North Carolina State University, Office of the Provost, African American Cultural Center Records 1984-2025

Summary
Contents
Names/subjects
Using these materials
Please note that some historical materials may contain harmful content and/or descriptions. Learn how we’re addressing it.
Creator
African American Cultural Center (North Carolina State University)
Size
5.4 linear feet (6 boxes, 3 flat folders, 1 oversize flat box); 50.458 gigabytes; 9094 files; 3 websites
Call number
UA 005.072
Access to materials

Collection is open for research; access requires at least 48 hours advance notice. Because of the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access will require additional advanced notice. Unless noted, digital media are not available online. Copies of unrestricted digital files will be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room upon request. Access will be provided to use copies of unrestricted digital files rather than carrier media, such as CDs, DVDs, and floppy disks. Some or all electronic files may be unavailable or restricted due to privacy reasons, agreement with the donor, software is not available to interact with files, or because files cannot be retrieved from original media.

The North Carolina State University, Office of the Provost, African American Cultural Center Records contain agendas, flyers, and other materials pertaining to the African American Heritage Society's annual meetings and events. These events include Heritage Day, the Pan-Afrikan Festival, and the Heritage Symposium. This collection also contains Advisory Committee minutes, correspondence, agendas, and publicity related to the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Cultural Festival. There are general records as well, which contain materials related to the building of the Cultural Center Annex, now the Witherspoon Student Center, and the African American Cultural Center's involvement in the planning.

The African American Cultural Center promotes awareness of and appreciation for African American and other African descent experiences through activities and events that enhance academic excellence and strengthen cultural competence for the campus and surrounding communities. As a unit of the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity, the African American Cultural Center is an indispensable component of NC State University’s mission of “building a diverse and inclusive campus community, fostering demographic and intellectual diversity, fostering internal and external partnerships and adopting an operational model that embraces efficiency and accountability.” The Center also operates the African American Cultural Library and Cultural Art Gallery.

Biographical/historical note

The African American Cultural Center promotes awareness of and appreciation for African American and other African descent experiences through activities and events that enhance academic excellence and strengthen cultural competence for the campus and surrounding communities. As a unit of the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity, the African American Cultural Center is an indispensable component of NC State University’s mission of “building a diverse and inclusive campus community, fostering demographic and intellectual diversity, fostering internal and external partnerships and adopting an operational model that embraces efficiency and accountability.” The Center also operates the African American Cultural Library and Cultural Art Gallery.

The first African American Cultural Center was formed in 1970 and was located in the YMCA Building. In 1974, African American students called for a new cultural center. Student Body President Terry Carroll presented a “four point” request to Chancellor John T. Caldwell, which included a request for the first floor of the Print Shop to be turned over to the Society of Afro-American Culture for an African American Cultural Center. Banks C. Talley, Dean of Student Affairs, complied with this request. In the early 1980s, there were calls to rennovate the print shop which had grown somewhat decrepit. Ultimately, by the late 1980s, the university decided to build an entirely new Student Cultural Center Annex, of which the African American Cultural Center would be a part. In 1991, the Center moved to its current location in the Student Center Annex, now called Witherspoon Student Center. After student and faculty protests, it was granted an operating budget by NC State University administrators.

Scope/content

The North Carolina State University, Office of the Provost, African American Cultural Center Records contain agendas, flyers, and other materials pertaining to the African American Heritage Society's annual meetings and events. These events include Heritage Day, the Pan-Afrikan Festival, and the Heritage Symposium. This collection also contains Advisory Committee minutes, correspondence, agendas, and publicity related to the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Cultural Festival. There are general records as well, which contain materials related to the building of the Cultural Center Annex, now the Witherspoon Student Center, and the African American Cultural Center's involvement in the planning.

Other items included in the general records include a site study of the Student Center Annex and other architectural drawings and plans for the center. There are items related to the council of directors and the African American Cultural Center resident organizations statement of purpose. Additionally there is an assortment of event programs, flyers, calendars, and posters from the center.

There are two DVDs related to African American History; St. Agnes Hospital: The Untold Story and Opening Doors: The Lives and Legacies of Dr. Lawrence M. Clark and Dr. Augustus M. Witherspoon.

This collection also includes an archive of the African American Cultural Center's website starting from November 2012.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in series. Each series is arranged chronologically.

1. Heritage Society, 2. Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Festival, 3. General Records 4. Web Content 5. Digital Media

Use of these materials

The NC State University Libraries generally claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. Libraries staff are unable to advise on copyright and other legal matters; the user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Helpful resources for assessing copyright include Cornell Libraries’ “Copyright Services: Copyright Term and the Public Domain,” the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy’s "Is It Protected by Copyright?," and copyright.gov. This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information about identifiable living individuals, which may be protected under federal or state laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that there may be legal ramifications for disclosing this information.

The University Archives operates in accordance with the State Public Records Act, with unrestricted access to records not covered by state and federal statutes and regulations.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], North Carolina State University, Office of the Provost, African American Cultural Center Records, UA 005.072, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC

Source of acquisition

Transferred from the African American Cultural Center, 2012-2021 (Accessions 2012.0288, 2015.0003, 2017.0179, 2019.0013, 2019.0055, 2021.0116) Web content harvested using the Internet Archive's Archive-It services.

Processing information

Processed by: Cathy Dorin-Black, 2012 November; Finding aid written by Cathy Dorin-Black, 2012 November; Collection reprocessed by Margot Cook, 2022 March; Finding aid updated by Margot Cook, 2022 March; Web content processed by Kate Phillips, 2026 January.

Please note that some historical materials may contain harmful content and/or descriptions. Learn how we’re addressing it.
Heritage Society 1988-2000
Heritage Day 1988 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 1
Trip to Togo, West Africa 1989 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 1, Folder 1
Annual Heritage Symposium 1989 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 14
Annual Society Activities/Records 1988-1989 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 1, Folder 4
Trip to Togo, West Africa 1990 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 1, Folder 2
Heritage Day 1990 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 3
Advisor Council Meeting Agendas 1988-1990 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 1, Folder 3
Heritage Day 1988-1990 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 2
Annual Society Activities/Records 1989-1990 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 1, Folder 5
Heritage Day 1991 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 4
Annual Heritage Symposium 1991 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 15
Annual Society Activities/Records 1990-1991 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 1, Folder 6
Heritage Day 1992 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 5
Annual Society Activities/Records 1991-1992 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 1, Folder 7
Heritage Day 1993 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 6
Annual Heritage Symposium - Cancelled 1993 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 16
Annual Society Activities/Records 1992-1993 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 1, Folder 8
Heritage Day 1994 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 7
Annual Heritage Symposium 1994 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 17
Annual Society Activities/Records 1993-1994 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 1, Folder 9
Heritage Day 1995 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 8
Annual Heritage Symposium 1995 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 18
Annual Society Activities/Records 1994-1995 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 1, Folder 10
Heritage Day 1996 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 9
Annual Heritage Symposium 1996 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 19
Heritage Symposium Publication 1993-1996 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 24
Annual Society Activities/Records 1995-1996 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 1, Folder 11
Heritage Day 1997 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 10
Annual Heritage Symposium 1997 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 20
Annual Society Activities/Records 1996-1997 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 1, Folder 12
Heritage Day 1998 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 11
Annual Heritage Symposium 1998 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 21
Annual Society Activities/Records 1997-1998 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 1, Folder 13
Heritage Day 1999 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 12
Annual Heritage Symposium 1999 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 22
Pan-Afrikan Festival undated, 1999 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 13
Annual Society Activities/Records 1998-1999 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 1, Folder 14
Annual Heritage Symposium 2000 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 2, Folder 23
Annual Society Activities/Records 1999-2000 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 1, Folder 15
Martin Luther King, Jr. Cultural Festival 1986-2002
Annual Festival Correspondence/Agenda/Publicity 1986 (Accession 2012.0288)

Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.

Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.

Festival Advisory Committee 1987 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 3, Folder 2
Annual Festival Correspondence/Agenda/Publicity 1987 (Accession 2012.0288)

Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.

Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.

Box 3, Folder 3
Festival Advisory Committee 1988 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 3, Folder 4
Annual Festival Correspondence/Agenda/Publicity 1988 (Accession 2012.0288)

Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.

Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.

Box 3, Folder 5
Festival Advisory Committee 1989 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 3, Folder 6
Annual Festival Correspondence/Agenda/Publicity 1989 (Accession 2012.0288)

Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.

Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.

Box 3, Folder 7
Festival Advisory Committee 1990 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 3, Folder 8
Annual Festival Correspondence/Agenda/Publicity 1990 (Accession 2012.0288)

Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.

Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.

Box 3, Folder 9
Festival Advisory Committee 1991 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 3, Folder 10
Annual Festival Correspondence/Agenda/Publicity 1991 (Accession 2012.0288)

Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.

Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.

Box 3, Folder 11
Festival Advisory Committee 1992 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 3, Folder 12
Annual Festival Correspondence/Agenda/Publicity 1992 (Accession 2012.0288)

Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.

Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.

Box 3, Folder 13
Festival Advisory Committee 1993 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 3, Folder 14
Annual Festival Correspondence/Agenda/Publicity 1993 (Accession 2012.0288)

Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.

Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.

Box 3, Folder 15
Annual Festival Correspondence/Agenda/Publicity 1994 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 3, Folder 16
Annual Festival Correspondence/Agenda/Publicity 1996 (Accession 2012.0288)

Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.

Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.

Box 3, Folder 17
Festival Advisory Committee 1997 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 4, Folder 1
Annual Festival Correspondence/Agenda/Publicity 1997 (Accession 2012.0288)

Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.

Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.

Box 4, Folder 2
I Have a Dream Performance 1997 (Accession 2012.0288)

Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.

Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.

Box 4, Folder 3
Festival Advisory Committee 1998 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 4, Folder 4
Annual Festival Correspondence/Agenda/Publicity 1998 (Accession 2012.0288)

Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.

Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.

Box 4, Folder 5
I Have a Dream Performance 1998 (Accession 2012.0288)

Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.

Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.

Annual Festival Correspondence/Agenda/Publicity 1999 (Accession 2012.0288)

Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.

Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.

Box 4, Folder 7
Festival Advisory Committee 2000 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 4, Folder 8
Annual Festival Correspondence/Agenda/Publicity 2000 (Accession 2012.0288)

Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.

Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.

Box 4, Folder 9
Festival Advisory Committee 2001 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 4, Folder 10
Annual Festival Correspondence/Agenda/Publicity 2001 (Accession 2012.0288, 2019.0013)

Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.

Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.

Box 4, Folder 11
Festival Advisory Committee 2002 (Accession 2012.0288)
Box 4, Folder 12
Annual Festival Correspondence/Agenda/Publicity 2002 (Accession 2012.0288)

Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.

Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.

Box 4, Folder 13
General Records 1984-2025
Size: 1.306 gigabytes; 20 files
Cultural Center Rennovation Planning/Correspondence 1984-1987
Box 5, Folder 1
Student Center Annex Site Study and Plans 1988, undated (Accession 2019.0013)
Box 5, Folder 3
Printed Photograph on Board of Dr. Witherspoon and Dr. Clark Leading a Group in Togo 1989 March (Accession 2021.0116)

Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.

Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.

Oversize flat box 6
Cultural Center Annex Planning & Correspondence 1988-1991
Box 5, Folder 2
Organizational Structure for the Council of Directors of the AACC 1992, 1993 (Accession 2019.0013)
Box 5, Folder 4
African American Cultural Center Council of Directors 1994-1996 (Accession 2019.0013)
Box 5, Folder 5
AACC Resident Organizations Statement of Purpose 1998 (Accession 2021.0116)
Box 5, Folder 6
International Print Portfolio Artists' Expressions of Human Rights (Poster) 2008 (Accession 2019.0055)
Flat folder 1
St. Agnes Hospital: The Untold Story, DVD-R 2012 Sept. (Accession 2015.0003)
Size: 1 DVD-R optical disc; 1306.36 megabytes; 20 files

Memorex Printable DVD-R

Box 5, Folder 8
Event Programs, Flyers, Calendars 1995, 1998-1999, 2013-2014, 2016 (Accession 2019.0013)

Access to physical material and digital files not available online may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room after staff review.

Some materials may not have been digitized or made available online.

Box 5, Folder 7
Opening Doors: The Lives and Legacies of Dr. Lawrence M. Clark and Dr. Augustus M. Witherspoon undated (Accession 2015.0003)

DVD

Box 5, Folder 9
Sankofa Art Exhibition Guest Book 2021-2024 (bulk 2021 September 10-2021 October 10) (Accession 2025.0097)

Note: "Seems to have been left out and covers other exhibitions as well, e.g. BMI Aura of Blackness, March 24th 2024."

Box 7, Folder 1
National Library Week 2025 -- AACC Library Coaster, Library due date pocket (with national library week sticker) 2025 April (Accession 2025.0097)

Library due date pocket is filled with AACC Pen, AACC Library magnetic bookmark, small crystal, Wynter Douglas (interim library coordinator) business card, and stickers

Box 7, Folder 7
Event Fliers 2023-2025 (Accession 2025.0097)

Explore African American and Diasporic Book Collections; Black History Month Book Club; Locked In; Legendborn Book Club; National Library Week; Black Book Talks; Black Research Symposium: Afro-Diaspoic World Building and a Sustainable Futurity

Box 7, Folder 2
Library Signage and Brochures 2024-2025 (Accession 2025.0097)
Box 7, Folder 3
Nikki Giovanni: Celebration of Life 2025 (Accession 2025.0097)
Box 7, Folder 4
AACC Library: A Scrapbook of Memories (1 of 2) 2007-2012 (Accession 2025.0097)
Box 7, Folder 5
AACC Library: A Scrapbook of Memories (2 of 2) 2007-2012 (Accession 2025.0097)
Box 7, Folder 6
Poster -- "When I Know the Power of My Black Hand," by Lance Jeffers undated (Accession 2025.0097)
Flat folder 2
Posters -- Black Research Symposium 2023 (Accession 2025.0097)
Flat folder 3
Web Content 2012-ongoing
Size: 3 websites

This series is comprised of web sites of the North Carolina State University’s African American Cultural Center, captured by the NC State University Libraries since July 2016 using the Internet Archive’s Archive-It web archiving service, with prior captures by the Internet Archive dating November 2012, which may be less complete and was performed at undetermined intervals.

African American Cultural Center website (https://oied.ncsu.edu/aacc/) 2012-2023
Size: 1 website

This is the official website of North Carolina State University’s African American Cultural Center. The NC State University Libraries has scheduled this website to be captured quarterly since July 2016. Also included here are prior captures by the Internet Archive dating back to November 2012.

African American Cultural Center website (https://diversity.ncsu.edu/aacc/) 2023-2024 (https://diversity.ncsu.edu/aacc/ )
Size: 1 website

This is the official website for the African American Cultural Center at NC State University, hosted under the Division of Academic and Student Affairs. The NC State University Libraries has captured this site quarterly from 2023 to 2024. The site now redirects to https://aacc.dasa.ncsu.edu/.

Online access is provided through the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.

African American Cultural Center website (https://aacc.dasa.ncsu.edu/) 2026-ongoing (https://aacc.dasa.ncsu.edu/)
Size: 1 website

This is the official website for the African American Cultural Center at NC State University. The NC State University Libraries has captured this site quarterly since 2026. The site was previously hosted and captured at the URL https://diversity.ncsu.edu/aacc, and began redirecting in 2024.

Online access is provided through the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.

Digital Media 2008-2024
Size: 48 gigabytes; 9074 files

Materials in this series may be related to materials in other series in this collection.

Files are arranged as received.

Researchers may request copies of digital files. The Special Collections Research Center cannot guarantee that all files will open and will not in all cases have software available to read files.

File count of digital media may exclude system files; hidden, deleted, or excluded files; and duplicate files.

Digital photographs and videos 2008-2024 (2024.0124)
Size: 48 gigabytes; 9074 files

Photographs document annual events, such as the MLK Campus Commemoration, Blacks in Wax, Ebony Harlem Awards, Harambee, and Kwanzaa, as well as other programs. There are also staff portraits and photos of the Center.

Included are 7375 Exchangeable Image File Format (Compressed) files, 1276 JPEG File Interchange Format files, 406 Raw JPEG Stream files, 10 Portable Network Graphics files, 6 MPEG-4 Media File files, and 424 symlinks.

After review, access to the digital copies may be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room upon request.

Files retrieved from the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity's SmugMug, an image hosting platform. Duplicate files were replaced with symlinks.

Please note that some historical materials may contain harmful content and/or descriptions. Learn how we’re addressing it.

Access to the collection

Collection is open for research; access requires at least 48 hours advance notice. Because of the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access will require additional advanced notice. Unless noted, digital media are not available online. Copies of unrestricted digital files will be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room upon request. Access will be provided to use copies of unrestricted digital files rather than carrier media, such as CDs, DVDs, and floppy disks. Some or all electronic files may be unavailable or restricted due to privacy reasons, agreement with the donor, software is not available to interact with files, or because files cannot be retrieved from original media.

For more information contact us via mail, phone, or our web form.

Mailing address:
Special Collections Research Center
Box 7111
Raleigh, NC, 27695-7111

Phone: (919) 515-2273

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], North Carolina State University, Office of the Provost, African American Cultural Center Records, UA 005.072, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC

Use of these materials

The NC State University Libraries generally claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. Libraries staff are unable to advise on copyright and other legal matters; the user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Helpful resources for assessing copyright include Cornell Libraries’ “Copyright Services: Copyright Term and the Public Domain,” the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy’s "Is It Protected by Copyright?," and copyright.gov. This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information about identifiable living individuals, which may be protected under federal or state laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that there may be legal ramifications for disclosing this information.

The University Archives operates in accordance with the State Public Records Act, with unrestricted access to records not covered by state and federal statutes and regulations.