Western States Black Research and Educational Center

About the

Mayme Agnew Clayton Collection

of African American History & Culture

The Mayme Agnew Clayton Collection of African American History & Culture is maintained by the Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum (MCLM), a 501(c)(3) non-profit, public interest organization. MCLM's primary objective is to share the collection enthusiastically with all people as a cultural compass to a more complete understanding of American history.

The Clayton Collection is the largest and most academically substantial independently held assemblage of its kind in the world. It is second in size and scholarly scope to the renowned Schomburg Collection in the New York City Public Library.

The collection was assembled over a 40-year period by Mayme Agnew Clayton, Ph.D., (1923 - 2006), a career university librarian and a collector of great brilliance. Dr. Clayton’s singular commitment to preserve African American culture and history was inspired by her desire to ensure that children would know the richness and diversity of African American contributions to American and the world.

The Mayme Agnew Clayton Collection of African American History & Culture is comprised of seven main components. They are as follows: rare and out-of-print books, manuscripts, documents, films, music, photographs and memorabilia.

The collection is a remarkable cultural treasure with a vast ability to educate and delight. It is our hope that you will explore this web site to learn more about the collection, how and why Dr .Clayton assembled it; and the goals of The Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum.

MCLM was founded in 1981 by Dr. Clayton as Western States Black Research Center and renamed the Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum in 2008 to honor the life and work of our founder.

The goal of the Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum is to collect, preserve; exhibit and disseminate the unique history and cultural heritage of Americans of African descent and allow the expressions of intelligence and creativity and nobility to serve as a cultural compass to a more complete understanding of American history.

Above, clockwise: From the MCL Vintage Movie Poster Collection, "Carmen Jones," 1959 Starring Dorothy Dandridge; from the Photograph Collection, George Washington Carver, photographer unknown; studio portrait of a young girl by James Van der Zee, c. 1922; WSBREC's rare signed copy of Phillis Wheatley's "Poems on Various Subjects Religious and Moral,"1773. Thought to be the first book publish in America by an author of African descent; James Van der Zee photo of a gentleman with his Bible; and photo of 1950s tennis phenom, Althea Gibson