This resource serves as a guide to researching the African American experience in the history of sports. It is intended for sports historians, librarians, and those interested in sports history. This guide can be used as a resource for sports librarians to curate and organize their collections. The most comprehensive research into the history of sports involves visits to halls of fame and museums due to the unique nature of artifacts associated with sports. A short list of such institutions is presented in this guide.
Though far from exhaustive, the resources presented here are intended to be used as a starting point for research into this topic. This guide attempted to cover a wide range of sports, although many are missing and are beyond the limited scope of this guide. Some points for further research are touched upon including women in sport, intercollegiate sports, and the intersection of race, social justice, and sport. Resources referenced here are available through Simmons University Beatley Library, the Boston Public Library, or the world wide web.
This guide is divided into several sections that address a different aspect of researching African American sports history. Use the tabs above or links below to access each section.
Dymond Bush has a background in sports-earning two degrees in sports management (B.S. Sports Management from Hampton University and M.S. in Kinesiology, Sport Management and Policy Specialization from the University of Georgia). She has had a lifelong interest in sports following in the footsteps of her mother who was a high school athletic director. Her intention of earning a MLIS was to become a sports librarian to combine her passions of sports and history. An avid traveler, she takes every chance she can to visit sports halls of fame and museums.
