Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

University of Michigan alumnus who was a prominent campus activist and leader on issues of racial, economic, and social injustice during his doctoral studies with the Department of History. McCoy was involved in many activist organizations and campaigns including United Coalition for Racial Justice (UCRJ), the Coalition Against White Supremacy and the Ann Arbor to Ferguson protests. This collection includes correspondence, sound recordings, meeting minutes and notes, topical files, photographs, event programs, and flyers.

The Austin McCoy papers (1 linear feet, 8.76 GB) focus on McCoy's activism and leadership as a doctoral student at the University of Michigan. The collection features three series:

The Biographical Information series contains five sound recordings including a four-part oral history interview McCoy completed in 2015. The series also features McCoy's Student of the Year interview with The Michigan Daily in 2015. The sound recordings discuss McCoy's background, scholarship, inspirations and organizing career.

The Correspondence series contains digital copies of email correspondence from McCoy's University of Michigan and personal email accounts. The series also includes data from McCoy's twitter account and photographs downloaded from his Facebook account.

The Activism series contains notes, meeting minutes, flyers, photographs, topical files, news articles, and other writings. Specific organizing events featured in the collection include the Being Black at the University of Michigan (#BBUM) social media campaign, the Ann Arbor to Ferguson protests, and protests against racism on the University of Michigan campus.

Sophia Holley Ellis is a Black University of Michigan graduate (BA 1949, MS 1950, MA 1964) and Detroit, Michigan teacher. She primarily taught for Detroit Public Schools (DPS), notably as a German teacher at Martin Luther King, Jr. Senior High School. The collection includes biographical and graduation materials, clippings, an oral history, a photograph album, papers, publications, and scrapbooks.

The Sophia Holley Ellis papers primarily documents Ellis's academic life at the University of Michigan as well as her professional life. Included in this collection are biographical and graduation materials, clippings, an oral history, a photograph album, papers, publications, and several scrapbooks.

The collections' scrapbooks will be of particular interest to researchers. Her University of Michigan scrapbook contains diplomas; photographs of students, including Ellis and her classmates, as well as events on campus; notes describing events in Ellis's personal life; correspondence and other items related to Ellis's academic career; announcements and programs of plays, performances, and other campus events; issues of student and alum publications; greeting cards; and ephemera. Also included are details of her first date; sorority pledging material, including the historically Black sorority Delta Sigma Theta (DST); and photos from a trip to Washington, DC with classmates where Ellis was excluded from some venues because of racial segregation. Her International trip scrapbook documents her travels abroad, while the National Council for International Visitors Award scrapbook highlights her receipt of the Phyllis Layton Perry Educator of the Year award in 2006.

Researchers should also consult her oral history, which was captured on December 3, 2017. During this interview, Ellis—who spoke with Kyle Whitaker and Nancy Bryk—addressed a range of topics, including her family history, early life, and experiences at the University of Michigan.

Student organization at the University of Michigan established in 1968 for students of African descent. The materials in the collection include minutes, correspondence, agendas, officer reports and topical files on issues including the Michigan Mandate and the 2000 Michigamua protest. The collection also contains photographs, audio/visual recordings, Twitter posts, and event flyers.

The Black Student Union (University of Michigan) records document the various activities of the Black Student Union at U-M. Materials in this collection include agendas, budgets, correspondence, event flyers, minutes, officer reports, photographs, topical files, Twitter posts, and audio/visual recordings.