The Black Economic Research Center Records document BERC's activities as well as the involvement of Robert Browne in numerous organizations. Although the primary function of BERC was to conduct economic research to aid black organizations and individuals, research data, notes and memoranda concerning studies BERC conducted were not included in the collection; therefore the records are stronger in its administrative functions than in its programmatic aspects. The collection is divided into five series: Board of Directors, Administration, Chronological File, Writings and General File. The Board of Directors series consists of minutes of meetings and correspondence referring to day-to-day activities of the research center. The Administrative series includes information about the founding of BERC as well as its closing, contracts, memoranda, financial records and staff information. The Chronological File series consists primarily of outgoing letters written by Browne in his official capacity as executive director of BERC as well as letters generated as a result of Browne's prominence as a black economist, inviting him to speak at conferences and to participate as a board member for a variety of organizations. The Writings series consists of the subseries Papers and Studies, containing manuscripts and printed versions of articles written by BERC staff members. Represented among the economists who authored a number of articles are Robert Browne, Julian Ellison, Jr., Norman Girvan, and Daniel Mitchell. The subseries "The Review of Black Political Economy" contains correspondence primarily between Browne as editor of the journal with the publisher and subscribers. The most extensive series in the collection is the General File which includes files primarily on organizations with a black economic or black empowerment focus. The wide range of issues represented in the collection on which BERC provided assistance encompass preservation of black owned land in the South, loan of funds to black communities, black businesses, and promotion of economic activities in Africa. The types of organizational material incorporated in these files include memoranda, minutes, proposals, notes, press releases, and other material dealing with conferences and programs sponsored by the organizations. Within the General File series there are also subject files and files related to individual black economists and to geographic areas, such as the South and Africa. Numerous research studies can also be found in these files.
