Seton Hall University Libraries: Race and Racial Studies: Documents on Racial Issues &amp; SHU Archival Resources

This Guide Will Connect You To Various Resources On The Study Of Race & Racial Studies In Their Varied Forms.

Documents on Race and Racial Studies

This page is dedicated to providing the reader with important foundation documents related to racial rights (either directly or indirectly) as it pertains to official proclamations and other written works that outline the theme of equality. Sources include local, national, and global declarations.

Bill of Rights, United States
This site features the Bill of Rights - and the first ten Amendments to the United States Constitution as Ratified by the States of the Union dated December 15, 1791.
Constitution of the United States
The United States Constitution with information about the text, amendments, ratification, and other details related to this document.
Emancipation Proclamation
Issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation declared "all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery, it did change the basic character of the Civil War. Instead of waging a war to restore the old Union as it was before 1861, the North was now fighting to create a new Union without slavery. The proclamation also authorized the recruitment of African Americans as Union soldiers.
United Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights remains as relevant today as it was on the day in 1948 that it was proclaimed and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . . . Now available in more than 360 languages, the Declaration is the most translated document in the world — a testament to its global nature and reach. It has become a yardstick by which we measure right and wrong. It provides a foundation for a just and decent future for all, and has given people everywhere a powerful tool in the fight against oppression, impunity and affronts to human dignity.
Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice
Document adopted and proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization at its twentieth session, on 27 November 1978

Archival Resources - Seton Hall Related

The following link and other examples that highlight primary source information related to historical study on African-American and other racial groups are available within the Archives & Special Collections Center at Seton Hall University. Further information is available upon request through the contact information box located on the right side of this page.

African and African-American Resources
The Archives & Special Collections Center at Seton Hall University collects materials that document the history and experience of Africans and African Americans in the United States, particularly in New Jersey and/or in the Catholic Church. The following is a partial list of archival collections in this area, and will be added to as more collections are processed. Clicking on the title of the collection will take you to the finding aid for this collection; unless otherwise indicated, materials in these collections are not digitally available.
Trina Padilla de Sanz Papers (1845-1968)
Trinidad (Trina) Padilla de Sanz (1864-1957) was a Puerto Rican poet, suffragist, and composer. Her lifetime spanned several of the most defining moments of Puerto Rico’s history, all collected in her writings and correspondence with some of the most influential people in Puerto Rico and Latin America at the time.