LibGuides: U.S. History: Civil Rights & Social Movements

Recommended Databases & Resources

In this context, Asian American refers to people from the East Asian, Pacific Islander and South Asian diaspora. This is no means a comprehensive list of resources on the Asian American experience in the United States but they will get you started in your research.

This scene shows first-graders of Japanese ancestry during flag pledge ceremony. They stand in a line and hold a hand to their heart.

San Francisco, California. Many children of Japanese ancestry attended Raphael Weill Public School prior to evacuation. This scene shows first-graders during flag pledge ceremony, 1942, Public Domain from the Densho digital collection.

Asian American Drama
1891 - present. Unlimited users.

Documents the Asian American experience as dramatized in works by writers from the 18th century to the present. Brings together biographies, a performance database, production details, and associated visual resources, including photos, playbills, and manuscript images. Brings together more than 250 plays, beginning with the works of Sadakichi Hartmann in the late nineteenth century and progresses to the writings of contemporary playwrights, such as Philip Kan Gotanda, Elizabeth Wong, and Jeannie Barroga. Along with many works by writers of Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese, and Chinese descent, includes plays by writers of Hawaiian, Indian, Thai, Korean, Persian, and Malaysian ancestry.

The Chinese American Experience: 1857-1892
"Harper’s Weekly is an important primary source about Chinese living in America during the 19th- century, providing information about them and their communities, and commenting on the controversies that surrounded them. Much to their credit, the editors exercised their moral responsibility and decried the injustices visited upon the Chinese during their most difficult period in America."
Densho
Densho documents the testimonies of Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated during World War II before their memories are extinguished. We offer these irreplaceable firsthand accounts, coupled with historical images and teacher resources, to explore principles of democracy, and promote equal justice for all.
Viet Stories: Vietnamese Oral History Project
Viet Stories: Vietnamese American Oral History Project at the University of California, Irvine actively assembles, preserves, and disseminates the life stories of Vietnamese Americans in Southern California.
Black Desi Secret History
"Beyond Gandhi and King: the Secret History of South Asian and African American Solidarity": "South Asians and African Americans have been standing up for each other for over a century. These are the histories we were never taught."
South Asian American Digital Archive
Documents the South Asian diaspora experience in the United States; includes photographs, correspondence and more

Also, see our library research guide on Asian American Studies and this guide page on Race in South Asia and the U.S. for more recommended databases, journals and reference material.

Photo by © Ted Streshinsky/CORBIS (Corbis via Getty Images), 1965

Arte Público Hispanic Historical Collection: Series 1
Colonial times - 1960. Unlimited users. Provides access to a digital collection of historical content pertaining to U.S. Hispanic history, literature and culture.

Provides access to a digital collection of historical content pertaining to U.S. Hispanic history, literature and culture. Includes historical articles, newspapers, religious pamphlets, broadsides, historical books, letters, short stories, poems, advertisements, and more. The content is in Spanish (80%) and English (20%), and is searchable in both languages. Materials are drawn from the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project.
Arte Público Hispanic Historical Collection: Series 2
19th and 20th century. Unlimited. Presents thematic content focusing on the evolution of Hispanic civil rights, religious thought, and the growing presence of women writers from the late 19th and 20th centuries.

Presents thematic content focusing on the evolution of Hispanic civil rights, religious thought, and the growing presence of women writers from the late 19th and 20th centuries. Rare and relevant books and newspapers – including rare anarchist newspapers – are presented in their original form. Extensive manuscript collections of both organizations and individuals are included for viewing, and are indexed for ease of search and maximum discovery. This collection offers a unique approach by focusing exclusively on the Latino-Hispanic history of the United States.
HAPI: Hispanic American Periodicals Index
1970 - present. Unlimited users.

Updated annually. Citations to articles, essays and book reviews relating to Latin America or from Latin American periodicals. Primarily Spanish, English and Portuguese titles.
Hispanic American Newspapers
1808 - 1980. Unlimited users. Provides access to a large compilation of Spanish-language newspapers printed in the U.S. during the 19th and 20th centuries. Includes many newspapers published bilingually in Spanish and English.

Provides access to a large compilation of Spanish-language newspapers printed in the U.S. during the 19th and 20th centuries. Includes many newspapers published bilingually in Spanish and English. Features hundreds of Hispanic American newspapers, including many long scattered and forgotten titles published in the 19th century.
Based on the “Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project", a national research effort directed by Professor Nicolás Kanellos.
Immigration: Records of the INS, 1880-1930
1880 - 1930. Primary source documents of investigations made by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) during the massive immigration wave of 1880-1930. Large collection of records related to those immigrating from Mexico, China and Japan
Primary source documents of investigations made by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) during the massive immigration wave of 1880-1930. The files cover Asian immigration, especially Japanese and Chinese migration, to California, Hawaii, and other states; Mexican immigration to the U.S. from 1906-1930, and European immigration. There are also extensive files on the INS’s regulation of prostitution and white slavery and on suppression of radical aliens.
Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Series A: Subject Correspondence Files:
- Part 1: Asian Immigration and Exclusion, 1906-1913
- Part 1: Supplement: Asian Immigration and Exclusion, 1898-1941
- Part 2: Mexican Immigration, 1906-1930
- Part 3: Ellis Island, 1900-1933
- Part 4: European Investigations, 1898-1936
- Part 5: Prostitution and White Slavery, 1902-1933
- Part 6: Suppression of Aliens
Latino Literature
19th century - present. Unlimited users.

Updated regularly. Brings together more than 100,000 pages of poetry, fiction, and drama written in English and Spanish by hundreds of Chicano, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and other Latin authors working in the United States. Includes nearly 800 items (poems, novels, and plays) that have never been published before. Users will also find numerous Chicano folk tales and audio files of selected poems and plays. Currently has over 106,000 pages of poetry, fiction, and drama.

Onda Latina: The Mexican American Experience
226 digitally preserved audio programs including interviews, music, and informational programs related to the Mexican American community from the radio series "The Mexican American Experience" and "A esta hora conversamos" the Longhorn Radio Network, 1976-1982.
Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO)
Contains finding aids with descriptions of the archival holdings of the renowned Benson Latin American Collection. Collection contains physical and digital archival material related to Latin America and Latinx History.

Also, see our many library research guides on Latinx Studies for additional resources and research help.

Benson Latin American Collection
Notable queer collections include: The Gloria Anzaldúa Papers; Dennis Medina Collection of Gay and Lesbian Hispanics Unidos (GLHU) Records; National Latino/a Lesbian and Gay Organization (LLEGÓ) Records.
Digital Transgender Archive
An international collaboration among more than twenty colleges, universities, nonprofit organizations, and private collections, the Digital Transgender Archive (DTA) makes available digitally a wide range of trans-related materials.
Harry Ransom Center
Notable queer collections include: The Gertrude Stein Collection, the Oscar Wilde Collection, the George Cecil Ives Collection
Lavender Legacies Guide
The Society of American Archives put together this collection of institutions with LGBTQ-related collections in their holdings.

LGBT Thought and Culture
Late 19th century - present. LGBT This is an online primary source database hosting the key works and archival documentation of LGBT political and social movements throughout the 20th century and into the present. Contains seminal texts, letters, periodicals, speeches, interviews, and ephemera

LGBT Thought and Culture is an online primary source database hosting the key works and archival documentation of LGBT political and social movements throughout the 20th century and into the present day. The collection contains seminal texts, letters, periodicals, speeches, interviews, and ephemera.
The resource provides a look into LGBT life from the late 19th to the early 21st centuries, covering topics such as bars and saloons, gay communities, clubs and social organizations, gay activism and activists, gay rights, AIDS, films, politics, books, medical treatments and procedures, gender identity, discrimination, and more.
Includes material from the Kinsey Institute Archive and Library, the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, the Jeanne Cordova Papers, the Magnus Hirschfeld Collection, and more.
LGBTQ+ Life
1917 - present. Unlimited users. This comprehensive database is the definitive index to the world's academic, cultural, lifestyle and regional publications regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer issues.

This comprehensive database is the definitive index to the world's literature regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. LGBT Life contains indexing and abstracts for more than 250 LGBT-specific core periodicals as well as periodicals in Women’s and Gender Studies. It also contains more than 350 books and reference works.
LGBT Life provides comprehensive coverage of traditional academic, cultural, lifestyle and regional publications, including The Advocate, Lesbian News and Bay Windows. LGBT Life also provides indexing and abstracts for the full run of many historically significant titles such as ONE, The Ladder, Mattachine Review, Christopher Street and Body Politic. In addition, LGBT Life includes other source types such as monographs, reference books, newsletters, case studies and speeches. It also provides relevant bibliographic data from NISC's Sexual Diversity Studies.

ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives is the oldest active Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning (LGBTQ) organization in the United States and the largest repository of LGBTQ materials in the world.
Transgender Archives
University of Victoria Libraries is home to the largest Transgender Archives in the world. We preserve original documents recording the history of pioneering activists, community leaders, and researchers who have contributed to the betterment of trans, nonbinary, Two-Spirit, and other gender-diverse people.

For more resources and research help, please see these other guides on LGBTQ Studies and the guide to UT Libraries' Black Queer Studies Collection.

Gerritsen Collection: Women's History Online
An excellent, comprehensive online collection of publications and documents covering evolution of a feminist consciousness and the movement for women's rights. Dates range from 1543-1945.

A full text collection of books, pamphlets and periodicals reflecting the evolution of a feminist consciousness and the movement for women's rights. Includes publications from Europe, the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand. The ASCII text is searchable by keyword and Boolean operators, and records are linked to the corresponding page images, viewable with the Acrobat Reader plugin from Adobe.
Gender: Identity and Social Change
Includes records from men’s and women’s organizations, advice literature and etiquette books, personal diaries and correspondence from key figures and pioneers in gender history.

Includes records from men’s and women’s organizations, advice literature and etiquette books, personal diaries and correspondence from key figures and pioneers in gender history.
Independent Voices
Independent Voices is a growing digital collection of the magazines, journals, and newspapers of the alternative and small press archives of participating libraries, including UT Austin Libraries. The current collection features full-color scans of complete journals from the GI Underground Press and the Women’s Alternative Press.

Independent Voices is an open access digital collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals, drawn from the special collections of participating libraries. These periodicals were produced by feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Hispanics, LGBT activists, the extreme right-wing press and alternative literary magazines during the latter half of the 20th century.

The Ladder
The monthly publication of the lesbian activist organization, The Daughters of Bilitis, from 1956-1972.
NOTE: This resource is in print at the PCL. It includes an index for finding articles on a particular topic. If you have questions about using this, email Women & Gender Studies librarian, Gina Bastone.
Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America documents the lives of women of the past and present for the future and furthers the Harvard Radcliffe Institute's commitment to women, gender, and society.
Tutorial for Archival Research on Women's Human Rights
This tutorial is designed to help you research women's human rights using the archives at UT Austin.

Women's Magazine Archive
Late 1800s - 2005. Unlimited users. An archival research resource comprising the full backfiles of leading women’s interest consumer magazines.

An archival research resource comprising the full backfiles of leading women’s interest consumer magazines. Titles are scanned from cover to cover in high-resolution color and feature detailed article-level indexing. Coverage ranges from the late-19th century through to 2005 and these key primary sources permit the examination of the events, trends, and attitudes of this period. Among the research fields served by this material are gender studies, social history, economics/marketing, media, fashion, politics, and popular culture.
Women and Social Movements (U.S.)
Organized around the history of women in social movements in the U.S. between 1600 and 2000.

Updated quarterly. Organized around the history of women in social movements in the U.S. between 1600 and 2000. A resource for the teaching the history of women in the United States. Consists of 74 editorial projects with more than 2200 primary documents intended for use in high school and college history classrooms. Also includes a major collection of links to related websites and a search engine that permits users to do full text searching of all the primary documents mounted on the site.

See more research guides on women's history from our Women & Gender Studies librarian, here.

Featured Newspaper Database

Alt-Press Watch
1970 - present. 4 users.

Updated monthly. Provides full-text coverage of newspapers, magazines and journals of the alternative and independent press in America. Includes a broad range of critical issues confronting contemporary society, such as ecology and the environment, grassroots organizing, labor, indigenous peoples, and public policy.
ArchiveGrid
ArchiveGrid includes over four million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more. With over 1,000 different archival institutions represented, it helps researchers looking for primary source materials held in archives, libraries, museums and historical societies.

ArchiveGrid includes over four million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more. With over 1,000 different archival institutions represented, it helps researchers looking for primary source materials held in archives, libraries, museums and historical societies.
Ethnic NewsWatch
1985 - present. Provides full-text coverage of newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press in America (some international coverage). Includes more than 400,000 full-text articles from 200 publications.

Updated monthly. Provides full-text coverage of newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press in America (some international coverage). Includes more than 400,000 full-text articles from 200 publications.

Austin Archives Documenting Communities

Austin History Center (AHC)
AHC's mission is to procure, preserve and present historical records that make up Austin's story. Additionally, the Community Archivist program documents the histories of African American, Latinx, and Asian American communities in Austin and Travis County
ATX Barrio Archive
A community archive celebrating the culture & history of Austin’s Black & Brown barrios.