Collection inventory

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The Black Voice Collection

An inventory of the collection at the Syracuse University Archives


Finding aid created by: Halsey Van Allen
Date: 2023

Historical Note

The Black Voice was a Syracuse University student publication. Starting in 1968 or early 1969 as the Student Afro-American Society newsletter, it was reportedly originally called Habari Gani, a Swahili phrase meaning "what's the news," before settling as The Black Voice by the end of 1969. It continued to grow from there and became financially independent from the Student African American Society in 1988. At its peak, it published weekly. The publication was founded with a strong emphasis on radical politics and a countercultural ethos. Its mission was to further the intellectual and political dialogue of Black people at Syracuse University and offer a critical medium for students to understand and engage with their community. Particularly in its early years, The Black Voice served as a stage for the viewpoints of marginalized people at Syracuse University when mainstream student publications like The Daily Orange were silent or taking opposing stances on campus issues. The newspaper offered a valuable perspective on history, and a look at life for Black students over the past fifty years. It tackled national, local, and campus topics, and for much of its history made a point to highlight Black and Latino organizations and events on campus. The Black Voice also accepted submissions for sharing Black art and poetry. At several points the publication rebranded for a semester or two before reverting to The Black Voice. In 1980, it styled itself as The Voice for three issues, and in 1998 it released one issue as 360°: the new black voice.

Scope and Content Note

The Black Voice Collection contains issues of The Black Voice from 1969 to 2015. There are some issues missing from the early decades of the publication, as well as larger gaps beginning in the 2000s.

Alternative Formats

The Black Voice issues between 1969 and 1990 are available on microfilm.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.

Fragile issues are restricted but are available to view in microfilm upon request. Restricted issues are indicated in the inventory. Please contact the Archives for more information.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from the Syracuse University Archives and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

The University Archives contains the Student African American Society Collection. Additionally, the Archives holds a number of files in its Clipping Files relevant to this collection including the Black Voice, the Student African American Society, Black student activism, and Black student experience files.

Selected Search Terms

Names

Syracuse University -- History.
Syracuse University.
The Black Voice.

Subjects

African American students.
College student newspapers and periodicals.
Student publications.
Higher education.

Types of Material

Magazines (periodicals)
Newspapers.
Periodicals.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

The Black Voice Collection,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

There is no documentation about the acquisition of this collection.

Processing Information

Materials in this collection were originally part of the Syracuse University Student Publications Collection. Materials were placed in acid-free folders and boxes. Some newspapers have been flattened for preservation purposes.

Arrangement

Collection is arranged alphabetically.

Table of Contents

Publications

Inventory