Charles Eric Lincoln (b. 1924 d. 2000) sociologist, educator, and author, lectured at colleges and universities throughout the world and held faculty positions at many institutions including Assistant Professor at Clark College, Atlanta, GA 1954-1960; Professor of Sociology and Religion at Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY 1965-73; Adjunct Professor of Religion at Columbia University, New York, NY; and Chairman of the Department of Religious Studies at Fisk University, Nashville, TN 1973-76. In 1976 Dr. Lincoln accepted the position of Professor of Religion at Duke University and became the William Rand Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture in 1991. He was a noted scholar and taught and wrote extensively about the Black religious experience in America. Dr. Lincoln published numerous articles in journals and encyclopedias and authored over 20 books including scholarly works, novels, poetry, and music. Noted titles include My Face is Black (c. 1964); The Negro Pilgrimage in America (c.1967); Race Religion, and the Continuing American Dilemma (c. 1984); The Avenue, Clayton City (novel c. 1987); The Black Church in the African American Experience (c. 1990); This Road Since Freedom (poems, c. 1990); and Coming Through the Fire: Surviving Race and Place in America (c. 1996). The Black Muslims in America (c. 1961) is widely acclaimed and recognized as one of the most critical studies on the subject. Dr. Lincoln received numerous awards and honorary degrees. In 1983 Clark Atlanta University established the C. Eric Lincoln Lectureship in Social Ethics to provide a forum for the exchange of views on religious and ethical issues.

The C. Eric Lincoln Collection documents his life and career and includes personal and professional correspondence, teaching materials, news clippings, speeches, photographs, certificates and awards. There are extensive materials related to his research and writings on the Black Church, the Nation of Islam, and the Wilmington Ten, including notes, typescripts, galley proofs and correspondence. Of note are the audiotapes of Lincoln's interviews for his book on the Black Muslims including Malcolm X, Wallace Muhammad, and Louis Farrakan. There are audio and video tapes of Dr. Lincoln speaking at various events and musical recordings including some of his compositions.