BMRC ARCHIVES PORTAL
Discover Collections on Black Experiences
Discover the unique collections on Black experiences freely available to you in libraries, museums, archives, and other organizations in the Chicago area, through the Black Metropolis Research Consortium (BMRC) Archives Portal.
CHOOSE YOUR PORTAL PATH: Use keywords in the search box at the top of the page, browse a category, or click on one of the boxes BELOW: Curated Topic, online exhibit, or the "Try a Term" feature, where a new topic, place, or person appears when you refresh or re-visit this page.
Look for location and contact information on the collection finding aids/guides to find your way to the archives.
Learn more about the project or consult our Research Help.
Member Highlight
Columbia College Chicago
CCC’s Archives and Special Collections documents and shares materials related to the College. The College Archives manages the Center for Black Music Research collections, which include materials of organizations like the National Association for Negro Musicians, personal papers of individual composers and musicians, and of pioneering scholars like Eileen Southern.
The College Archives has materials relevant to the African diaspora and Chicago’s Anti-Apartheid Movement. Columbia’s Archives and the CBMR are currently open by appointment to College students, faculty, and staff only. Accessibility options at this repository include elevators, automatic doors, low height counters and wheelchair-accessible research tables, wheelchair-accessible toilets, braille on signage, and sign language interpretation. Learn more about this repository and Columbia College's collections.
View collections from Columbia College ChicagoAbout the BMRC
The Black Metropolis Research Consortium (BMRC) is a Chicago-based membership association of libraries, universities, museums, community/arts organizations and other archival institutions. The BMRC’s mission is to connect all who seek to document, share, understand and preserve Black experiences.
It is the vision of the BMRC to be essential to promoting discovery, preservation, and use of Black historical collections. Through consortial programs, the BMRC aids in expanding broad access to its members’ holdings of materials that document African American and African diasporic culture, history, and politics, with a specific focus on materials relating to Chicago.