History Commons^™

A Journey To The Midwest For Migrant Farmwork: Women's Testimonies Examining Their Lived Experiences Using Autoethnography And Plática Research Methodologies, Yesenia G. Alcalá

Theses & Dissertations

A JOURNEY TO THE MIDWEST FOR MIGRANT FARMWORK: WOMEN’S TESTIMONIES EXAMINING THEIR LIVED EXPERIENCES USING AUTOETHNOGRAPHY AND PLÁTICA

RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES

Yesenia Garza Alcalá, Master of Business Administration

University of the Incarnate Word 2026

The purpose of my research was to share the stories of five women who experienced a yearly migratory routine from Del Rio, Texas, to work in farms and factories in the Midwest, and how that annual journey shaped and educated us. The women are four of my older sisters and me, all of whom traveled and worked in the Princeville, Illinois, migrant camp, where we experienced the …

Carrying Memory, Building Capital: Black Family Child Care Educators’ Community Mothering And Educational Equity, Ashley R. Watts, Crystasany R. Turner

Occasional Paper Series

This narrative unfolds not only as research but as living archives of Black family child care educators’ daily acts of care, resistance, and cultural preservation. Each image and story becomes a window into the layered identities of FCCEs—community mothers, pedagogues, and cultural stewards—whose homes and classrooms are sites of both survival and joy. The photographs capture the textures of their caregiving environments: the toys worn smooth by generations of children, the kitchen tables transformed into learning hubs, the walls adorned with cultural symbols and affirmations. These visual and narrative fragments remind us that FCCEs are not simply providers; they are …

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.

Wesleyan Archives Correspondence From Director Maurine Maness, May 16, 1975, Maurine Maness

Correspondence

Correspondence from Maurine Maness, the director of the Wesleyan Archives and Museum, previously located at the University of North Alabama to William L. McDonald. Maness discusses McDonald's donations to the archives as well as his assistance in aiding research inquiries on Center Star, Alabama.

Florence Bicentennial Commission Correspondence From Chair Maurine Maness, May 27, 1976, Maurine Maness

Correspondence

Correspondence from the Chair of the Florence, Alabama Bicentennial Commission thanking William L. McDonald for the role he played in publicizing Bicentennial Week.

Gift Of Histories Of The Churches In Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin & Winston Counties To Wesleyan Archives, July 16, 1976, Maurine Maness

Correspondence

Correspondence from Maurine Maness, director of the Wesleyan Archives and Museum thanking William L. McDonald for his donation of the histories of the churches in Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin, and Winston counties. The correspondence also includes a copy of the archival accessioning record.

Larimore Home Historical Marker (Mars Hill Bible School) Correspondence, Aug. 25, 1976, Jack Wilhelm

Correspondence

Correspondence from Jack Wilhelm, president of Mars Hill Bible School, thanking William L. McDonald and the Florence Historical Board for their contributions to the historical marker at the Larimore Home on their campus. A portion of McDonald's speech from the historical marker dedication is also included.

The Larimore Home historical marker can be viewed here.

Congratulatory Correspondence After Becoming A Colonel, April 1977, Ina Mae Abramson, Henry Abramson, Henry Grady Richards, Gladys Threet, Carrol Threet

Correspondence

Correspondence congratulating William Lindsey McDonald's achievement of the rank of Colonel in the US Army Reserves.

East Florence Historical District On Alabama Register Of Landmarks & Heritage From Alabama Historical Commission, 1977, W. Warner Floyd

Correspondence

Correspondence acknowledging that the East Florence, Alabama Historic District in Lauderdale County was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

Forks Of Cypress Correspondence, June 1977, Waring Sherwood

Correspondence

Correspondence from William Lindsey McDonald to Waring Sherwood with a reply concerning a book about the Forks of Cypress, the residence of the James Jackson and a Lauderdale County, Alabama historic site. Sherwood was the author of the book, The Story of James Jackson at the Forks, while McDonald provided the introduction.

Story Publication Correspondence To Lisa Chandler, Feb. 9, 1977, William Lindsey Mcdonald

Correspondence

Correspondence from William L. McDonald to Lisa Chandler concerning the publication of his fiction in her story collection. The included additional file is a March 8, 1977, reply from Lisa Chandler that discusses her and McDonald's shared literary interests.

Forks Of Cypress Correspondence From Waring Sherwood With Article From The Nov. 14, 1978, Memphis Press-Scimitar, Pg. 5, Waring Sherwood

Correspondence

Correspondence from Waring Sherwood to William Lindsey McDonald about Sherwood's book on local history The Story of James Jackson at the Forks. The book discusses the history of the Forks of Cypress in Lauderdale County, Alabama and the James Jackson family that inhabited it.

Waring also included an article from page five of the November 14, 1978, Memphis Press-Scimitar, which references his career and offers a summary of the publication.

Correspondence On '''Daddies At Graduation'' And "A Nurse In Uniform" To Dean Of Nursing Frenesi Wilson, 4.25.1979, William Lindsey Mcdonald

Correspondence

Correspondence from William Lindsey McDonald to Dr. Frenesi Wilson, Dean of the School of Nursing at the University of North Alabama. Within the correspondence, McDonald addresses two compositions, "Daddies at Graduation" and "A Nurse in Uniform," that he wrote regarding his daughter, Nancy Buttram's graduation from UNA's nursing program. The articles can be accessed in the digital collection of the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions here.

''Paths In The Brier Patch'' Correspondence From Waring Sherwood, June 25, 1979, Warring Sherwood

Correspondence

Correspondence from Waring Sherwood to William Lindsey McDonald discussing McDonald's publication, Paths in the Brier Patch. The publication is slightly different than the majority of McDonald's works in that has personal nostalgia rather than a primary focus on local history.

The manuscripts of Paths in the Brier Patch are available for viewing by appointment at UNA archives. Click here to view their space in the digital finding aid of the archives' physical collection..

Dred Scott Article Correspondence From Walter Ehrlich, Associate Professor Of History At University Of Missouri – St. Louis, May 23, 1980, Walter Ehrlich

Correspondence

Correspondence from Walter Ehrlich, Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Missouri-St. Louis, to William Lindsey McDonald concerning McDonald's paper on Dred Scott's time in Florence, Alabama.

McDonald's paper, with implemented feedback from Ehrlich, is accessible in the research articles section of the William Lindsey McDonald Digital Collection.

Thank You For Usar General Officer Candidacy Reference To Congressman Ronnie Flippo, Dec. 2, 1980, William Lindsey Mcdonald

Correspondence

Correspondence from William Lindsey McDonald to Honorable Ronnie Flippo, US Congressman, thanking him for his nomination for an assignment to the US Army Reserve General Officer position.

Colonel William L. McDonald remained a participant in the US Army reserve for much of his career.

From Courtship To Competition: Dating And Youth Culture In Twentieth-Century America, Gaege Gobezie

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

This review critically examines Beth Bailey’s From Front Porch to Back Seat to examine changing paradigms in twentieth-century dating culture. In this book, Bailey successfully describes the impetus behind the transformation of courtship into modern dating. The ascendancy of distinctive youth culture and institutions was a catalyst for changing social dynamics among America’s adolescents. Traditionally, dating relationships were pursued under the aegis of the home and family. The emergence of this distinctive youth culture and the automobile displaced dating relationships from the home to the public sphere. This changing cultural attitude towards relationships created the “dating-rating” complex, in which adolescents …

The American Ethic: Happy 250th Anniversary!, Matt Walker

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

The American Ethic: Two hundred fifty years ago, In 1776, the American colonies faced a pivotal decision: whether to remain under British rule or to assert their independence. The Founding Fathers chose to separate from Great Britain and proceeded to clearly articulate both their justification for independence and the fundamental principles of liberty and justice upon which the new nation would be built. The Declaration of Independence, drafted primarily by Thomas Jefferson, was far more than a proclamation of political separation, it also presented the framework for a novel rights-based ethical system which made the extraordinary claim of universal individual …

Baseball’S Anti-Trust Exemption And Major League Baseball Labor Relations In The 20th Century, Shawn M. Smith

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

Baseball, being America's pastime and the most popular sport in the professional ranks from the 1870s onward for at least another century beyond that, gives us a lens wherethrough we may see so much about American culture, economics and society during this time period. This work looks at baseball’s unique economic position throughout the 20th century and how it changed over the course of time. Baseball had an exclusive arrangement unavailable to other industries in that it had an anti-trust exemption, which was based on the 1922 Supreme Court decision in  Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore v. National League. …

Silk And Authority: The Political Meaning Of Elite Women's Fashion In Europe, Kaylee S. Rupasinghe

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

Fashion for women has not always been about personal style and fashion trends, but women's fashion among the elite has served in ways to express a woman's identity, authority, and wealth to the public. By analyzing Elizabeth I, Marie Antoinette, and Victoria, noticeable differences and outcomes occur based on what they wore, how they wore their clothing, and the self-portraits they released to the public. This analysis suggests that elite women in European history went beyond fashion trends with their clothing choices and shaped a society with the clothing they wore.

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 …

No New Lessons: The Impact Of World War 2 On The American Fire Service, Brady L. Hutchison

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

Large loss of life fires occurred with terrifying regularity in 1940s America. While overseas, the nation’s military waged a war on tyranny and oppression abroad, at home, the country faced an enemy every bit as deadly. Tradition in the fire service has held the notion that the 1940s saw so many deadly fires due to the nation being at war. The war, it is believed, drained fire departments of manpower, dramatically increased the call volume for departments, and led departments to cut or suspend fire inspections owing to lack of manpower. With that, the consensus is that fire codes in …

The Many Lives Of Benjamin Franklin: A Historiographical Examination Of America’S First Self-Made Man, Michael W. Cunningham

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

This paper explores how Benjamin Franklin's historiography has changed over time. It argues that Franklin has been reinterpreted throughout American history and that these reinterpretations say just as much about America as they do about Franklin. Instead of taking a chronological approach to Franklin's life, this study explores how historians have thought about Franklin over time, starting with eighteenth-century writers and ending with historians writing in the twenty-first century. The life of Franklin has been used to exemplify upward mobility, middle-class virtues, and republican success stories, but has more recently been the subject of revisionist scholarship focused on slavery and …

All That Glitters Is Not Gold: Consuelo Vanderbilt And Transatlantic Marriages In The Gilded Age, Katie M. Cassady

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

Between 1865 and the onset of World War I, wealthy American women increasingly married titled European men. These marriages played a critical role for both parties: the newly moneyed elite asserted its claim to social status, and depleted European nobility regained the funds so essential to their longevity. By 1915, 454 American heiresses had married into the European aristocracy. In one famous example, Consuelo Vanderbilt was forcibly wed to the ninth Duke of Marlborough. As the Vanderbilt family labored to assimilate themselves into old-money New York society, the opportunity to tie their family name to English nobility could catapult the …

In Memory Of Jane Widtfeldt Meged, Luis Miguel Brito, Cristina Carvalho

International Journal of Tour Guiding and Visitor Attraction Research

Short piece in Memory of Jane Widtfeldt Meged, founder member of Editorial Board of the International Journal of Tour Guiding and Visitor Attraction Research

Striking Tools Of Indigenous North America: Rethinking Their Representations In Media, Literature, And Collection Systems, Wesley Martin

University Research

The striking tool as a concept has existed since time immemorial. Once Europeans began colonizing the North American continent, Indigenous striking tools became conflated with the word “tomahawk.” The meaning of tomahawks and other striking tools is distorted in history, because western scholars and artists saw them from a limited worldview. This distortion made its way into archaeological reports, museum displays, and digital collections’ metadata. Some typologies that collectors and museum staff make for tomahawks continue to limit how the public may see them. Professionals working in the material culture fields should consider how this occurs. This article demonstrates these …

Why Nevada Leaves So Much Federal Money Behind, The Lincy Institute

Lincy Institute Events

The Lincy Institute presents new research examining the history, politics, and policies that have caused Nevada to fare so poorly in accessing federal resources for decades and offer recommendations for how Nevada can more effectively interface with federal agencies to reverse this history. The event also features a panel discussion with nonprofit and former state and local government leaders.

Panel

Moderator — David Damore, Executive Director, The Lincy Institute

Panelists — Michael Brown, Fellow, The Lincy Institute — Lisa Corrado, Executive Director, Nevada Nonprofits — Miles Dickson, Chief Executive Officer, Nevada GrantLab — Yvanna Cancela, Chief of Staff, U.S. Representative …

Larimore House Correspondence To Al Cultural Resources Preservation Trust Fund, 5.7.2000, William L. Mcdonald

Correspondence

Correspondence from William Lindsey McDonald to the director of the Alabama Cultural Resources and Preservation Trust Fund concerning support for a grant to renovate, restore and repair the historic Larimore House in Florence, Alabama.

The historical marker for the Larimore Home, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, can be accessed here.

Origin Of The Town Of Florence Correspondence To Mayor Eddie Frost, 11.30.1993, William L. Mcdonald

Correspondence

Correspondence from William Lindsey McDonald to Mayor Eddie Frost of the City of Florence concerning the March 12, 1818, origins of Florence, Alabama. Within the letter, McDonald proposes that the city logo be changed to reflect the establishment of the city by the Cypress Land Company.