The document discusses the Library Company of Philadelphia's campaign to endow the Program in African American History (PAAH). The PAAH highlights the Library Company's longstanding collections related to African Americans before 1900 and supports research, fellowships, and public programs in this field. The Light and Liberty campaign aims to raise $2 million to permanently fund PAAH operations and ensure its continued success through an endowment. Matching funds from the National Endowment for Humanities will maximize donations.

1. “
“
LIGHT ANDLIGHT AND
Liberty
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
THE PROGRAM IN AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY

2. PIONEERS IN AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY
With 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).
That 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.
The Library Company has now launched a $2 million campaign to permanently
endow the Program in African American History.
The Light and Liberty Campaign will secure the PAAH’s future by establishing an
endowment for acquisitions,staff 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 OPPORTUNITY
In 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. Significantly, 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!

3. PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP & CURATORIAL
EXPERTISE AT THE LIBRARY COMPANY
$700,000
We are passionate about our archival collections,scholarly fellowships,and public
programs.They inspire new work in the field 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 offers 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 staff member who offers guidance to researchers and
educators in the field,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
$700,000
Building on the Library Company’s commitment to scholarly excellence,the
PAAH offers 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 reflect 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
$500,000
Our 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.
The endowment will also support the
PAAH’s ever-expanding academic and
public programming.We will continue to
offer 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 reflection on the meaning of the
treasured items in our care.

4. 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.

5. 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
WE WILL
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

6. Founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1731,the Library Company served as America’s
first successful lending library and the nation’s first 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 significant 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.
This 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.
Through 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 AT 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: 215.546.5167
librarycompany.org
Founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1731
A TRADITION OF
EMPOWERMENT THROUGH KNOWLEDGE