These papers describe the work of Dr. Darwin T. Turner, including the national organizations he served with, his presentations, and his collections of writings by African American authors. These papers document his development of the Africn American World Studies Program, wthin the English Department at the University of Iowa. From 2000 to 2004, African American Studies held the status of department. In 2005, the number of faculty dipped below five, which resulted in program status within the Department of English, with the degrees offered unchanged. Today, the program is taught by faculty from a number of departments for broad understanding, as explained in the 2014-2015 general catalog. Turner directed summer institutes at Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and at Cazenovia College in New York. At the University of Iowa, Turner directed institutes from 1973 to 1978, succeeding those directed by Charles T. Davis in 1971 and 1972. At the University of Iowa, the institutes were first proposed by Robert A. Corrigan, assistant professor in American Civilization, who directed the first two institutes in 1969 and 1970. These were held for the benefit of scholarly research projects and additional training for college instructors of Afro-American history and culture. The institutes were funded through NEH grants. The presentations were filmed, and transcriptions are preserved in this collection. Selected presentations from the 1973 and 1978 institutes were published in The Black Scholar, Volume 18: No. 1 (January/February 1987). The Turner papers are organized into ten series, each in alphabetical or chronological order. Materials pertaining to Turner's education make up Series I. His administrative work at North Carolina A & T and at the Universiy of Iowa may be found in Series II. The history of the UI program, as well as the courses, instructors and related campus events are also found in Series II. Documentation about the Afro-American Studies Institutes comprises Series III. Turner's writings make up Series IV and include his manuscripts, introductions, course lectures and speeches. Correspondence may be found in Series V. Turner referred to his many projects as commitments, and correspondence about these are found in Series VI. Series VII is an A-Z arrangement created by Dr. Turner. A subset of folders in this series are devoted to his work on the Board of Editors at American Literature, a publication of the Modern Language Association, from November 1975 through May 1979. Series VIII documents the many organizations Turner was involved with. These include the National Council of Teachers of English, College Language Association, Conference on College Composition and Communication, College English Association, Graduate Record Examination Board, National Humanities Center, and the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History. His extensive work in the humanities is documented in Seies IX. The writings of other authors, as well as clippings and notes, make up Series X, resources for research.