May Day, 1940s, from the Heritage of Black Highlanders Collection

This May Day, we’re pleased to introduce a collection contributed to DigitalNC from the Special Collections and University Archives at UNC-Asheville’s Ramsey Library. It’s the Heritage of Black Highlanders, a group of 216 photographs that document African Americans from the Southern Appalachian Mountains, particularly Asheville, in the early 20th to mid 20th century.

These photographs include many group and individual portraits, with a little less than half related to education (school classes, teachers, and administrators). Other photos are of important community leaders or those working for local organizations and businesses. To a lesser degree are snapshots of events and daily life, like awards being given to boy scouts, an early parade in downtown Asheville, or this visit by Marion Anderson to Stephens-Lee High School. 

If you head over to the Special Collections site at UNC-Asheville, you’ll be able to see the full scope of this collection. Ramsey Library has shared these photos with us as part of our call to increase the diversity of voices available through DigitalNC. You can see more from Ramsey Library on their contributor page or in their own collections.