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 African continent and its 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. Volume I is in preparation.
HARLEM, NEW YORK
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
VISIT THE ARCHIVE →WASHINGTON, D.C.
Howard University's research center for the African diaspora. Editorial statement forthcoming.
Photo: Smallbones · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
VISIT THE ARCHIVE →NEW YORK, NEW YORK
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 →WASHINGTON, D.C.
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
VISIT THE ARCHIVE →UNITED STATES (DISTRIBUTED)
DPLA aggregates digitized primary sources from libraries, archives, and cultural heritage institutions across the United States. A meta-archive of archives.
VISIT THE ARCHIVE →WASHINGTON, D.C.
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
VISIT THE ARCHIVE →GEORGETOWN, GUYANA
The Walter Rodney Archives steward the papers of the Guyanese historian and Pan-Africanist Walter Rodney. Editorial statement forthcoming.
VISIT THE ARCHIVE →ACCRA, GHANA
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
VISIT THE ARCHIVE →TIMBUKTU, MALI
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
VISIT THE ARCHIVE →ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT
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
VISIT THE ARCHIVE →CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
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
VISIT THE ARCHIVE →LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
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
VISIT THE ARCHIVE →PARIS, FRANCE
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
VISIT THE ARCHIVE →DISTRIBUTED (CUBA, BRAZIL, COLOMBIA)
Documentation centers across Latin America preserving Afro-Latino musical, religious, and cultural traditions. Editorial statement forthcoming.
VISIT THE ARCHIVE →II · PUBLISHED FINDINGS
Volume I: in preparation.
III · SUBMIT AN ARCHIVE
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.
IV · SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Public domain and Creative Commons media repository.
INTERNET ARCHIVE
Books, audio, video, public domain content.
EUROPEANA
European cultural heritage aggregator.
OPENGLAM
Open Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums.
HATHITRUST
Academic library partnership.
CREATIVE COMMONS SEARCH
CC-licensed media discovery.
PRESS INQUIRIES
Reach the maison at info@dapluxe.com
.jpg?width=1600)
.jpg?width=1600)