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LIGHT ANDLIGHT ANDLiberty

Education means emancipation. IT MEANS LIGHT AND LIBERTY. IT MEANS THE UPLIFTING OF THE SOUL OF MAN INTO THE GLORIOUS

LIGHT OF TRUTH, THE LIGHT BY WHICH MEN CAN ONLY BE MADE FREE.”

– Frederick Douglass, Blessings of Liberty and Education. Speech. 1894.

E N D O W I N G

T H E P R O G R A M I N A F R I CA N A M E R I CA N H I STO RY

PIONEERS IN AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORYWith nearly 15,000 documents from the 1500s to the Harlem Renaissance, the Library Company’s “African Americana Collection” is world renowned. We have been collecting rare books, pamphlets and images in African Americana since the 18th century, when we acquired a copy of Phillis Wheatley’s epic poems (1773). � at tradition continues today with the Program in African American History – the nation’s only program dedicated to the study of African American history before 1900.

� e Library Company has now launched a $2 million campaign to permanently endow the Program in African American History.

� e Light and Liberty Campaign will secure the PAAH’s future by establishing an endowment for acquisitions, sta� support, fellowships and programs. With permanent funding, the PAAH will be able to serve new generations of scholars, educators, and members of the public. Your support will ensure the program’s continued success now and in the future.

MATCHING GIFT OPPORTUNITYIn 2013, the Library Company won a coveted Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to bolster the Program in African American History. This award serves as a major endorsement of our program and the quality of both the collections and people standing behind it. Signifi cantly, the award maximizes your contributions to the PAAH endowment. When the Library Company raises $1.4 million for endowment funds and $100,000 in operations, the federal government provides a matching gift of $500,000.

T H E P R O G R A M I N

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY

The Program in African American History (PAAH) was created in 2007 to

highlight the Library Company’s longstanding contributions to the study of

people of African descent in the United States and the Atlantic World before the

20th century. With acclaimed collections, engaging public events, and a dynamic

fellowship program, the PAAH inspires scholars, educators and the public at

large to delve deeper into African American history and culture.

With your support, we will meet the NEH match by the July 2018 deadline!

PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP & CURATORIAL EXPERTISE AT THE LIBRARY COMPANY

$700,000We are passionate about our archival collections, scholarly fellowships, and public programs. � ey inspire new work in the � eld of African American history and allow us to tell exciting stories to the public. But this work depends on the expertise of our curators and program directors, who shape all PAAH programming.

To build a stronger foundation for the Program in African American History, we seek to fund:

» AN ENDOWED PROGRAM DIRECTORSHIP that o� ers a stipend for a senior scholar in African American history who will provide intellectual leadership and academic prestige to the PAAH.

» AN ENDOWED AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY CURATORSHIP that funds the work of an expert sta� member who o� ers guidance to researchers and educators in the � eld, oversees important acquisitions in the historic African Americana Collection, and curates exhibits that appeal to the public at large.

Your gift will directly support the PAAH’s Program Director and Curator.

FELLOWSHIPS

$700,000Building on the Library Company’s commitment to scholarly excellence, the PAAH o� ers fellowship opportunities to researchers at several stages of academic life. Coming together to study in the African Americana Collection and work with our content experts, our fellows have extended time to re� ect on their own historical research, discuss career options in academia, library work, and education, and learn from visiting scholars in small seminar settings. Our program fosters a caring, mentoring environment where tomorrow’s best scholars and teachers — particularly those from non-traditional academic backgrounds — learn about the excitement and importance of early African American history.

Your contribution will provide new fellowship opportunities for the best and brightest scholars. With your help we will:

» PERMANENTLY ENDOW OUR SHORT-TERM FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM, which allows research and networking opportunities for aspiring as well as established scholars from diverse backgrounds.

» ENDOW A DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIP that funds groundbreaking work for rising scholars in African American history.

THE PAAH ENDOWMENT WILL PERMANENTLY FUND

ACQUISITIONS, EXHIBITIONS, AND PROGRAMS

$500,000Our rare and valuable holdings shed light on key topics, from the rise of Atlantic slave systems and the formation of antislavery movements to the development of African American print culture and civil rights struggles from the American Revolution to the Civil War era. Although we began collecting materials about the African American experience in the 1700s, we continue to acquire historic documents to augment our holdings. With your support, the Program in African American History will sustain its one-of-a-kind collections through new acquisitions.

� e endowment will also support the PAAH’s ever-expanding academic and public programming. We will continue to o� er engaging scholarly forums that appeal to public as well as academic audiences, special events honoring key moments in African American history, and exciting exhibitions that inspire deeper re� ection on the meaning of the treasured items in our care.

Your contribution will help us support:

» A SCHOLARLY CONFERENCE focusing on emerging research. Our most recent conference, Making Freedom in the Atlantic World in 2012, included leading scholars in African American history as well as a workshop for educators teaching slavery and emancipation.

» BOOK TALKS AND PUBLIC EVENTS that celebrate African American history, including our annual Juneteenth Freedom Seminar, which commemorates the ending of slavery in the United States and the emergence of civil rights struggles throughout the nation.

» THE PURCHASE OF RARE BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS, such as our recent acquisition of William F. Smith’s Sketches of the Life of a Freedman Student Written by Himself, an 1879 autobiography detailing an enslaved child’s escape from bondage in Missouri during the Civil War and his rise in American society.

JOIN US NOW and your contribution

toward the Light and Liberty Campaign will

solidify the future of the nation’s only program

focusing on early African American History.

WITH YOUR HELP

W E W I L L REACH OUR GOAL!

J U LY 2014

$300,000

$300,000

$450,000

$300,000

$150,000

ACHIEVED

ACHIEVED

GOAL

GOAL

GOAL

J U LY

2015

J U LY 2016

J U LY 2017

J U LY 2018

Founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1731, the Library Company served as America’s � rst successful lending library and the nation’s � rst Library of Congress following the American Revolution. It remained the nation’s largest library until the Civil War era. Since the 1950s, the Library Company has been an internationally-renowned research library. With signi� cant collections in virtually all areas of American and global history before 1900, the Library Company has particular strengths in African American history, women’s history, economic and political history, print and book history, and visual culture. For almost 300 years, the Library Company has supported the advancement of public knowledge.

� is tradition continues in the 21st century with our commitment to Franklin’s founding vision: knowledge is power. Steeped in Franklin’s legacy of public service, the Library Company is proud to steward one of the nation’s largest collections of early American books, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, magazines, graphics and photographs. Scholars from across the country and around the world depend on its renowned collections, expert curators, and collegial environment to advance their work.

� rough exhibitions, public programs, and online resources, the Library Company connects with thousands of visitors each year, ensuring that the lessons of the past will amaze, inspire and instruct people for generations to come.

F O R M O R E I N F O R M A T I O N , please contact Raechel Hammer, Director of Development rhammer@librarycompany.org P: 215.546.3181, ext. 142

1314 Locust Street | Philadelphia, PA 19107 P: 215.546.3181 F: 215.546.5167l ibrarycompany.org

Founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1731

A TRADITION OF

EMPOWERMENT THROUGH KNOWLEDGE

$300,000

$300,000

$450,000

$300,000

$150,000

ACHIEVED

ACHIEVED

GOAL

GOAL

GOAL