Melville J. Herskovits: An academic pioneer
The story of PAS begins with the vision of Melville J. Herskovits, who came to teach at Northwestern University in 1927. A former student of Columbia University’s famed anthropologist, Franz Boas, Herskovits had ideas that were controversial at the time.
Herskovits advocated for an end to colonialism and the need for independence for Africans in their own countries. At a time when the field was saturated by prejudice, Herskovits pioneered an objective and scientific approach.
Both Herskovits and his wife Frances were actively engaged in improving education about Africa. Its rich cultures were misunderstood and ignored by most people outside the continent.
Creation of PAS
Early on in his career at Northwestern, Herskovits began conceptualizing the "Africa Project," a center where academics from all disciplines could share knowledge. He began to lay the intellectual groundwork for what would later become PAS.
After years of discussion with the Carnegie Corporation, their Board of Directors resolved to support the project with a grant on October 21, 1948. The $30,000 grant officially started the project. At the same time, Northwestern University President J. Roscoe Miller dedicated a part of the library solely to the collection of Africa-related materials. In 1954, the Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies became an invaluable resource to scholars, and it is now the largest library of Africana in the world.
