African archives and collections are scattered across thousands of websites, difficult to find and search—and the content is at risk of disappearing.
African History and Culture brings unified, cross-searchable access to these materials.
Our aim is to return to Africa control over its archival riches worldwide—and to make it easy for African scholars to find and access expressions of their own heritage in Western collections.
At a glance
600,000
documents from organizations with significant materials from and about Africa.
4,300
collections selected for their significant teaching and learning content.
With African History and Culture, you can...
Support digitization
Subscribing to African History and Culture supports further digitization. We use ten percent of sales for new projects to bring African archives online. We anticipate digitizing 50,000 pages of rare and endangered materials with these funds.
Support digital repatriation
Access to African History and Culture is free for African institutions and HBCUs, thanks to the support of non-African subscribers. African scholars worldwide can more easily find and access expressions of their heritage in Western collections.
Contribute your own content
Institutions and users around the world are encouraged to upload their own content with the platform’s free and easy tool. It's a simple way to publish and share your historical and cultural treasures in a safe, permanent home.
Sample collections
Digital Innovation South Africa
Speak Magazine is from DISA, a centre of excellence in South Africa, developing knowledge and expertise in digital imaging technology in the library and archival community through research and training.
Kwame Nkrumah Information and Resource Site
The authoritative collection on the life and times of Kwame Nkrumah, foremost proponent of Pan-Africanism in the latter half of the twentieth century.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia
The collection contains a range of content including video, images, legislation, witness testimony, and other material about the Liberian Civil Wars.al
"I have never come across as indispensable and comprehensive a digital resource … a historian's dream archive."
Learn more
Hear Dr. Buhle Mbambo-Thata explain the mission of Africa Commons
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