Diversity Libguide

The United States is a multiracial, multicultural, and multiethnic nation. The majority of Americans have their origin in other parts of the world, whether their families immigrated here centuries ago or more recently, whether they came here of their own volition or were forced due to slavery. It is important to work towards equity and inclusion for everyone, recognizing and celebrating our differences, while being aware of past discrimination towards different groups and working toward a more equitable future. The resources on this page will help you start your research into the vast diversity of the United States and beyond.

Here is a small sampling of projects from UNL Libraries.  This includes work from UNL Students, Faculty, and Archivists and Librarians.  These works are meant to promote healing and foster engagement around the issues of racism, bias, inequity, and injustice in our society.  Please follow the links at the end to find even more projects.

• Japanese American Nisei Students. “The Japanese-American/Asian Collections are housed at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries. The collection documents the experiences of Japanese-Americans in the United States, particularly during World War II. Second generation Japanese-Americans, or Nisei, were interned in concentration camps during the war.”
• Unkissed Kisses “In 1970, the University of Nebraska became the first state University to offer a fully approved course in LGBTQ studies, a project initiated by gay scholar and activist Louis Crompton, a professor of English. This exhibit reaches even further back in the university’s history, and further forward, to feature over a century of queer expression by poets, novelists, memoirists, and scholars.”
• Women’s Resource Center “Since opening in the Union in 1971, the Women’s Resource Center has been a staple of campus life at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, the WRC continues to help students find information and receive counseling for a variety of situations regardless of their race, gender, or sexual orientation.”
• Minority Progress and Expansion at the University of Nebraska: The Afro-American Collegiate Society Demonstrations of 1969 “During the 1960’s the University of Nebraska experienced the most rapid growth in its history. Enrollment more than doubled from 8,711 students in 1960 to 19,618 in 1969. Hundreds more faculty and administrators were also hired to meet student demand as well as an expansion in University funding. However, despite the tremendous its tremendous growth, the black population at the University of Nebraska remained relatively static with less than 150 black students enrolled and no black faculty.”
• Cultural Plurality: The Struggle for a Chicano Studies Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln “This exhibit explores the founding of the Chicano Studies Program in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The time line begins in 1971 and ends with the implementation of the Chicano Studies program in 1976.”
• That Old Mob Rule: The Relationship Between the KKK and the University of Nebraska “Samuel Avery is not widely known to current students at the University of Nebraska. If they recognize the name, it is likely from the chemistry building named in his honor, rather than his attempt to keep the Ku Klux Klan, or KKK, off of campus in 1921.”
• Mary L. Jones Librarian, Activist “Mary L. Jones was a leader, a skilled librarian, and a pioneer for gender equality in the workplace.”
• UNL’s AIM: A Brief History of the American Indian Movement And its Influence on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln “The late 1960s and early 1970s brought about great change to the United States. The Cold War, the Vietnam War, and the Civil Rights Movement stirred many Americans into action, including the nation’s “forgotten minority.” Inspired by these events, Indigenous leaders and scholars from various Indigenous nations began to radically rethink the role American Indians would have in the United States.”
• Nothing About Us Without Us “The disabled community has historically been left out of history. They have been mocked and made fun of, hidden away, and put on display for society’s entertainment. On the University of Nebraska Lincoln’s campus, positive changes for disabled students began occurring in the 70s. The extent of the improvements were questionable and even more questionable was how the disabled students were benefitting from the changes.”
• Voices for Change, Protests at The University of Nebraska “The University of Nebraska-Lincoln during the 1960s was a hotbed for activism. During this era, the university experienced social change thanks to the movements of the New Left. Issues that these movements addressed were progress for equality and the United States' involvement in Vietnam.”
• Bones Unearthed and Respect Burned “In 1998, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s anthropology department admitted to a breach of human rights and morally questionable actions. During the mid-1960’s, anthropology department chairman Preston Holder ordered the remains of Native Americans to be incinerated on East Campus.”
• Lu’s new book features 20 years of Nanjing Massacre research When Nebraska’s Suping Lu, started research on the Nanjing Massacre in January 1997, he had two goals in mind — to write a comprehensive overview of the Chinese city’s tragic occupation by Japanese military and to raise awareness of this human tragedy.
• dusting off fingerprints final.pptx Professor Charlene Maxey-Harris – Students of Color

Link to more exhibits.

Link to more student projects.

Link to Archives and Special Collections Site.