The Amistad Research Center is committed to collecting, preserving, and providing open access to original materials that reference the social and cultural importance of America's ethnic and racial history, the African Diaspora, human relations, and civil rights. The Amistad Research Center was established by the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries at Fisk University in 1966 to house the historical records of the American Missionary Association. In 1969 Amistad became an independent non-profit organization, and the following year, it relocated to Dillard University in New Orleans. By the early 1980s, Amistad moved to the United States Mint building in the French Quarter. In 1986, Amistad sought a permanent home and found its permanent location on the campus of Tulane University, where the Center has resided since 1987. From its beginnings as the first archives documenting the modern civil rights movement, Amistad has experienced considerable expansion and its mission continues to evolve. The history of slavery, race relations, African American community development, and the civil rights movement have received new and thought-provoking interpretations as the result of scholarly and community research using Amistad's resources. The holdings include the papers of artists, educators, authors, business leaders, clergy, lawyers, factory workers, farmers, and musicians.