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The International Black Writers Festival (IBWF25) is a three-day celebration of literature and storytelling, hosted by the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at the historic Howard University Founders Library from Tuesday, September 30 – Thursday, October 2, 2025. This year’s theme, “The Story of Us,” highlights the power of storytelling and explores how Black fiction writers—past and present—shape and reflect the global Black experience.
Festival programming features readings, panel discussions, performances, and a public book fair, as well as the pop-up exhibit “The Library of Black Narratives,” a curated space that brings the theme to life through visual and literary storytelling.
Confirmed 2025 speakers include:
Jacqueline Woodson
Clarence A. Haynes
Beverly Jenkins
Ruha Benjamin
LeeAnet Noble
…and many more!
The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center (MSRC) is proud to partner with LegacyHistoryPride (LHP) to release an exclusive Black colorway of the “Von” Rugby Shirt.
As the largest and most comprehensive repository documenting the global Black experience, MSRC plays a vital role in preserving, protecting, and sharing the history and culture of the African diaspora. This special collaboration with LHP celebrates that mission and ensures its continuation—a portion of proceeds from every shirt will directly support MSRC and its programming.
Shop the collaboration today and support the preservation of our shared history
A new exhibition of renowned photographer Gordon Parks opens September 9, 2025, at Howard University, presented by the University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center (MSRC).
Investigating the social structures and sites of religious practice documented through Gordon Parks’ photographs from the 1940s to the 1980s, the exhibition frames Parks’ underexplored religious and spiritual examinations through his photographs that captured the prominent role of religion and spirituality in 20th-century modern life.
Comprised of over 40 objects including photos and archival documents, including works from the Gordon Parks Legacy Collection acquired by Howard University in 2022. Temples of Hope, Rituals of Survival: Gordon Parks and Black Religious Life is on view September 9, 2025 to December 1, 2025, and is curated by Dr. Melanee C. Harvey, Associate Professor of Art History in the Department of Art in the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University.“Gordon Parks’ photography has long been a fixture in the documentation of Black life in America.
Visit the Gordon Parks Foundation here
The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center (MSRC) proudly partnered with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) to host the annual Black Press Day event, celebrating the rich legacy and impact of Black journalism.
Click here for the full story!
Dr. Benjamin Talton (Director, Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard University) on his eclectic intellectual journey as an historian of Africa and the Diaspora. The interview begins with a discussion of his early work on ethnicity and politics in northern Ghana and then turns to his award-winning book, In This Land of Plenty: Mickey Leland and Africa in American Politics. In the final portion of the interview, Dr. Talton discusses his forthcoming book on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s engagement with African liberation politics.
Listen here
In Celebration of Moorland at 50 years, A Conversation With Dr. Michael R. Winston: Historian & Storyteller is presented by The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center and was recorded at the Studios of WHUT-TV on the campus of Howard University. As a student leader, professor, director, vice president, and presidential advisor, Dr. Winston, who was the founding director of the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, has witnessed many events and led several initiatives at his alma mater. MSRC Publications and Communications Specialist, Teddy Abebe sat down with Dr. Winston, and in this interview, Dr. Winston shares his extraordinary knowledge and experiences as a Howard student, professor, and executive. You can view Part One and Two of this Three Part series on MSRC TV, our Youtube Channel!
Click Here
The way to get the information you need, when you need it. The resources of the University Archives, Manuscript Division, and Library are at your disposal
Learn how to Browse our Collection.
Junious Whitaker IV is a first-year master’s/PhD candidate of history from Raleigh, North Carolina who also works at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center. His research focus is on African American history and the African diaspora, with interest in the impact of Black scientists on the Black experience; the ramification of bills that outlaw critical race theory; and unique cultural areas such as hip hop and other urbanized outlets as a form of oral history internationally (he has found links between what he’s studying in class and what artists such as Kasim, Eleven9, Zeddy, are providing as historical narrative). He believes that music and other areas are modern ways to record and share history, particularly in a pandemic where resources like libraries and traditional ways of reading and writing were limited.
Visit The Dig for more.
The Moorland is the newly revived Moorland-Spingarn Research Center monthly newsletter. In an effort to keep you all informed on everything that is happening at the center, we relaunched this periodical in January of 2023. As we approach our 50th year of operation, our minds are set on development and progress as we continue to champion MSRC as one of the essential sites responsible for the preservation of the global Black experience. The Moorland has been instrumental in detailing the exciting and extensive work of both MSRC staff and scholars. You can keep up with the latest publications via Digital Howard. Stay tuned!
View Latest Publications
Howard University has received a $2 million donation to digitize its Black Press Archives, that contains more than 2,000 domestic and international newspaper titles including publications like the New York Amsterdam News, Chicago Defender, Washington Informer, Baltimore AFRO. The Black Press Archive Digitization Project will make all of these publications publicly available through Digital Howard.
Visit MSRC News for more.
