Honoring History
Unlocking the Past: Digitizing AAI's Educational Legacy
To invest in our shared future, we must come together to preserve and share the legacy of those who helped shape our present.
Since its founding in 1953, when decolonization in Africa, the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, and the U.S.-Soviet Cold War were converging, AAI has played a pivotal role in building a bridge of knowledge and understanding between the United States and Africa.
AAI has fulfilled this role by expanding educational opportunities for African students, and providing Americans with reliable, unbiased information about the Africa continent and its pivotal histories, diverse peoples, dynamic politics, and influential cultures. Now with 70 years behind it, AAI has amassed a rich and historically significant archival collection that we would like to make accessible to everyone in the form of a public digital archive. Help support our mission to preserve and share a treasure trove of educational history that stretches beyond time and borders.
William Steen (back left) and E. Jefferson Murphy (center) with AAI co-founders, William Leo Hansberry (back right) and Henrietta VanNoy (front left)
A Legacy of Empowerment & Progress
From its early years, AAI provided crucial financial and social support for African students studying in the United States, but its journey is so much more than that.
Imagine a collection of 439 boxes, stretching over 658.5 linear feet, each containing stories, experiences, and dreams of countless African students who embarked on a journey of education, empowerment, and leadership. This expansive archival collection reflects the dedication of our co-founders, William Leo Hansberry, Horace Mann Bond and Henrietta Van Noy, who believed in the transformative power of education.
What began as a modest effort to support African students has blossomed into a vibrant intellectual center, drawing together leaders, scholars, innovators, and entrepreneurs, all with a shared passion for African development. AAI's collection offers a remarkable window into the history of American relations with Africa as the continent emerged from colonial domination. We aim to connect with people across the world interested in shaping the future by learning from our legacy of empowerment and progress.
Digitizing Our Timeless Mission
While this collection holds an extraordinary wealth of knowledge, it is currently locked away in off-site archival storage and inaccessible to the global community. However, the need to unlock this educational treasure is more pressing than ever for our goals of:
Enhanced Accessibility: Digitization will open doors to a worldwide audience, allowing researchers, educators, and curious minds from all corners of the globe to delve into this rich educational history.
Preservation of Heritage: Fragile documents and aging photographs will be safeguarded and preserved for the long term, preventing the loss of priceless historical records due to physical deterioration.
Facilitated Research: A digital repository will facilitate efficient and comprehensive research, promoting academic scholarship and interdisciplinary studies on African development.
Educational Enrichment: The digitized collection will serve as a powerful educational tool, enriching curricula and empowering students to learn about America and Africa's joint history, development, and the work of AAI for the past seven decades.
Help Us Reclaim Our History
Your generous donation will contribute directly to the digitization of AAI's historical records, preserving a vital piece of African and American history and ensuring its availability to current and future generations. Every dollar donated takes us one step closer to realizing our vision of a globally accessible, digitized AAI archival collection.
Let's unlock the potential of these historical records and create a lasting impact on education, research, and understanding across the globe. Together, we can ensure that Africa's educational legacy continues to shine bright, illuminating the path to a better future.
Donate now to invest in our legacy! Your contribution today is an investment in preserving and promoting the rich legacy of AAI's historical records, ensuring their enduring impact on education, research, and cultural heritage for generations to come.
