Scope and arrangement
The William Loren Katz Manuscript and Research collection contains Katz's research files, drafts, and correspondence related to the research, development and publication of: "Eyewitness: the Negro in American History," "The History of the Black West," "A History of Black Americans," and "Black Indians: a Hidden Heritage." For "The Black West" there are a large number of photographic negative prints.
Included in the collection is the typescript for the teacher's guide for "Eyewitness," as well as a research file containing photocopies of articles and book excerpts related to the relationships between African Americans and Native Americans from colonial times to 1990, and a file on Almon Wheeler Lauber's book, "Indian Slavery in Colonial Times within Present Limits of the United States." The collection also contains correspondence with research libraries concerning their holdings and with Katz's publishers.
Other topics covered in the collection are the Civil War, African-American cowboys, race relations in Lumberton, North Carolina, the Newark and Attica riots, the student rebellions of the 1960's, and aspects of race relations up until 1974.