Brown University Library Collections

Mass Incarceration Collections

Return to Collections A to Z Index


  • Abu-Jamal (Mumia)
    This collection contains the personal and professional papers of Mumia Abu-Jamal, American political activist, journalist, and prisoner. Prior to his imprisonment, Abu-Jamal co-founded the Philadelphia Black Panther Party, served as president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, and supported the MOVE organization as an activist and radio journalist. Since 1982, Abu-Jamal has maintained his innocence and fought his conviction for the 1981 murder of a Philadelphia police officer. Abu-Jamal was sentenced to death and is currently serving a life sentence without parole. Materials in the collection include personal and biographical information, artwork, prison life records, typed and handwritten writings, correspondence, print materials, 3-D objects, and legal materials, datin3 from 1900 - 2021 (bulk 1982 - 2023). ...more information

  • Fernández (Johanna)
    This collection consists of the personal and professional papers of Johanna Fernández, Brown University graduate, social justice advocate, scholar of 20th Century US history and the history of social movements at Baruch College, City University of New York, and author of The Young Lords: A Radical History (2020). Materials include photos, correspondence, syllabi, course readings, lecture notes, writing drafts and research, books, flyers, newspapers, and electronic records, dating from 1967 – 2022. ...more information

  • Greenfield Review Press
    The Greenfield Review Press Papers contain materials related to the publication of The Greenfield Review, COSMEP Prison Project Newsletter, Prison Writing Review, and various other single author works and anthologies published by the Greenfield Review Press. The collection also contains author files that include published and unpublished poetry and prose manuscripts along with extensive correspondence that features a variety of black American and black African poets, Canadian, Chicano, West Indies/Caribbean, Arab American, American Indian and Asian American poets, as well as many incarcerated authors. ...more information

  • Hall-Hoag

    Contains documents representing a broad spectrum of militant political, social and religious dissent in the United States, from the post-World War II period to the present. The Collection currently exceeding 168,000 items emanating from over 5,000 organizations, constitutes the country's largest research collection of right and left wing U.S. extremist groups, from 1950 to 1999.

    The collection began when Gordon Hall, a young veteran of the Pacific Theatre during the war, first encountered the printed propaganda issued by domestic hate-your-neighbor organizations/groups in the late 1940's. He supported his investigations and research of these organizations by giving public lectures about them. Materials from all corners of the country were collected, enabling him to document statements made in lectures as well as in a growing number of expository articles written for newspapers and magazines.

    Grace Hoag, an alumna of Smith College, began collaboration with Hall during the 1960's, assisting the research and investigation and expanding the collection beyond its initial emphasis.

    Includes publications of Anti-Abortion organizations; Anti-Integrationist organizations; Anti-Semitic and Racist political parties; Christian Identity organizations; Communist organizations; Communist political parties; Communist publishers; Congressional investigating committees; Cults and Alternative religions; Extreme Left-Wing publishers; Ku Klux Klan organizations; LaRouche organizations; Marxist-Leninist organizations; Militant Anti-Communist organizations; Militant Populist organizations; Neo-Nazi organizations; Pacifist organizations; Pro-choice abortion organizations; Racial and Ethnic Consciousness organizations; Right-Wing Christian religious organizations; Right-Wing publishers; Socialist organizations; and Women's movement left and right organizations

    Please Note: The Library has temporarily suspended digitization requests for materials from the Gordon Hall and Grace Hoag Collection of Dissenting and Extremist Printed Propaganda, Parts I and II, 1926-2000.The Library is in the process of digitizing large portions of the collection over the next 3 years (2022-2025). In order to complete this significant digitization project the Library must close large portions of the collection for periods of time.

    Hall-Hoag materials that are not actively being digitized are available for in-person research. Please complete the Ask Us form if you are interested in looking at particular organizations or need information about scheduling a reading room visit.

    ...more information

  • Hughes (Donna M.)
    This collection consists of the personal and professional papers of Donna M. Hughes. She is Professor Emeritus and was the Eleanor M. and Oscar M. Carlson Endowed Chair in Women's Studies at the University of Rhode Island. Throughout her career, Hughes worked closely with women survivors of violence and sexual exploitation where her research centered the experiences of women and girls, which was a pioneering approach in the field. Many consider Hughes to be the founder of the academic study of sex trafficking. Materials in the collection document Hughes’ academic career, research, writing, and advocacy work and is composed of dossiers, legal files, teacher evaluations, personal and professional correspondence, handwritten notes, conference materials, research articles, and writing drafts, dating from 1971-2024. ...more information

Return to Collections A to Z Index