Columbia has a wealth of online resources detailing the breadth of the African American experience. Learn more about some of the great Columbians who have played key roles in our local and national history.
Did You Know?
Charles R. Drew, MD, MSD (1904-1950), was an American surgeon whose expertise in blood preservation helped shape blood banking in the United States. His doctoral work was completed at Columbia, and in 1940 he became the first African American to receive a doctor of medical science degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons.
The African American Experience
A number of faculty and interdisciplinary centers at Columbia are engaged in research that chronicles and illuminates this important part of American history and culture.
Interdisciplinary scholarship and teaching on African Diaspora, urbanism, Black political and religious thought, Black cultural studies, and critically engaged research
Columbia Rare Book & Manuscripts Library houses the scrapbooks and archives of amateur historian Alexander Gumby.
An interactive timeline of Columbia Law School's many connections to the Civil Rights movement
A wealth of archival treasures and scholarship about the history of one of the world's most famous and influential neighborhoods
This project explores Columbia's connections with slavery and antislavery movements from its founding in 1754 through the end of the Civil War.
Columbia's Center for Jazz Studies provides new models for innovative teaching and scholarly inquiry in the arts, humanities and sciences.