Getty Images and Ancestry Announce Initiative to Digitially Preserve HBCU History

Getty Images and Ancestry recently announced a new collaboration dedicated to digitally preserving HBCU history.

Developed as part of an initiative known as the HBCU Grants Program, Getty Images and Ancestry will be cementing HBCU history online by digitizing documents such as newsletters, newspapers, student records, bulletins, school catalogs, yearbooks, pictures and directories. 

All copyright ownership will be retained by the HBCUs themselves. Each copy will also be updated to Ancestry as they will work to digitize documents on-site. Every student and faculty member on campus will be able to access the digital files, allowing them to learn more about family history through accessing primary and secondary resources. 

The initiative has already begun to work in tandem with Lincoln University, the first college degree-granting HBCU in the country. Already having had provided modern and archival pictures to Getty Images as part of last year’s iteration of the HBCU Grants Program, Ancestry has already digitized tons of the HBCU’s artifacts, including articles from the school’s newspaper, archival photos and other weathered documents, in an effort to preserve them.

“We are immensely proud to partner with Getty Images and Ancestry to launch this partnership that will allow us the opportunity to not only tell the Lincoln story but also help families tell their stories of connections to the university,” said the HBCU’s President Dr. Brenda A. Allen. “Combining Getty Images’ expertise in producing high‑quality visuals with Ancestry’s unparalleled genealogical resources, this collaboration will enrich our educational programs, foster deeper connections to our heritage, and empower our community to explore and celebrate the rich history of our university.” 

HBCUs’ rich history has previously been digitally preserved by a number of foundations. 

The HBCU Library Alliance Digital Collection currently has copies of manuscripts, memorabilia, images, programs and more coming from dozens of HBCUs, including the American Baptist College, Alabama State University, Morehouse School of Medicine and Tennessee State University. 

Morgan State University’s Beulah M. Davis Special Collections Department also recently announced its newest open-access digital repository. 

Released in February, their historical materials include “The Spokesman,” a student-run newspaper that ran from 1944 and 2012, as well as “The Promethean,” a yearbook that documented life on campus from 1937 to 2019 before the pandemic. The Morgan State University Women Collection was also made available, celebrating the contributions of women who have been students and faculty at the HBCU from 1939 to 2019.

As part of the project, Morgan State had students and faculty join in to help explore data mining, digitization and information retrieval.

“By digitizing these invaluable collections, we ensure that Morgan’s rich history is preserved and made readily available to anyone, anywhere, at any time,” said the associate director of Special Collections and University Archivist Dr. Ida E. Jones. “This initiative empowers students, researchers, and the broader public with unrestricted access to critical historical narratives.”