History Commons^™

Freedom Is Taught Here: Freedom Schools And The Radical Tradition Of Intergenerational Community Learning In Black Education, Trayc D. Freeman, Wintre F. Johnson, Tiffany D. Meadows, Christine Onyinyechi-Uju Emuka, Naila A. Smith

Occasional Paper Series

The Black American community has always understood the power of literacy and education, and the importance of Black self-sufficiency to attain these. The establishment of Freedom Schools during the 1964 Freedom Summer in Mississippi is an actualization of that understanding. Since 1995, the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) has carried on the work and legacy, with Freedom Schools still taking place all over the United States. For two summers, we, researchers from the University of Virginia, have had the opportunity to partner with a CDF Freedom School as part of a mixed-method research study. This essay serves as a reflection and …

Chief Doublehead Lecture Correspondence From Maurice Pruitt And Henry C. Richards, 1973, Maurice Pruitt, Henry Grady Richards

Correspondence

Correspondence from Maurice Pruitt to William Lindsey McDonald and from Henry Grady Richards to Maurice Pruitt. The correspondence is concerned with a recorded lecture that Pruitt produced on Chief Doublehead.

The Declaration Of Sentiments: A Womanist Perspective, Emmalee Layton

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

This paper examines the Declaration of Sentiments, an influential document in the creation of the early feminist movement, through a womanist lens. This paper aims to address whether the formulation of the Declaration of Sentiments had Black women’s liberation in mind, and how feminist movements must approach misogyny and racialization as co-constitutive in order to create liberatory strategies for Black women. This paper examines specific grievances that are outlined within the Declaration of Sentiments which are then put into historical context to signal whether the Declaration of Sentiments addresses the nuances of misogynoir and effectively strategizes for Black women’s liberation …

Trail Of Tears Correspondence From Southwest Us Dept. Of Interior, 2.9.1994, John Harely

Correspondence

Correspondence issued by the National Park Service Southwest Region to William L. McDonald concerning his collaboration with Richard Sheridan of the Trail of Tears Advisory Council. The correspondence also includes an enclosed itinerary of the Trail of Tears Advisory Council Field Trip held on March 3, 1994.

Sunken Trace Sign Correspondence To Johnny Sims, 8.6.1999, William L. Mcdonald

Correspondence

Correspondence from William Lindsey McDonald to Jonny Sims, a ranger of the Natchez Trace Parkway, concerning the interpretative sign at Sunken Trace located at mile marker 350.8. Within the correspondence, McDonald proposes that the verbiage be adjusted to be more respectful of the early Native American inhabitants of the area. He also highlights another instance in which National Park signage was changed at the George Colbert parking area and home site.

The current historical markers for the Sunken Trace and Colbert's Stand are accessible on the historical marker database.

Piercing The Veil In Sinners: Theological Insights From The Juke Joint, Antonio D. Sison Cpps

Journal of Religion & Film

Celebrated as a critical and commercial success, Ryan Coogler’s genre-defying opus Sinners has also been considered as one of the most culturally significant films of 2025. It also promises to be one of the most theologically resonant films of the year. This is evinced not only in its thematic and literary bases but, importantly, in its very audiovisual language and grammar, its stylistic strategies qua film. As reasoned in this essay, Coogler’s film is a rich locus theologicus, a nexus for theological discovery and insight.Sinners kindles the hermeneutical impulse to dialogue with African American/Pan-Africa theologies exemplified by the …

Powerful Pulpits: Black Preachers As Cultish Leaders In The Axman Murders, 1909-1912, Lauren N. Henley

Interdisciplinary Journal of Leadership Studies

Southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas experienced a series of disturbingly similar ax murders from November 1909 to August 1912. In nearly every case, a black family living within a mile of the Sunset Limited line of the Southern Pacific Railroad was brutally slaughtered in their own home, victims of a surreptitious assailant. Eventually, a young black woman would take credit for some of the crimes, ushering in the language of “religious fanaticism” as a potential motive. This confession sparked an intense period of criminalization of black male preachers, with a particular focus on Pentecostal leaders in southwestern Louisiana. This article …

"The Historic Indians Of Alabama And The Muscle Shoals", William Lindsey Mcdonald

Research Articles

The article presents a brief overview of the indigenous people who dwelt in Alabama and the Muscle Shoals region of the Tennessee River Valley. The article's content is organized by headings as follows:

• The Early Indians in Alabama, pg. 1
• The Alabamas, pg. 1
• Choctaws, pg. 2
• The Creek Nation, pg. 2
• Cherokees, pg. 3
• Chickasaw, pg. 4

Newsclipping, The Old And New

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

News clipping: James H. Lewis (left), Afro-American Life Insurance Company, Jacksonville, Florida, shaking hands with M. C. Clark (right), president of Dunbar Life Insurance Company, Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Lewis congratulating his successor, Mr. Clark, as president of NNIA (National Negro Insurance Association). Undated.

Border Fascism And The Fascistization Of Society, Nicholas P. De Genova

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

The massive destruction and social dislocation wrought by capitalist crisis has culminated, historically, in the brutal cataclysms of fascism and other forms of authoritarian rule. Today, across the globe, we are confronted with the aggressive advance and entrenchment of a variety of such authoritarian political projects. Anxious discourses about ascendant fascism have become perfectly mainstream. These developments command our acute attention and critical analysis. This essay addresses these dire questions and the conceptual vexations surrounding the concept of fascism, particularly as it has been elaborated in various Marxist analyses.  Specifically, much of the debate around fascism as an analytical category …

"Chief Tuscumbia", William Lindsey Mcdonald

Research Articles

Chief Tashka Ambi, or Tashkambia, meaning "the warrior who kills," was a Chickasaw chief in North Alabama. The article offers a brief overview of Chief Tashkambia's life.

The name for the present-day city of Tuscumbia, Alabama is derived from the anglicized version of his name. The city's first name Cold Water was incorporated on December 20, 1820, then six months later it was changed to Big Spring, before retaining its present name on December 31, 1822.

"Early Times Around Muscle Shoals City", William Lindsey Mcdonald

Research Articles

A paper presented to the Muscle Shoals City Kiwanis Club on March 14, 1963, about the establishment of the city of Muscle Shoals. The article includes mention of the indigenous tribes that dwelt in the area as well as the Marion Land Company and associated figures which advertised lots in 1819.

Newsclipping, Does Your Chin Line Suggest Age?

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

News clipping: Advertisement for Dorothy Gray Preparations available at Gayfer's Toilet Goods Department. Undated. 

Newsclipping, ...Could Erase Our Beggar Status

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

News clipping: Partial article regarding politics, presidents, and color prejudice. Undated.

Newsclipping, Ministers Endorse Mahalia

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

News Clipping: Clipping with photograph of Miss Mahalia Jackson shaking hands with Reverend V. S. Gregg, at the Baptist Ministers Conference of Philadelphia and Vicinity. Also in photograph, left to right: Reverend Walter H. Anderson, Miss Mahalia Jackson, Reverend W. L. Bentley, Reverend V.S. Gregg, and Miss Mildred Falla. Undated.

Newsclipping, A Mother Who Adds Glory To Mothers Of All

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

News clipping: Partial article regarding Mrs. A. E. Barrow being awarded "Mother of the Year" by the Oklahoma American Mothers' Committee, Golden Rule Foundation. Undated.

Newsclipping, Memory Of Former Clerk Is Honored By Supreme Court

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

News clipping: Partial article regarding the memorial for the former clerk of the Supreme Court of Florida, G.T. Whitfield. Florida Times-Union.  Undated.

Newsclipping, Little Sisters Feast Day Held At Home For Aged

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

News clipping: Article regarding the 85th annual open house of the Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged held on the feast day of St. Joseph, patron saint of the Home. Includes an image of 79-year-old Lydia Nicholas sitting in a wheelchair, playing the piano at the Little Sisters of the Poor open house, Sister Maethilda listening. Undated.

Newsclipping, Voting Set Today On School Issues

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

News clipping: Article regarding the polling place open for voting on a referendum that could revise the school system. Undated.

Newsclipping, Fascist Wisdom

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

News clipping: Partial article regarding fascism. Undated.

Newsclipping, Article Fragment

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

News clipping: Article fragment that mentions Dr. George Washington Carver of Tuskegee, Dr. Robert R Moton, president of Tuskegee, Dr. J. R. E. Lee, head of the Florida A. & M. College at Tallahassee, Booker T. Washington, founder of Tuskegee. The article also mentions Bethune-Cookman at Daytona Beach. Undated.

Newsclipping, Why Don't More Negroes Become Lawyers?

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

News Clipping: Partial article references data given to the reporter by the acting dean of Howard University School of Law, William W. Taylor. Undated.

Newsclipping, Rules Outlined "Woman Of The Year"

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

News clipping: Article regarding guidelines for Jacksonville citizens preparing to nominate people for the Woman of the Year award based on accomplishments from 1948. Award sponsored by Cohen Brothers. Undated.

Newsclipping, Duval Grand Jury Called Next Friday

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

News clipping: Article regarding the Duval County Grand Jury reconvening, looking into "alleged school irregularities". The probe looked into rumors that some teachers were "required" to make payments to secure job placements. Undated.

Newsclipping, Keep Up The Fight

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

News clipping: United States Representative Arthur W. Mitchell of Illinois, the only Black American in Congress, announced requesting a re-hearing of the Mitchell versus Rock Island Arkansas before the Interstate Commerce Commission. Undated.

Newsclipping, Disabled Workers Want Jobs And Not Pity

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

News clipping: Article regarding industry overlooking disabled and older workers as valuable manpower. Undated.

Newsclipping, Racial Supremacy Fallacy

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

News clipping: Article regarding the American Anthropological Association report on the fallacy of racial supremacy. Undated.

Newsclipping, Directors Named At Charity Meet

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

News clipping: Article about the Associated Charities' eighth annual meeting at the Woman's Club, where thirty directors were named. The secretary, Homer Borst, made a report on the previous year. Undated

Newsclippiing, Registrations Reach New High

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

News clipping: Partial article regarding registration for political elections.Chart of registrations.  Reverse side: classified adverts. Undated.

Newsclipping, Westside Ushers Revival Hour At Grant Memorial

Eartha M. M. White Textual Material

News clipping: Article regarding the Westside Ushers Revival Hour to be held at Grant Memorial AME Church at 2:45 pm. Undated.