes the following sub-collections: the United Daughters of the Confederacy, United Confederate Veterans, Lost Cause, Racist and Stereotypical Materials, Black History, Contemporary Art, American Colonialism, Photography History, and the Effie Combs Personal Papers. The collections are located in Fintel Library, Room 285.

For more information about the archival collections, contact Dr. Jesse Bucher at bucher@roanoke.edu.