The Howard University School of Law Archives is currently closed for processing and renovations. 

Welcome to the Special Collections and Archives Division of the Howard University Law Library. The Archives' goal is to acquire, and make available for public use, manuscripts, printed materials, and visual materials that document the history of the law in general and that of the Howard University School of Law in particular. Specifically, the Archives collect materials relating to civil rights litigation and legislation.

The Archives' most utilized collection is the Phineas Indritz Papers. Mr. Indritz was a local area lawyer, who dedicated much of his time to civil rights causes. Much of his papers relate to civil rights cases in the District of Columbia and Montgomery County from the 1940 through the 1990s. The Indritz Papers were processed with the aid of a grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission.

The Archives also houses several other manuscript collections, including the papers of former and current faculty, the papers of Musician Thomas "Fats" Waller (not digitized), EEOC materials, and an extensive historic law book collection.

In addition to its paper-based collections, the Archives has an active oral history program, and houses a growing digital collection of interviews of alumni, former deans and faculty, and civil rights activists. The Special Collections and Archives Division is part of reference services.

For more information, or to make an appointment, please email a request to reference@law.howard.edu. Mrs. Niketha McKenzie, Head of Technical Services and Special Collections, oversees archival requests.  Her email address is niketha.mckenzie@law.howard.edu. 

© Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. Esq. Law Library, Howard University School of Law. 

Requests to republish or adapt this guide should be directed to reference@law.howard.edu.

Updated: January 2023.