DAP LUXE

THE BLYDEN BLUEPRINT

The Archive

A research practice. Archive. Living institution.

I · THE BLYDEN BLUEPRINT

The Blyden Blueprint is a single continuous practice.

ARCHIVE
What we hold. The libraries and collections we read from across the Diaspora.
RESEARCH
How we read. Rooted in Edward Wilmot Blyden's lifework on African linguistic heritage sovereignty.
PUBLISHING
What we release. Findings from this reading shared with the field.
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 135th Street, Harlem, exterior

HARLEM, NEW YORK

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Black culture · Digital collections · Oral history

A research division of the New York Public Library devoted to the global Black experience. The Schomburg is a foundational diasporic archive.

Photo: Jim.henderson · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Moorland-Spingarn Research Center

African diaspora · Manuscripts · Howard University

Howard University's research center for the African diaspora. Editorial statement forthcoming.

Photo: Smallbones · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

VISIT THE ARCHIVE →
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, New York Public Library, exterior

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

New York Public Library Digital Collections

Public domain · Manuscripts · Photographs

NYPL has released over 800,000 images into the public domain. The Digital Collections include illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, and rare prints.

Photo: Frypie · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

VISIT THE ARCHIVE →
Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, exterior

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Library of Congress · African and Middle Eastern Division

African studies · Manuscripts · Digital collections

The Library of Congress African Division stewards materials from across the African continent and diaspora. Editorial statement forthcoming.

Photo: Josh · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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Digital Public Library of America

IMAGERY FORTHCOMING

UNITED STATES (DISTRIBUTED)

Digital Public Library of America

Digital aggregation · Public domain · Cross-institutional

DPLA aggregates digitized primary sources from libraries, archives, and cultural heritage institutions across the United States. A meta-archive of archives.

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National Museum of African American History and Culture, David Adjaye corona facade, exterior

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Material culture · Public domain · CC0 imagery

NMAAHC has released significant portions of its collection imagery under CC0. The museum is a living monument to African American material culture.

Photo: Macfawlty · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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Walter Rodney Archives

IMAGERY FORTHCOMING

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA

Walter Rodney Archives

Pan-Africanism · Caribbean history · Activist papers

The Walter Rodney Archives steward the papers of the Guyanese historian and Pan-Africanist Walter Rodney. Editorial statement forthcoming.

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George Padmore, portrait circa 1937

ACCRA, GHANA

George Padmore Research Library on African Affairs

Pan-Africanism · Ghana · Independence movements

Founded in 1961, the George Padmore Library stewards documentation of Pan-Africanist movements and Ghanaian independence. Editorial statement forthcoming.

George Padmore, circa 1937 · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons

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Folio from a Quran in Maghrebi script, Mamma Haidara Library, Timbuktu

TIMBUKTU, MALI

Timbuktu Manuscripts Project

Manuscripts · Islamic scholarship · Pre-colonial

Timbuktu holds tens of thousands of manuscripts dating from the 13th to 20th centuries, documenting West African scholarship in Arabic, Songhai, and other languages.

Photo: Marie-Lan Nguyen · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Mamma Haidara Library, Timbuktu

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Bibliotheca Alexandrina, exterior with circular Snøhetta facade

ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT

Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Modern revival · Mediterranean · Cross-cultural

The modern revival of the ancient Library of Alexandria. Holds the Manuscript Museum and the Antiquities Museum alongside contemporary digital collections.

Photo: Mona Abo-Abda · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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Jagger Library at University of Cape Town, pre-2021 fire

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

Africana Library · University of Cape Town

Southern Africa · Decolonial scholarship · University collections

The Africana Library at UCT holds research materials on Southern African history, politics, and culture. Editorial statement forthcoming.

Photo: Ian Barbour · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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British Library, St Pancras, London, exterior

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM

British Library · Africa Collections

Colonial archives · Manuscripts · Maps

The British Library Africa Collections include manuscripts, maps, and printed works that span the colonial and post-colonial periods. The maison engages this archive critically.

Photo: Patche99z · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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Bibliothèque nationale de France, Site Richelieu, Paris, exterior

PARIS, FRANCE

Bibliothèque Nationale de France · African Studies

Francophone Africa · Manuscripts · Colonial archives

The BnF African Studies collection holds manuscripts, books, and ephemera from across Francophone Africa and the diaspora. The maison engages this archive critically.

Photo: vincent desjardins · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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Centro de Investigación y Documentación Afro-Latino

IMAGERY FORTHCOMING

DISTRIBUTED (CUBA, BRAZIL, COLOMBIA)

Centro de Investigación y Documentación Afro-Latino

Afro-Latino · Music traditions · Diasporic ritual

Documentation centers across Latin America preserving Afro-Latino musical, religious, and cultural traditions. Editorial statement forthcoming.

VISIT THE ARCHIVE →

II · PUBLISHED FINDINGS

Coming Soon

III · SUBMIT AN ARCHIVE

Add your library to the directory.

The directory is open to additions on review. If you steward a library, archive, or digital collection that belongs here, write to us. Send the archive name, location, focus, and a public URL.

WRITE TO INFO@DAPLUXE.COM →

PRESS INQUIRIES

Reach the maison at info@dapluxe.com