Table of Contents
- Collection Summary
- Biographical Note
- Scope and Content Note
- Subject Headings
- Related Material
- Administrative Information
- Access and Use
- Encoding Information
- Series List
- Container List
Collection Summary
| Repository: | Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries |
|---|---|
| Creator: | Mamiya, Lawrence H. |
| Title: | Lawrence H. Mamiya Papers |
| Dates: | 1943-2006 |
| Quantity: | 3.4 cubic feet (9 boxes) |
| Abstract: | Research files, survey data, oral history transcripts, photographic prints and academic writings by Lawrence Mamiya, documenting his research on the Nation of Islam and its role within African American communities and the Black church. |
Biographical Note
Lawrence H. Mamiya (1942-2019) was born and raised in Hawaii and educated at the University of Hawaii (B.A. 1964), Union Theological Seminary (1964-1968), Graduate Theological Union (1968-1969), University of Konstanz (1972-1973), and Columbia University (Ph.D. 1975). From 1975 to 2014 he taught at Vassar College, where he served as chair of the Religion Department and director of the Africana Studies Program. In 1979 Mamiya launched the Green Haven Correctional Facility Program, Vassar’s first prison education program. His coursework prompted Vassar students to pursue careers in prison reform, social justice, and law. In addition, Mamiya worked as a community organizer in Harlem and a voting rights organizer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Georgia. A distinguished scholar of religion, Mamiya co-authored, with Dr. C. Eric Lincoln, The Black Church in the African American Experience (Duke University, 1990).
TopScope and Content Note
The collection includes subject files documenting Lawrence Mamiya’s research and survey work assembled for The Black Church in the African American Experience. Subject files include profiles and survey data collected from African American Muslims in prison and individuals representing local church communities. Files also include oral history transcriptions from interviews held with masjid leaders and individuals in U.S.-based Islamic communities. Prominent among these transcriptions is one of a 1992 interview with Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam. Writings files include academic manuscripts, articles and essays, as well as one thesis paper submitted to Mamiya in 2006 which includes correspondence and commentary from Dr. Mamiya. Two folders contain photographic prints, one of which documents an unidentified Muslim mosque and marketplace.
TopAccess and Use
Access
This collection is open for research according to the regulations of the Vassar College Archives and Special Collections Library without any additional restrictions.
Restrictions on Use
Permission to quote (publish) from unpublished or previously published material must be obtained as described in the regulations of the Vassar College Archives and Special Collections Library.
Subject Headings
Names:
- Farrakhan, Louis
Organizations:
- Green Haven Correctional Facility
- Hartford Seminary
- Vassar College
Subjects:
- African American churches
- Black Muslims
- Education
- Mosques as community centers
- Mosques--United States
- Prison educators
VCL Categories:
- African Americans
- Education
- Religion
- Vassar College
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Lawrence H. Mamiya Papers, Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries.
Processing Information
Processed by Janine St. Germain, December 2021-January 2022.
Acquisition Information
Gift of May Mamiya, 13 October 2021 (M2021-017).
Series List
Series I. Subject Files, 1951-1998 (Box 1-4, 9) | |
|---|---|
| This series is arranged into two subseries, General and Survey Data. Each subseries is arranged alphabetically, as filed by the creator. Content includes raw data from Mamiya’s survey work documenting the role of spirituality within African American church communities and Islamic mosques based in the USA. Files include questionnaire templates and survey results, some including handwritten notations. Subject files related to survey work conducted by Lawrence Mamiya, Eric Lincoln and Ihsan Bagby contain data used in research assembled for the publication of The Black Church in the African-American Experience. Two folders in the series contain documentation on Vassar College’s Green Haven Prison Project. |
Series II. Oral History Transcriptions, 1992-1997 (Box 4-5) | |
|---|---|
| This series includes interviews held with African American men and women regarding the role of Islam, marriage, family life and spirituality within the African American community. One folder contains a transcript of an interview by Lawrence Mamiya and Eric Lincoln with Louis Farrakhan from 1992. |
Series III. Writings, 1968-2006 (Box 6-8, 9) | |
|---|---|
| This series contains academic manuscripts of Lawrence Mamiya addressing African American spirituality, the Black church experience, Islam in America, as well as a smaller volume of writings on the role of religion within prison life. One folder in the series contains a manuscript submitted to Mamiya in 2006 containing commentary and correspondence from Mamiya to the author. |
Series IV. Photographic Prints, 1943-1990 (Box 8, 9) | |
|---|---|
| This series consists of two folders of photographic prints contain black and white snapshots of an unidentified US-based Muslim mosque and marketplace, as well as color photocopies of the Islamic Society of America, dated 1943. |
Container List
Return to the Table of Contents
Details
Research files, survey data, oral
history transcripts, photographic prints and academic writings by Lawrence Mamiya,
documenting his research on the Nation of Islam and its role within African American
communities and the Black church.
