Langston University

The Melvin B. Tolson Black Heritage Center was established in January of 1970. The collection houses more than 7,000 volumes of work and several black newspapers and periodicals. The Black Heritage Center acquires materials concerning the Black experience in the United States and abroad, to meet the needs of the students, faculty, and staff of Langston University, and to provide materials for scholars. The M. Tolson Black Heritage Center is the national repository for the National Association for the Study and Performance of African and African American Music (otherwise known as NASPAAM). The Melvin B. Tolson Black Heritage center also houses a number of African artifacts.

Hours:
The Melvin B. Tolson Black Heritage Center is open by appointment only.

Digital Commons at Langston University

Encouraging the development, conservation, and promotion of Langston University scholarship and history. Digital Commons at Langston University is a collection of faculty research, student work, campus history, and other rare materials found in the libraries’ special collections.

About Melvin B. Tolson

(1898-1966) The Black Heritage Center is named after Melvin Beaunorus Tolson. He was born in Moberly, Missouri on February 6, 1898. In 1919, he began his educational journey at Fisk University and graduated Lincoln University in June 1923. In 1930, he began work on a Master of Arts at Columbia University in New York City. Tolson went on to become an acclaimed poet and educator. In 1947, Tolson came to Langston University where he taught drama and English until his retirement in 1965. He is the subject of the 2007 film, The Great Debaters.