Archiving the Women’s March

Like many other repositories, the Southern Historical Collection is interested in collecting information about recent local protests in response to national events. We are partnering with the North Carolina Collection to make this happen for the Women’s March that took place on January 21, 2017.

We will be collecting a limited number of items in the following three categories: social media, ephemera (signs, flyers, hats, etc), and images. Because posts and tweets disappear quickly, we are beginning with social media. Stay tuned for information about donating “stuff” and images!

On archiving social media:

Over the last few years, we have turned more of our attention to methods of archiving social media. We can’t capture everything, so we prioritize documenting moments and movements–phenomena that produce dynamic but ephemeral concentrations of information.

This spreadsheet shows the hashtags and social media sites we are capturing and will be updated as needed. Please comment on Facebook or send us an email if you know of any widely-used, location-specific hashtags or pages that we have missed.

Continue reading “Archiving the Women’s March”

New Collections: Sickness, Farewell, and Other Daily Operations

We have a number of new collections that are preserved, processed, and now available for research. Some highlights:

  • Collection materials span from 1733-2016.
  • Subjects geographically range from Kentucky coal mines to Guyana.
  • Looks like we have a summer cold: many collections touch on death, illness, and medical care.
  • Some interesting mentions include a suspected slave uprising in Hillsborough, NC, medicinal recipes from the 1890s, and studies of medieval crusades.

Click on any of the collection titles to learn more about the materials, view any digital items, and request them for use in our reading room.
Continue reading “New Collections: Sickness, Farewell, and Other Daily Operations”

Staff Profile: Mary Williford, Business Services Coordinator

What do you do for tMary1he Southern Historical Collection?

As Business Services Coordinator, I do a little bit of everything to keep us a well-oiled machine. One workday can involve accessioning donations, ordering lunch for visitors, crunching a bit of data, and developing publicity materials for community archives projects.

 

 

What did you do before joining the Southern Historical Collection?

My passion is for anything where the public comes into contact with history. I have worked with some truly fabulous museums, historic sites, community groups, and archives in central and eastern North Carolina and no matter where I was, the SHC was an important resource.

But, to keep things interesting, I have tried to do just about everything once. I can operate an autoclave, tidy up HTML, and develop educational activities for children while you wait. If it needs doing, I will get to it or learn how!

How did you get into this line of work?

When I was an undergraduate American Studies student, I had wonderful opportunities to work in the Southern Folklife Collection and the Carolina Digital Library and Archives (now the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center). Even though my work involved less-than-glamorous spreadsheets or old cassette tapes, I learned how valuable and lively these materials really are, and how every little thing we do here in Wilson Library contributes to an understanding of Southern history and culture.

What do you like about your job?

I get to talk to so many different people, from folks following the first threads of their family history to world-renowned scholars. I am always surprised by what materials people donate and the different ways our visitors use these materials. One person may use a diary collection to research divorce in 1790s Louisiana, while another person uses that same collection to learn about regional slang. There really is no telling what lives our collections will take on.

What are some new and exciting projects on the horizon?

I am so pleased to be here at a time when we are really concentrating our efforts on community partnerships and public outreach. Right now, I am working on a lot of new materials to help the public better understand what we do and how they can get involved. When I tell people I work in an archive, I get a lot of “I’d love to see all the old stuff, but I don’t think I’m allowed to” responses. Totally untrue! We have millions upon millions of items and we want you to put them to good use and tell us what they mean to you!

What do you do when you are not in the SHC?Mary2

I am all about day trips: state parks, aquariums, zoos, gardens, museums, and festivals. (Fun fact: the world’s largest collection of waterfowl is a mere two hours from Chapel Hill, and it is open to the public. And yes, they let you feed the birds.) If I am stuck indoors, chances are I have the Twilight Zone on while I bake and cuddle with my beloved parrot, Benito.

Connecting UNC Summer reading to Primary Sources

Wilson Library launched a Twitter campaign at the beginning of the semester to support campus programming surrounding the UNC summer reading initiative. This year’s book, Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, argues that current problems with mass incarceration are built on the country’s history with systems of slavery, racial terrorism, and Jim Crow. The book is very powerful for those who read it because of Stevenson’s combination of historical documentation and first-hand accounts of systematic injustice. During his address in Memorial Hall back in August he described how working with people who have been denied equal treatment in the legal system changed his life. He hopes students at UNC feel empowered to change things that they see as unfair or unequal.

The SHC’s Chaitra Powell was impacted greatly by reading Just Mercy. She said that she saw that, “All of these themes are housed in the materials of the Southern Historical Collection in one context or another.”  With help from all staff representing all the collections in Wilson Library, Chaitra created the @WilsonReads Twitter account. They made an extra push at the beginning of the year to post four times a day from August 16th to September 17th highlighting images from material held at Wilson Library. Each post used #justmercysyllabus hashtag, which was selected to indicate that these primary sources can help scholars dig deeper into the issues mentioned in the book. During this time the Twitter made 126 collection posts, received 52 retweets, favorites, and mentions, and gained 20 followers.

Chaitra also co-facilitated a student discussion on Just Mercy. Student perspectives on the book illuminated how close to home many of these issue are to them. She said, “They shared their concerns about police brutality, horrendous prison conditions for women, children, and the mentally ill. Students spoke from direct experience about how the criminal justice system has or has not impacted their families and the way that their parents talked to them about the police.”  She left feeling hopeful that the students had really engaged with the message of the novel: “Overall, the reactions from the students indicated a willingness to look beyond the headlines, the politicians, and stereotypes to understand what is happening in society, as well as work to seek solutions to these very serious problems.”

Presenting “Gone Home: Race and Roots through Appalachia”

Intro PanelOver the last few years the SHC has been collaborating with Karida Brown (Ph.D. candidate at Brown University) and many Appalachian families on the Eastern Kentucky African American Migration Project (EKAAMP), which documents peoples’ lives in eastern Kentucky and their tale of migration into and out of the communities there. The wonderful stories shared by the endlessly generous people who grew up in these small towns inspired the creation of Gone Home: Race and Roots through Appalachia–an exhibit hosted in Wilson Library’s Melba Saltarelli Exhibit Room.
The exhibit explores an often forgotten part of American History. It shares part of the story of the Great Migration of African Americans out of the Deep South and into coal mines of Appalachia. After the mining industry collapsed, the people who grew up there left again. The exhibit explores what home means to a community that sometimes spent only one generation in Appalachian America.
 
The exhibit opens on Monday, and we hope that during its life you’ll come to share our enthusiasm for these stories. You can learn more about EKAAMP on its website, and we hope to see you here between April 27th and July 31st 2015.

Reporting Live (Yesterday): Historic Black Towns and Settlements Alliance Workshop at UNC-Chapel Hill

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l to r. – Mayor Johnny Ford (Tuskegee, AL), Mayor Alberta McCrory (Hobson City, AL), Mayor Barbara Mallett (East Spencer, NC), Mayor Bobbie D. Jones (Princeville, NC), Mayor Daryl Johnson (Mound Bayou, MS), Mayor Ed Jones (Grambling, LA), and Mayor Anthony Grant (Eatonville, FL) outside of Wilson Library, April 6, 2015

The curatorial team (Biff, Bryan, and Chaitra) of the Southern Historical Collection showed up in full support of the HBTSA workshop in Chapel Hill. We were disappointed in February when the inclement weather forced the workshop to be postponed, but we were elated to see our old friends from Hobson City, Eatonville, Mound Bayou, Grambling, and Tuskegee this week. The mayors were joined by their community champions, politicians, scholars, UNC administrators/staff, as well as mayors from three North Carolina, historically Black towns, Princeville, Navassa, and East Spencer.

The first day at UNC’s Friday Center included sessions on Entrepreneurship/Cultural Tourism, Nutrition/Health/Food Culture, followed by a presentation from the North Carolina black towns and a trip to Wilson Library. For the Wilson Library portion, Bryan and Chaitra shared remarks about the SHC’s more nuanced and participatory approach to collection development, while Wilson’s head conservator, Jan Paris, gave the group a brief overview of her work and shared some tips about properly caring for their own paper based materials. Jaycie and Rachel from The Southern Oral History Program surprised the audience during their presentation when they played a snippet of an interview from Tuskegee Mayor, Johnny Ford, from 1974.

_DSC5160
In the state-of-the-art instructional space, Southern Historical Collection director, Dr. Bryan Giemza, introduces the group to the resources available in Wilson Library

As if the day was not packed enough, within 30 minutes of getting shuttled back to the Friday Center, the group was treated to a wonderful meal and presentation in recognition of former Chapel Hill mayor, Howard Lee, and his wife Lillian. The dinner included a performance from North Carolina Central University’s Vocal Jazz Ensemble, and an invocation from Dr. Derek S. Hicks. Special guests included Floyd McKissick, Jr., the mayor of Carrboro, Lydia Lavelle, and various others in public office who have been inspired by Howard Lee, Chapel Hill’s first African American mayor, elected in 1969.

On Tuesday, the group returned to the Friday Center to hear more about Entrepreneurship/Cultural Tourism, Legal/Governmental Issues, followed by a synthesis and a heartfelt farewell.

The entire conference had a relaxed, family reunion feeling, the rooms were overflowing with good intentions and warmth, even when folks expressed concerns about the sustainability and longevity of various partnerships with UNC. More than once, participants shared the importance of bringing young people into the process and the principle that this is more than a project; we don’t want to relegate these towns to the halls of history, but help them to activate their histories in order to maintain a vibrancy for the next 100 years or more! While we can’t give away the details to every proposal discussed during the meeting, we can definitely say there may be some excitement on two wheels headed to an HBTSA partner near you!

A 1983 photo of an African American man and two young boys working on a bicycle; from journalist, Charles Kuralt's Collection (#04882) in the Southern Historical Collection
A 1983 photo of an African American man and two young boys working on a bicycle; from journalist, Charles Kuralt’s Collection (#04882) in the Southern Historical Collection

Reporting Live (Yesterday): Historic Black Towns and Settlements Alliance Workshop at UNC-Chapel Hill

_DSC5172
l to r. – Mayor Johnny Ford (Tuskegee, AL), Mayor Alberta McCrory (Hobson City, AL), Mayor Barbara Mallett (East Spencer, NC), Mayor Bobbie D. Jones (Princeville, NC), Mayor Daryl Johnson (Mound Bayou, MS), Mayor Ed Jones (Grambling, LA), and Mayor Anthony Grant (Eatonville, FL) outside of Wilson Library, April 6, 2015

The curatorial team (Biff, Bryan, and Chaitra) of the Southern Historical Collection showed up in full support of the HBTSA workshop in Chapel Hill. We were disappointed in February when the inclement weather forced the workshop to be postponed, but we were elated to see our old friends from Hobson City, Eatonville, Mound Bayou, Grambling, and Tuskegee this week. The mayors were joined by their community champions, politicians, scholars, UNC administrators/staff, as well as mayors from three North Carolina, historically Black towns, Princeville, Navassa, and East Spencer.

The first day at UNC’s Friday Center included sessions on Entrepreneurship/Cultural Tourism, Nutrition/Health/Food Culture, followed by a presentation from the North Carolina black towns and a trip to Wilson Library. For the Wilson Library portion, Bryan and Chaitra shared remarks about the SHC’s more nuanced and participatory approach to collection development, while Wilson’s head conservator, Jan Paris, gave the group a brief overview of her work and shared some tips about properly caring for their own paper based materials. Jaycie and Rachel from The Southern Oral History Program surprised the audience during their presentation when they played a snippet of an interview from Tuskegee Mayor, Johnny Ford, from 1974.

_DSC5160
In the state-of-the-art instructional space, Southern Historical Collection director, Dr. Bryan Giemza, introduces the group to the resources available in Wilson Library

As if the day was not packed enough, within 30 minutes of getting shuttled back to the Friday Center, the group was treated to a wonderful meal and presentation in recognition of former Chapel Hill mayor, Howard Lee, and his wife Lillian. The dinner included a performance from North Carolina Central University’s Vocal Jazz Ensemble, and an invocation from Dr. Derek S. Hicks. Special guests included Floyd McKissick, Jr., the mayor of Carrboro, Lydia Lavelle, and various others in public office who have been inspired by Howard Lee, Chapel Hill’s first African American mayor, elected in 1969.

On Tuesday, the group returned to the Friday Center to hear more about Entrepreneurship/Cultural Tourism, Legal/Governmental Issues, followed by a synthesis and a heartfelt farewell.

The entire conference had a relaxed, family reunion feeling, the rooms were overflowing with good intentions and warmth, even when folks expressed concerns about the sustainability and longevity of various partnerships with UNC. More than once, participants shared the importance of bringing young people into the process and the principle that this is more than a project; we don’t want to relegate these towns to the halls of history, but help them to activate their histories in order to maintain a vibrancy for the next 100 years or more! While we can’t give away the details to every proposal discussed during the meeting, we can definitely say there may be some excitement on two wheels headed to an HBTSA partner near you!

A 1983 photo of an African American man and two young boys working on a bicycle; from journalist, Charles Kuralt's Collection (#04882) in the Southern Historical Collection
A 1983 photo of an African American man and two young boys working on a bicycle; from journalist, Charles Kuralt’s Collection (#04882) in the Southern Historical Collection

J. Eugene Grigsby, Jr.: Artist and Teacher

Guest Poster: SHC Student Worker, James A. Moore (UNC Class of 2015)

We here at the Southern Historical Collection are ecstatic to announce the opening of a new art exhibition in the library at the Sonja Haynes Stone Center. The exhibit, which is entitled, Selected Works of J. Eugene Grigsby, Jr: Returning Where the Artistic Seed was Planted, commences April 1 and will be open to the public through June 30. There will also be a reception on April 1st in the Stone Center Library from 5:00-6:30 at which anyone is welcome, and no RSVP is required.

Born in Greensboro, N.C., J. Eugene Grigsby, Jr. earned his Bachelor’s Degree in art from Morehouse College in 1938. From there he went on to attain art degrees from Ohio State, New York University, Arizona State University, the American Artists School in New York City, and the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Marseilles, France. Throughout this time, J. Eugene Grigsby, Jr. became the object of artistic praise and admiration, running in the same circles as the most talented African-American artists in the United States.

Aside from J. Eugene Grigsby, Jr.’s obvious passion for producing art, Grigsby also possessed a passion for teaching art. Starting in 1946, Grigsby took on the daunting task of creating an art department for the African-American students at the segregated Carver High School in Phoenix, Arizona. Once Carver closed in 1954 (due to the Brown v. Board of Education case which outlawed segregated schools) Grigsby chaired the Art Department at Phoenix Union High School until 1966, when he would move on to become a professor in the School of Art at Arizona State University and retire as a Professor Emeritus of Art Education.

To commemorate J. Eugene Grigsby, Jr.’s invaluable work as an educator, and highlight the immeasurable influence he had on all of his students, we here at the SHC have selected various materials from Grigsby’s teaching career. If you would like to learn more about the life and work of J. Eugene Grigsby, Jr., feel free to look up his collection in the SHC, check out his upcoming exhibit at the Sonja Haynes Stone center, or join us at the exhibit’s opening reception on April 1st from 5:00-6:30 in the Stone Center Library.

A final exam from an"Art Appreciation" class taught by J. Eugene Grigsby Jr., undated. J. Eugene Grigsby collection (#05295)
A final exam from an”Art Appreciation” class taught by J. Eugene Grigsby Jr., undated. J. Eugene Grigsby, Jr. collection (#05295)
Photo of Juanita Eddings, student of J. Eugene Grigsby Jr from Carver High School., showcasing a ceramic which she won an award for.
Photo of Juanita Eddings, student of J. Eugene Grigsby Jr from Carver High School., showcasing her award-winning ceramic plaque. March 1, 1953.  J. Eugene Grigsby, Jr. Collection (#05295)

A Look at UNC’s Bout with Censorship: The 1963 Speaker Ban

Guest Poster: SHC Student Worker, James A. Moore (UNC Class of 2015)

From the eccentric monologues of the pit preacher, to the passionate Ferguson protest, to the somber vigil for Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha, recent times have demonstrated UNC’s reputation of being a place which fosters free speech. When thinking about all the recent demonstrations which UNC has welcomed, it can be easy to forget that less than 50 years ago, UNC had come under fire for passing a law which banned certain speakers from speaking on campus. This law was known as “The Speaker Ban Law”

Protestors outside of Carolina Coffee shop on February 1, 1964
Protestors outside of Carolina Coffee shop on February 1, 1964

 

Protestors outside of North Carolina Coffee Shop. February 10, 1964
Protestors outside of North Carolina Coffee Shop. February 10, 1964

Not too unlike today, in the 1960s UNC Chapel Hill had become a hotspot for political activism. Racial tensions and the war in Vietnam inspired many UNC students to hold demonstrations on UNC’s campus. Concerned that these protests may be seen as harbingers for communism, the more conservative members of UNC’s Board of Trustees passed The Speaker Ban Law, which prevented any speakers who were even suspected of having communist ties from being permitted to speak on UNC’s campus.

Naturally, a considerable amount of UNC’s students and faculty spoke out against the Speaker Ban Law. From the UNC chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, to UNC Chancellor William Aycock, a whole wave of dissident voices took to the press to speak out against the law in the name of free speech.

Although not as conspicuous as some other responses against the ban, a particularly eloquent response came from one of UNC Chapel Hill’s peers, UNC Greensboro. On March 6, 1966, Chancellor Otis A. Singletary of UNC Greensboro delivered a scathing critique of UNC Chapel Hill’s ban, with various passages that we here at the SHC believe everyone in the academic community would do well to remember:

Statement to the UNC Board of Trustees by Chancellor Otis Singletary of UNC Greensboro March 6, 1966. Anne Queen Collection (#5214)
Statement to the UNC Board of Trustees by Chancellor Otis Singletary of UNC Greensboro March 6, 1966. Anne Queen Collection (#5214)

The controversial Speaker Ban Law was eventually lifted on February 19, 1968 due to vagueness. This allowed students to protest more freely on UNC’s campus. The clipping below is just one example of how engaged students can be when given the oppurtunity to bring speakers and express ideas freely on campus.

Clipping from The Daily Tar Heel of the "March on South Building" from May 6,1970
Clipping from The Daily Tar Heel of the “March on South Building” from May 6,1970

To read more of Chancellor Singletary’s timely defense of free speech at College Universities check out the Anne Queen Collection (collection #5214), see other materials related to student activism, and learn more about the Speaker Ban Law, pay a visit to the SHC! For even more context and detailed information about free speech at UNC, you should check out the digital exhibit curated by the Southern Historical Collection, North Carolina Collection, and University Archives.

SHC All-Star: John Hope Franklin

John Hope Franklin (photographed by Dan Sears) as featured in "African Americans and Segregation" portion of The Carolina Story: A Virtual Museum of University History
John Hope Franklin (photographed by Dan Sears) as featured in “African Americans and Segregation” portion of The Carolina Story: A Virtual Museum of University History

John Hope Franklin would have been 100 years old on January 2, 2015.

On this campus, we like to take a lot of pride in a well, sometimes I like to think of the curatorial work as building a well for present and future historians. The increased breadth and depth of our collecting will yield more satisfied and refreshed researchers.  I admire John Hope Franklin because he was looking into wells that did not reflect his face, on property which he was not welcome to occupy; and drew conclusions that we still rely on today. More information on the treatment of African American scholars in public archival research spaces can be found in Alex Poole’s American Archivists article, The Strange Career of Jim Crow Archives: Race, Space, and History in the mid-20th century American South.

John Hope Franklin signature in the Southern Historical Collection Registration Book (University Archives, #40052)
John Hope Franklin signature in the Southern Historical Collection Registration Book (University Archives, #40052)

Among many of Franklin’s accomplishments, including degrees from Fisk University and Harvard University, teaching at St. Augustine’s (Raleigh, NC), University of Chicago, North Carolina Central University and Duke University; as well as numerous volumes on American, Southern, and African American history; I think that his involvement with the Southern Historical Association (SHA) is one of the highlights. It boggles my mind that in 84 years since emancipation, no descendant of a slave could stand up among scholars and talk about Southern history. In 1949, Franklin accepted his colleague, C. Vann Woodward’s request to be the first African American on the program at the SHA annual meeting. In his oral history session, Franklin reflects on the group’s concerns about where he would eat and sleep as well as if he would have the gall to stand at a podium and “talk down” to the white people in the audience.

Even after the presentation went on without any problems, racist historians continued to exclude black scholars in implicit and explicit ways. As the number of brilliant yet exiled historians began to mount (Franklin, Savage, Wesley, and Bacote), SHA leadership decided to re-locate the 1953 Knoxville meeting to a place where everyone could participate. The move to integrate the SHA was swift, which made Woodward and Franklin take notice. According to Woodward biographer, John H. Roper, the subsequent conversations among the scholars led to Woodward’s premise on the escapability of Jim Crow, which led to the seminal text, Woodward’s, The Strange Career of Jim Crow, published in 1955.

John Hope Franklin, President of the Southern Historical Association, 1971 (Southern Historical Collection, #04030)
John Hope Franklin, President of the Southern Historical Association, 1971 (Southern Historical Collection, #04030)

More information on John Hope Franklin and his extraordinary career can be found in the following collections within the Southern Historical Collection:

John Hope Franklin Oral History (#04007: A-0339)

John Herbert Roper Papers (#04235)

Southern Historical Association (#04030)

Throughout 2015, major libraries in the Triangle including Durham Public Libraries, North Carolina Central University, and Duke University will be honoring the legacy of John Hope Franklin. More information on these events can be found here.