The Amiri Baraka Papers contains correspondence, writings, and the personal, political activism and teaching materials related to Amiri Baraka's career as a poet, writer, editor, activist, and teacher in the New York City Beat, Downtown, and Black Arts literary scenes from the 1960s through the 2000s. Included are manuscripts from Baraka's numerous books of poetry, non-fiction, fiction, plays, editorial work, and screenplays. The collection also features organizational and documentary materials relating to Baraka's university teaching and Newark, NJ-based Black radical activism, as well as audio/visual material, photographs, and printed material collected and created by Baraka.

This collection documents the professional work of film critic, professor, and author, Amos Vogel. The bulk of the records are concerned with numerous films that Vogel has screened for Cinema 16, the independent film society that he founded and directed for sixteen years, as well as administrative records, correspondence, photographs, and printed material.

Arthur Mitchell (1934-2018) was an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and founder and director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem. This collection contains materials related to his career as a dancer with the New York City Ballet, and his later professional work with the Dance Theatre of Harlem and others. The collection includes administrative records, appointment books, correspondence, invitations, notes, notebooks, photographs, programs, and audio and video recordings.

The Bob Fass Recordings and Papers contains materials created by Bob Fass, host of the late-night program Radio Unnameable on New York City's WBAI radio station. The collection primarily consists of audio recordings of Radio Unnameable and other radio programs hosted by Bob Fass between 1963 and 2011. A small number of video recordings, photographs, correspondence, printed ephemera, and motion picture films are also included in the collection.

These papers contain correspondence; drafts, manuscripts and notes; transcripts of lectures and interviews; printed material; photographs; and audio and video tapes related to life and work of C. L. R. (Cyril Lionel Robert) James--a West Indian athlete, scholar, teacher, writer and political activist.

An artificial collection of phonograph records, reels of audio tape recordings, and motion picture films recording a variety of Columbia University academic and extra-curricular activities and events such as lectures; speeches, some at award ceremonies; commencement; installation of Nicholas M. Butler and Dwight D. Eisenhower as presidents of the university; King George VI of England during his visit, 1939; speech of England's Queen Mother, Elizabeth in 1954; homecoming; football, the band; academic and alumni conferences; and radio programs under the auspices of Columbia. Many of the recordings are of Eisenhower. Other prominent personalities include John Foster Dulles, Herbert Hoover, Isidor Rabi, Eleanor Roosevelt, John R. Dunning, and the Shah of Iran.

This collection documents the life and career of Edgar Allen Tafel: New York architect, Frank Lloyd Wright historian, and one of the original apprentices of the Taliesin Fellowship from 1932. The collection primarily documents Tafel's professional activities and his later independent architectural career which was most prominent from 1965-1985. The collection is made up of nine series: Personal Papers, Correspondence, Writings, Professional Papers, Office Records, Project Records, Photographs and Slides, Audio-Visual Material, and Printed Material.

This collection encompasses the life and career of Fred Friendly as an author, educator, and television news producer.

Henry Hope Reed (1915-2013) was an American author, architecture critic and advocate of classical architecture. Along with writing and giving New York City walking tours, Reed served curator of Central Park and co-founder of Classical America. This collection contains his writings, correspondence, photographs and extensive research files on classical architecture and the people, parks, buildings, streets and history of New York City.

The Hettie Jones Papers contains correspondence, writings, and teaching materials related to Hettie Jones' career as a writer, editor, and teacher in the New York City Beat and Downtown literary scene, from the 1960s through the 2000s. Included are manuscripts from Jones' numerous books of poetry and children's and young adult novels, as well as her 1990 autobiography, How I Became Hettie Jones. The collection also features materials from her time as co-editor of Totem Press and Yugen literary journal. A small amount of material pertaining to Jones' former husband, the poet LeRoi Jones/Amiri Baraka, including unpublished early manuscripts and photographs is also here.