On December 7, 1983, a group convened at the Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association in Boston and constituted itself tentatively as the Committee for the Publication of African Historical Sources.

The initial convocation had been made by Harold Marcus and David Robinson of Michigan State University with a view towards constituting a US Committee for the Fontes Historiae Africanae, which is part of the International Academic Union and has been working on the publication of African historical sources for over twenty years. John Hunwick of Northwestern University, Director of the Fontes, explained his work over the last decade in supporting the publication of edited texts, translations, and commentaries through Fontes. Most of the publications have been in the Arabica series. Fontes has not had a national committee in the United States and the group was prepared to take the lead in constituting such a committee.