Oral History Commons^™

The Roots Of Community: A Local Librarian's Resource For Discovering, Documenting And Sharing The History Of Library Services To African Americans In Their Communities, Matthew R. Griffis

Publications and Other Resources

Intended for current library professionals, this toolkit provides a theoretical basis for completing public history projects about libraries and explores specific project types, selected best practices and related resources. It divides into three major sections: Part 1, “Planning,” Part 2 “Gathering” and Part 3, “Sharing.” Respectively, these sections cover the preparation, collection and communication tasks of research projects and, where appropriate, offer readers several types of potentially useful resources. Many of these resources—forms, letters, standards, examples of evidence—were used for the author’s Roots of Community project and appear as examples of resources deemed suitable for that project. In other instances, …

Ua37/30/2 Faculty Personal Papers Lowell Harrison Wku Research, Wku Archives, Sam Bruer, Bess Mchone

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by Lowell Harrison while serving as University Historian and writing the 75th anniversary history "Western Kentucky University" as well as numerous articles about the university.

Separate Places, Shared Spaces: Segregated Carnegie Libraries As Community Institutions In The Age Of Jim Crow (Presentation For The Southern History Association Annual Meeting, November 2018), Matthew R. Griffis

Publications and Other Resources

From the conference program: "This presentation explores how segregated Carnegie libraries in the south served as places of interaction, learning, and community-making for African Americans in the days of Jim Crow. Known then as “colored Carnegie libraries,” these institutions opened in eight southern states between 1904 and 1924 and were funded by Andrew Carnegie’s library development program of the early twentieth century. Some segregated Carnegie libraries operated for as many as six decades until, by the 1970s, most had been desegregated or permanently closed.

"Based on archival methods as well as newly completed oral history interviews, this presentation begins with …

African Americans In Wv Oral History Project Flyer, Kelli Johnson

Ephemera

Flyer for oral history project for African American's in WV

Carolyn Nicks, Mijour Jones

Oral Histories

Oral History of Carolyn Nicks interviewed by Mijour Jones in Huntington, West Virginia

Gina Johnson, Shyah Johnson

Oral Histories

Oral History of Gina Johnson, interviewed by Shylah Johnson in Huntington, West Virginia.

Joe Williams, Markayla Moore

Oral Histories

Oral History of Joe Williams, interviewed by Markayla Moore in Huntington, West Virginia.

Shirley Williams, Markayla Moore

Oral Histories

Oral History of Shirley Williams, interviewed by Markayla Moore in Huntington, West Virginia.

Janella Coleman, Denise Wattie

Oral Histories

Oral History of Janella Coleman, interviewed by Denise Wattie in Huntington, West Virginia.

Carl Woolfolk, T'Rayah Paschall

Oral Histories

Oral History of Carl Woolfolk, interviewed by his granddaughter T'Rayah Paschall in Huntington, West Virginia.

Doris Atkinson, Ariana Redding

Oral Histories

Oral History of Doris Atkinson interviewed by Ariana Redding in Huntington, West Virginia.

Rev. Reginald Hill, Raiven Scott

Oral Histories

Oral History of Rev. Reginald Hill of the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Huntington, West Virginia

2018-07-16 Oral History With Myrtle Ross, Matthew R. Griffis

Oral History Archive

Myrtle Jackson Ross was born in 1929 in Austin County, Texas, where her father worked as a cotton-picker. When she was about eight years-old, Ross’s family moved to Houston, settling on Mason Street in the city’s Fourth Ward. There, her father worked at a hospital and her mother worked as a homemaker. Ross graduated from the Gregory School on Victor Street before attending Booker T. Washington High School on West Dallas Street.

Ross was in high school when she began visiting Houston’s Colored Carnegie Library, which was situated directly behind Booker T. Washington High School. For Ross, the library served …

2018-06-02 Oral History With Willie Hartwell, Matthew R. Griffis

Oral History Archive

Willie Hartwell was born in 1942 Glenn, Texas and grew up in Houston, where she lived on Andrews Street in the city’s Fourth Ward. There, she graduated from the Gregory School before attending Booker T. Washington High School. Later moving to the Third Ward with her mother, Hartwell attended Miller Junior and Yates (now Jack Yates) Senior high schools.

Hartwell was about seven years-old when she and her younger brother happened upon the segregated Carnegie Branch library one afternoon on Frederick Street. Neither had visited a public library before. Located about seven city blocks from her home, the Carnegie Branch …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Enduring Music: Migrant Appalachian Communities And The Shenandoah National Park, Madeline Marsh

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This paper is an archival study of the displaced children of families formerly living in the Shenandoah National Park which spans from Strasburg to Waynesboro, Virginia. The study looks at interviews, from the JMU Special Collections archives, of these children in the 1970-80s, nearly fifty years after their forced migration from the 197,438 acres that comprised the park. Change and pressure during the 1930s-40s combined with national policy began the nostalgic preservation and veneration of the culture of these people of the Blue Ridge Mountains; through the archives, a clear and diverse picture of the perspectives and lifestyles of people …

Forggett, Essie (Fa 1104), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1104. Student paper titled “Slavery in Green County” in which Essie Forggett details the history of the settlement of Green County and its eventual dependence upon slave labor. Forggett also includes stories of slave auctions, punishments, attempted escapes, and religious practices of slaves throughout the region. Paper is based on information collected by Forggett from county clerk records and in-person interviews with slave descendants.

Making Voices Heard: Collecting And Sharing Oral Histories From Users Of Segregated Libraries In The South (Presentation For The Oral History Association Annual Meeting, October 2017), Matthew R. Griffis

Publications and Other Resources

From the conference program: "This presentation reviews the progress and objectives of a federally-funded, 3-year oral history project that explores how segregated Carnegie libraries were used as places of community-making, interaction, and learning for African Americans before integration in the 1960s. Known then as “Carnegie colored libraries,” these public libraries opened in eight southern states between 1900 and 1925 and were an extension of the well-known library development program funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Some operated for as many as six decades until, by the 1970s, most had closed or were integrated into the library systems of …

Buildings And Books: Segregated Libraries As Places For Community-Making, Interaction And Learning In The Age Of Jim Crow (Presentation For The Society For The History Of Authorship, Reading, And Publishing Annual Conference, June 2017), Matthew R. Griffis

Publications and Other Resources

From the conference program: "This presentation reviews the preliminary findings of a federally funded, 3-year historical study that explores how segregated Carnegie libraries were used as places of community-making, interaction, and learning for African Americans in the age of Jim Crow. Known then as "Carnegie Negro libraries," these public libraries opened in eight southern states between 1900 and 1925 and were an extension of the well-known library development program funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

"Drawing on archival sources, including newly completed oral history interviews with surviving library users, this presentation explores how these libraries helped foster a …

Playing His Own Game: Ernest 'Dutch' Morial's 1977 Mayoral Campaign For Citizen Participation In New Orleans, Eric Marshall

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Ernest “Dutch” Morial’s 1977 grassroots mayoral campaign disrupted the political status quo in New Orleans with his message of citizen participation. Morial’s citizen-driven campaign reached over the constituencies of established Black Political Organizations, capturing an eager audience with his message of political, social, and economic equality. With the help of volunteers and other community organizations, Morial created a grassroots campaign that focused on making city government more inclusive. Unattached to the traditional patronage structure, Mayor Morial empowered the black community, reducing the constraints of their political access. Although his legacy is difficult to discern in New Orleans current political realities, …

Secrets On Morgan Hill: A Story Of An Unlikely Friendship Amid An Apartheid South, Camille Kleidysz-Ferreira

Master of Arts in American Studies Capstones

Introduction

The Burden of History and Fiction

“How much of the burden of history can fiction bear?” – Margaret Walker

Comprehensive historical research can often become the inspiration for art. The greatest pieces of historical fiction, are a result of years of historic scholarship before the creation of a compelling historical narrative or fiction piece. Through my two-year ethnographic study and collection of oral histories of the black community, surrounding the historic Bethel A.M.E. church in Acworth, Georgia, I was told a story about a friendship between two little girls who remained friends until the end of their lives. What …

Oral History With Karen Edwards-Hunter, Matthew R. Griffis

Oral History Archive

Karen Edwards-Hunter was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1950 and has lived most of her life there. Her father was a mail carrier and her mother, who was originally a homemaker, was later a Teacher’s Assistant at Perry Elementary School. Edwards-Hunter grew up on 15^th Street in the city’s Russell neighborhood and attended Perry Elementary School and Harvey C. Russell Junior High School when both were still segregated. She later attended Louisville Male High School before earning a B.A. in English at Eastern Kentucky University and the University of Louisville. She completed further studies at Bard College in New …

New Online Archive On Racially Segregated Libraries, Matthew R. Griffis

Publications and Other Resources

Matthew Griffis ([email protected]), Ph.D., an Assistant Professor in the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Southern Mississippi, has conducted extensive research as the lead investigator on racial segregation in public libraries in the South. His research has been digitized is now available online. The archive, made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services is entitled “The Roots of Community: Segregated Carnegie Libraries as Spaces for Learning and Community-Making in Pre-Civil Rights America, 1900-65.” Griffis’s primary area of research is the library as place, including library buildings as social architecture, public libraries as …

Experience And Enjoy Therapeutic West African Drumming, Danny S. Daniels

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This presentation is designed to introduce the benefits of a therapeutic West African drumming program to educators and mental health professionals. Participants will engage in a basic drumming class where they will experience the academic and socio-emotional benefits of drumming while practicing an African rhythm. How to relate American School Counselor Association (ASCA) standards as well as Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) and Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS) will be explained and demonstrated by the presentation facilitators.

Capturing Their Stories: Collecting Oral Histories From Users Of Segregated Libraries In The South (Presentation For The Southern History Of Education Society Annual Meeting, March 2017), Matthew R. Griffis

Publications and Other Resources

From the conference program: "This presentation reviews the progress of a federally-funded, 3-year historical study that explores how segregated Carnegie libraries were used as places of community-making, interaction, and learning for African Americans in the days of Jim Crow. Known then as “Carnegie colored libraries,” these public libraries opened in eight southern states between 1900 and 1925 and were an extension of the well-known library development program funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Some operated for as many as six decades until, by the 1970s, most had closed or were integrated into the library systems of their larger …

Oral History With Houston A. Baker, Matthew R. Griffis

Oral History Archive

Born in March of 1943, Houston Alfred Baker Jr. grew up in segregated Louisville. His mother was a schoolteacher; his father served as chief administrator of the city’s African-American hospital, the Red Cross Hospital, and had earned a master’s degree in hospital administration from Northwestern University on a Rockefeller fellowship. When Baker was a child, his family lived on Virginia Avenue, where Baker attended Virginia Avenue Elementary School. After his family moved to Broadway Street, Baker attended Western Elementary, later Western Junior High School, and then Male High School before leaving for Howard University in 1961. The family attended Grace …

Oral History With Maxine Turner, Matthew R. Griffis

Oral History Archive

Maxine Turner was born in 1940 in Holt, Alabama, and moved to Meridian, Mississippi when she was three years-old. After living in the George Reese Courts, Turner’s family moved to 34^th Avenue and 13^th Street in the northwest part of town. They attended St. Paul Methodist Episcopal Church, just across the street from the 13^th Street library.

Turner began using the library when she was in third grade, mostly for personal reading and to support her schooling. She attended several of Meridian’s segregated schools, including St. Joseph Catholic School, Meridian Baptist Seminary, Wechsler Junior High School and …

Guest Editor's Introduction, Sherlynn Allen-Harris

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

Acknowledgments And Disclaimer, Regennia N. Williams

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

The Rule, Marylou And Jerome Bongiorno

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.