
Discover primary resources.
Browse 455+ years of St. Augustine’s Black history in local archives, collections, and museums:
Additional Archives + Collections
Archives of the Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine
The early Catholic Church records in St. Augustine are maintained by the Diocesan Archives in St. Augustine.
Civil Rights Library of St. Augustine
Flagler College students gathered material, including oral histories, related to the civil rights movement in St. Augustine.
Flagler College’s Oral History Collection
St. Johns County received a grant to collect oral histories in the neighborhood of West Augustine. They are housed at the St. Augustine Historical Society Research Library + made available digitally here through the Flagler College Public History Program.
Florida Humanities’ African American History Archive
With the assistance of the USF-St. Petersburg Library, Florida Humanities compiled information into an online archive on African American history and culture.
Florida Museum of Natural History
Florida Museum of Natural History holds archaeological collections from excavations in St. Augustine – including Fort Mose.
George A. Smathers Libraries’ Special + Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida
The Special and Area Studies Collections covers subjects related to the Black experience + Florida history – such as FBI’s St. Augustine Surveillance Files, Zora Neale Hurston‘s papers, and much more.
International Museum of African American History
The International Museum of African American History hosts the Center for Family History – a resource for the study and advancement of African American genealogy, with connections to Africa and the African diaspora.
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress offers primary sources on Florida history – including United States Work Projects Administration records such as the Slave Narrative Project.
National Archives
The National Archives holds a wealth of material documenting the Black experience.
National Museum of African American History + Culture
The Smithsonian has launched its Open Access Initiative. Images of objects from the NMAAHC collection are now available to view, download, and share through a CC0 license.​
National Park Service
Every park site has a collection, making the National Park Service a huge repository of items important to the cultural and natural history of the country. This includes local sites, such as Castillo de San Marcos National Monument.
Samuel Proctor Oral History Program’s African American History Project at the University of Florida
The African American History Project is an archive of over 600+ oral history interviews conducted with African Americans throughout Alachua County, wider Florida, and the American South – including St. Augustine.
St. Augustine Historical Society Research Library
The St. Augustine Historical Society’s Research Library specializes in local history, Florida colonial history and genealogy.
Southern Journey Oral History Collection at Tulane University Libraries
Southern Journey Oral History Collection was completed from 1991 to 1994 and contains narratives describing the Civil Rights Movement in the southern states – including St. Augustine, Florida.
State Archives of Florida
The State Archives of Florida in Tallahassee holds many St. Augustine and St. Johns County records and photograph collections as well as resources on the Black experience in Florida.
Wolfson Archives at Miami Dade College
The Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives houses over 35,000 hours of video tape and 23 million feet of film documenting Florida history – including coverage of the Civil Rights Movement in St. Augustine.