In 1984, the workgroup who met to form the Afro-American Novel Project at the University of Mississippi in Oxford never thought it would be in existence twenty years later. Not only are we "still here," to quote a line from Langston Hughes, but after three moves (from Ole Miss to Northeastern to KU) and a name change, the Project on the History of Black Writing (HBW) is now widely recognized as one of the leading sources of information and education on African American fiction and poetry in the world.

Our initial goal was simple…or so we thought at the time…to identify all published novels written by African Americans since the first known novel was published in 1853. We projected a five year period for completion of the first phase of the project, but the project began to take on a life of its own and is thriving at the University of Kansas. In 2002, as HBW became actively involved in the centennial celebration of Langston Hughes, the board recommended that we initiate a project on poetry. Thus, the Langston Hughes National Poetry Project was born, and funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

 The field of literary research and text recovery has grown tremendously since we began, and HBW serves an expanded academic community with publications, summer institutes, conferences, professional development seminars, and public programs, while providing a unique training ground for the undergraduate, graduate and professional students who have worked with us.

On the twentieth anniversary of our founding, we would like to thank our sponsors and supporters for believing in the importance of this effort.. Although we cannot list here all the individuals here, we would like to list the institutions and organizations providing major funding. On behalf of the staff, the advisory board, and "the black and unknown bards" whose works and lives we have recovered, thank you for your generous support. Be sure to go on our virtual tour of HBW's history, log in to our website often, and visit us whenever you are in the Kansas City area!
 

Peoples College
The Cooperative Research Network in Black Studies
The University of Mississippi, Department of English
The Ford Foundation
The National Endowment for the Humanities
Northeastern University
Ruth M. Batson Educational Foundation, Boston
W. E. B. Du Bois Institute, Harvard University
The University of Kansas

Office of the Chancellor
Office of the Provost
The Hall Center for the Humanities
College of Liberal Arts
Department of English

Sincerely,

Maryemma Graham,
Founder/Director

Have a look at the early press releases on the Afro-American Novel Project.