Building African American Collections

Randall K. Burkett was hired in 1997 as Emory’s first curator for African American collections. Over the past 21 years, he has led the university’s effort to build collections of rare books, manuscripts, serials, photographs, and print ephemera in this field. He and his Rose Library colleagues have sought to ensure the African American voice is represented and have given priority to African American-authored and African American-published material. The exhibition highlights treasures in the collections and Burkett’s stories of their discovery and acquisition.