The Third Conference on African History and Archaeology, sponsored by the School of Oriental and African Studies of London University on July 3-7, 1961, followed in the series of four-yearly meetings begun in 1953 and continued in 1957. It was already abundantly clear in 1957 that African history had come into its own as a recognized field of study. The Journal of African History, now in its second year and preparing to expand from two to three annual issues, was an outcome of the second conference. It marked the coming-of-age.

It is a high honor to be with the distinguished Africanists who form the African Studies Association.

Five years ago, you had the vision to recognize that what most people then thought was esoteric learning about a dark continent was, in fact, the essential understanding which would permit the people of America to live fruitfully with one of the most dynamic movements in world history.

This unique position in the intellectual world gives you not only an unusual opportunity to influence the events of your time, but a heavy responsibility to make certain that the fruit of your labors is of the very highest quality. Though I am but a neophyte in the field, I know many of you well enough to appreciate your recognition of and devotion to this awesome trust.

The first of a series of meetings at which material concerning the current status of social research in Africa was considered, was opened by the chairman, the editor of the African Studies Association's forthcoming volume on this topic. At this plenary session John Fage, of the University of London, spoke on recent developments and trends in African history, Arthur Schiller of Columbia University on law, and Joseph Greenberg of Stanford University on linguistics.

Taking historical studies on Africa from their beginning, Dr. Fage indicated that there had been a continuous output of historical material relating to Africa from the time of Herodotus up to the twentieth century. At the beginning of the twentieth century, however, the writing of African history ceased to be respectable. One reason for this was a change in the character of historical research, with great emphasis being placed on written sources. By comparison with the western world, Africa was deficient in written history and records, and the attitude that Africa therefore had no history came to prevail. This attitude was not unconnected with the supremacy of Europe, with the feeling that Europe would have to civilize Africa, and it was considered that the study of Africa was the job of the ethnographer rather than the historian. Secondly, there emerged a new branch of historical enquiry, that of colonial history in Africa, with its emphasis on European rather than African activities. The result was that academic historians had no contact with Africa. In fact, however, historical materials on Africa did exist, and in ignoring them the historian had simply left the field to anthropologists, or to amateurs. Anthropologists established a close association with Africa but were little concerned with the past and suspicious of “conjectural history.” Their concentration on simple societies and the relative lack of attention given to political structures kept the social anthropologists from developing too close an interest in African history.

The Schomburg Collection is a library of special materials devoted to Negro life and history. It is international in scope covering every phase of activity of peoples of African descent. It ranges from early rarities to current materials on happenings from Tennessee to Timbuctoo. The Collection is mainly based on Arthur A. Schomburg's distinguished private library of rarities and treasures which was purchased from him and presented to the New York Public Library by the Carnegie Corporation of New York in 1926. However, a year earlier the Division of Negro Literature, History and Prints had been established in the One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Street Branch of the New York Public Library meet the neighborhood demands for books by and about Negroes.