My Archival Experience

Or the State of HBCU Archives

By Rudolph Lewis

Note: Charles E. Siler, an artist and a museum curator, suggested that maybe we should create a forum for the discussion of the State of HBCU Archives. We came to this necessity partially as a result of two recent articles. One, an article on Alice Walker  in which it was reported that Alice Walker to Place her Archive at Emory University and two Fisk U struggles to sell art. Miriam DeCosta-Willis raised the question whether Walker had considered Spelman, an HBCU institution from which Walker had graduated. My immediate response was Walker probably thought that Emory had greater resources and thus Emory could make her papers quickly available to the public and probably in more creative formats than Spelman was able to do. There was a round of other responses. Then on the heel of that story came the crisis at Fisk in which administrators were trying to sell off their art collection in order to pay bills. That set off another round of exchanges about the State of HBCU archives. Some of these exchanges you will find below.

So I've decided to kick off this forum with a rendition of my experience with HBCU archives and other archival experience. After that I will post some of the exchanges and other items pertinent to the conversation. We hope that there are others who will respond with their own presentation or comments on the problems and solutions of the crises now existing for HBCU archives. We welcome of course comparative studies.

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I spent one year working in an archive, The George Meany Memorial Archives, as a fellow during my last year in library school. So I've processed only two collections: the papers of the Department of Organization of the AFL-CIO and that of Vanni Montana, a member of the largest Garment Workers local (NY) in the nation, during the period of the 1930s to the 1950s.

I am intellectually curious about an odd number of things, even boorish union men and political ideologues. Montana was Italian, and early on a socialist in Sicily. Of course, his politics changed gradually as he became more and more an American. He wrote a political biography (unpublished), which I read and found interesting; a copy of one of the manuscripts being discarded was given to me by the former GMM director, Stuart Kaufman, I have been carrying it around for a decade. I have meant to read it a again and post excerpts online to kindle an interest in its publication.

There was of course very little of a personal nature in Montana's papers, mostly politics and organizational conflicts and an indication of his progression toward the conservatism of Nixon's Republican Party. What there was that was personal was contained in the manuscript of his political biography. It represented a curious history of Italian immigrants and their involvement in political and union movements back home and in America. Some of the correspondence was in Italian, so in some cases I had to use a dictionary.

The emphasis at George Meany however was on preservation and not promoting and programming and making connections with other such papers in the Archives and making those evident in finding aids or online. All that requires time and energy and money. Of course, some of this could be done by students given fellowships. But the old paradigm of preservation is first and last, primarily. The fellows I encountered had little interest in politics or union history. I think I was the only one of the fellows that year who had a union background. But few of us, in the late 90s, were up sufficiently on the web and the new digital technology, which has advanced in leaps and bounds in the last decade.

There were some letters of a personal nature from organizers in the Department of Organization papers, of old organizers being discarded like they were yesterday’s trash. Heartbreaking stories of the poverty of old CIO organizers who fought the hard fight and were abandoned because they couldn’t document their years to qualify for a pension or couldn’t qualify for the personnel cuts when the AFL and the CIO became one organization.

I made copies of some news clippings and letters and statements of union men, especially concerning organizing efforts in the South among agricultural workers and Negroes. I tried to get some black union people interested in the documents, for educating their organizers, giving them a sense of the early CIO organizers and the new AFL-CIO of the 1950s. None of the union people I knew was interested in possibly printing the documents as part of their organizers training program.

I eventually decided to digitize some of those documents and include them as part of ChickenBones: A Journal:  Blacks and Labor in Print. These documents  became part of the foundation of the site. The niece of one of the former union organizing directors thanked me for keeping alive the memory of her uncle, William Kircher. Often what to include or exclude in a person's papers also depend  on the person who is processing the papers—their background, their emphasis, their knowledge of what might be important to researchers, especially when writing bio-sketches and finding aids.

As a researcher in the mid-80s, I also became familiar with the papers of Marcus Bruce Christian while teaching at the University of New Orleans and wrote as a result a seminal essay on his poetry and how it represents aspects of his personal life. Not even Tom Dent who knew Christian personally and wrote a published paper on him made use of the diary and letters of Christian to explicate Christian's poetry. I also did a focused research in the unprocessed papers of Sterling Brown at Howard.  The archivist was kind in bringing those papers from the warehouse where they were stored. That came after a Marcus Christian research  was done at the National Archives and the Library of Congress, looking for letters and materials Christian had sent Sterling Brown, when Brown was the Negro Director of the Black section of the Federal Writers’ Project. Brown was collecting material from the black state projects for his proposed book, “The Portrait of the Negro as American.”

I expected the Federal Writers’ Project material would be at the National Archives— in that the productions of the Federal Writers Project were government documents. Some administrative papers were indeed at the National Archives. But a decision was made to transfer the bulk of the requested material from the states to the Library of Congress so that there would be a greater accessibility. So I went to the Library of Congress in search of the materials Christian had sent Brown. They were not in the Louisiana folders. In the late 30s and possibly the early 40s the Library of Congress had a lending policy. I assumed then that Brown had borrowed the materials and never returned them.

So I went in search of Brown’s papers, which I discovered were at  Moorland-Spingarn.  Among these unprocessed papers (of the mid-30s) I did not find what I was looking for but I found papers of a congressional controversy regarding an entry in the Washington, DC Guide Book, produced by the Federal Writers' Project. It included material on Blacks in Washington. There were charges from a Wisconsin congressmen of communists in the FWP trying to embarrass/slander the family of George Washington, the nation's hero and first President. Brown was thus viewed as an enemy of the State. These unprocessed papers I discovered constituted Brown's defense. I made copies and later pulled them together, digitized them and published them  as the Maria Syphax Case.

I have also had an opportunity to check out the collection at Morgan State University and Virginia Union. Neither had the expected archival controls for heat, humidity, or pests. I’ve heard stories that some of the papers given to Morgan were sitting in hallways. Morgan is building a new library but  they have not made provisions for a state of the arts archives. I have also heard horrid stories about the Bowie State University collections. The papers of Marcus Christian were at Dillard University. After his death, Christian’s nephew (I believe) turned them over to the University of New Orleans, which he thought had greater resources to deal with Christian's great volume of documents, some from the Dillard Federal Writers’ Project. From my research use of the UNO Archives they have done Christian and researchers a great service. But UNO has not gone that far beyond the preservation stage. Digitizing the Christian Collection more in depth would provide greater access to the general public and a greater appreciation of Marcus Christian, the poet and historian.

So the above is a short version of my limited experience which forms my attitude towards the importance and the possibilities of archives as educational institutions with an enlarged audience and clientele.—Rudy

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Exchanges on the State of HBCUs and Their Archives

Rudy, one wonders about the archival materials held by the HBCUs—I worry about them in fact.—Ronnie

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It is probably not possible to support all the HBCUs, but it would look well if Howard, Fisk, and the Atlanta U complex could be maintained by those people who puff themselves up and strut around calling themselves nationalists.—Wilson

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One idea might be to have an HBCU Archive, a place where HBCU institutions would deposit their collections because of the inability to set up an individual archival program. That HBCU Archive might also assist institutions like Howard with their backload of collections unprocessed, either in processing them or housing them. This HBCU Archive could make use of the latest technology in making these documents available digitally. Fisk I suspect has done little in promoting its art collection and I suspect that they cannot be found visually online. What I am suggesting is that a collective (or centralized) effort might have a better chance of preserving and promoting these collections than individual schools. And that foundation monies might be bettered raised by this kind of centralized effort.—Rudy

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Dorothy Porter did a brilliant job at Moorland-Spingarn.  I hear that the archives at Morehouse are not remarkably well-maintained (putting it diplomatically).—Wilson

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Rudy,

The problem with many of the HBCU archives ties to what was noted in that earlier exchange.  It has to do, in part, with the fact that we (as a group) have been pushed away from considering our history as having value.  The other is that the historic  underfunding and lack of external support is profound and many of the schools have gone through administrative leadership that was so tied to the "massas' way" that it exacerbated the problem and alienated many alumni who would have been willing to contribute and/or offer support to their alma mater.

There is a growing number of people out here who have museum and library experience who could help.  Of course, they also need to have support because time, travel and the like cost.  That leads us to another problem, our tendency to want things to be given or provided cheaply.  Most of the professionals aren't trying to get rich but those who need the help (and surely you understand this) have bill that are ongoing and debtors who don't take promises as payment.  I, and others, can tell horror stories about having to deal with those who don't want to understand that there must be recompense, even when it comes to having folk tell them how to used their collections to attract income. 

Saving them takes careful planning that involves fund raising to implement programming, exhibition and ongoing means of creating income.  They need to, first, learn how to market to their alums.  Of course there's more but we'd be talking for years.

The need is for those people to tap into their resources using their alumni associations, local businesses and the public by adding some passion to the mix.

There are ways but concern for the importance of our art and its reflection of our history is first.  As an old museum guy, I am very much concerned about the lack of historic concern shown by most African American people.  We have to reconnect to our history.  Perhaps a forum on ChickenBones would be appropriate.  I can suggest a few people who might have something to say.—Chuck 12/30/07

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Rudy. I like your idea of a central archives for HBCUs, but, unfortunately, each administration works unilaterally.

The problem is not the archivists, Rudy, or their lack of accountability in failing to report the conditions. The problems are (1) a lack of resources at these institutions and (2) a question of priorities as set by the administration. I know the archivists at Howard University and AU's Woodruff Library and I've been in correspondence with the archivists at Morehouse and Spelman. They are all well trained, hard-working, and very responsible professionals, but they're working under incredible conditions. By the way, I understand that the Spelman staff has done an excellent job in processing the papers of Audre Lorde, and the Woodruff archivists did a fine job in processing Maynard Jackson's papers and, when I last heard, was hard at work on MLK's papers. We also have to give credit where credit is due. —Miriam

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Dear Rudy,

I agree with Chuck that librarians deserve to be paid for their services.  If we can pay starting salaries of $150,000 to MBAs, most of whom are parasites, and ignorant as dirt, for screwing up the national economy, we ought to be able to pay librarians at least half that amount for their real expertise which requires constant study and constant regeneration.  Being a librarian today involves so much expenditure of time and it is not a 9 to 5 job.

Negroes claim to be interested in "our history," and maybe they are, but most of this interest seems to be confined to theory: Afrocentric theory, Gay theory, post-colonial theory, feminist theory, post-modernist theory, black Atlantic theory.  The list is constantly changing and very trendy.

Then  there is the problem of people giving their papers to family members, who destroy half the material and lose the rest.

Thank God the King family never got hold of the MLK papers!—Wilson

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Dear Rudy and Chuck,
 
A forum on HBCU archives is a capital idea.  I can assure you that the United Negro College Fund would have a very keen interest in this forum, because UNCF is currently exploring how HBCUs can sustain themselves in the near future.  The contact person at UNCF is Dr. Elfred A. Pinkard.
 
There have been discussions by archivists for more than twenty-some years about the state of HBCU archives and very little concrete action (as far as I know).  My alma mater, Tougaloo College, got some generous support from the Mellon Foundation for preserving its collection in the 1990s. I was able to create a new course "Introduction to Scholarship" by having my students there do real research with primary documents from the papers of Lance Jeffers and Virgia Shedd.  Significant portions of the Tougaloo archives are currently being processed at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History by Mr. Clarence Hunter.  He is one person who should be invited to share his insights.  
 
I wish both of you a productive 2008 and thereafter—Jerry

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Perceptions of HBCU archives and of the librarians and archivists who are responsible for their care and promotion of them indeed have to change. The problem perception that administrators have with librarians and archivists is that they as personnel don't create value, that is, create or produce money, that they only render a necessary and required service. But that has to do with the old perception of archives (as well as libraries). The old paradigm for archives was purely that of preservation. That is, money goes out but money does not come in as a result of having well-managed archives and libraries. 

Administrators, as well as archivists and librarians, have to be convinced that libraries and archives can be self-sustaining and produce an income for the institution.—Rudy

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Folk,

Happy New Year and good cheer to all of you.

Rudy and I have had interesting discussions over the past few years about a variety of issues.  Even when we're not in agreement we have found ways to mutual understanding of how our differing opinions can be turned to good use.

This list is one that I'm publishing openly because, those of you who don't know each other - should and I respect the views of everyone that I've sent this to.

The main issue here is preserving our heritage and finding ways to successfully maintain those things that are important to the history of African American people.

Digitization is one of those things that we can do to protect the information.  How we maintain and support those institutions who hold the real items is a subject for discussion.

One thing that I feel we need is a connection to the new National Museum.  We need to network and link ourselves.  I know that there are names to be added to this list and I plan to do so.

In the meantime, for those of you who may not know, google ChickenBones. All the best in '08—Chuck

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Chuck,

You know this is a topic near and dear to my heart and I too have some people to add to the list, all of who want to be proactive about the business of preserving our history.  I included them in the CC.  I also think we must be transparent about the problems surrounding the maintenance of HBCU archives along with the whole arena of archiving African American history in general.  I am constantly hearing stories about elders in the African American art world who, once they transition, we find their life's work is in jeopardy of going the way of so much of our history i.e. deposited in an inaccessible place or in the "circular file" thanks to ignorant relatives.  Peace,—Vicki

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Vicki, you have pointed out two perennial problems: 1) the inaccessibility of some HBCU archives, which could be viewed from a number of perspectives (e.g. open to handling archives of local persons), and 2) relatives who inherit archives and their lack of knowledge with respect to whom to approach to find a home for their kinsman's archives.

Last August, while visiting the dumpster I came across the work (awards, newspaper clipping, and art work) of a local writer and scholar, Grace Claiborne Johnson, who had received several master degrees from Virginia State University (Petersburg). Her items were found in a trailer nearby which was being taken over by white persons who were moving in. They did not know what to do with it. They carried it to the dumpster but did not throw it in and, realizing its importance, left some of it leaning up against the wall. Some of it was in bad condition with water damage, mold, etc. Because of the condition of the materials, most of the items I left at the dumpster. A librarian at VSU called me after reading the poem I wrote about the situation, Flowers for the Trashman.

The deceased writer, Ms. Claiborne Johnson, was well-known and two of the VSU librarians knew her personally. I took the framed awards I salvaged to them and left them in their hands. The VSU librarians received the two framed awards but I am uncertain they knew how to handle such a situation.—Rudy

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Rudy,
 
Virginia State Univ. is supposed to have a respected Special Collections & Archives. I do not know who is heading the archives now, but I remember a friend telling me how helpful the archivist had been for her. Did you discuss with the librarians and/or archivists how they might use the items you gave to them?—Herbert

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I know you're familiar with Gwendolyn Midlo Hall (Africans In Colonial Louisiana). She's a good friend and is someone whose database has been a lot of help.  That experience may contribute to something that can lead to a digitization process that could become a link that would prove of incalculable value. Database web site: www.ibiblio.org/laslave  

Gwendolyn Midlo Hall books:

Slavery and African Ethnicities in the Americas: Restoring the Links:
Africans in Colonial Louisiana: the Development of Afro-Creole Culture during the Eighteenth Century:
 

Add Paul Lovejoy to your list re: the HBCU Discussion.  I know you have Joyce King on your list . . . I'm looking into some of the funding folk and  hope that we'll be able to make some things work out all around.—Chuck

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HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU!!!!!! I want to thank you for forwarding my message about HBCU archives. The title of my presentation-that will be made on Wednesday February 27th-is the "Legacy of Carter G. Woodson and African American Archival Sites." I want to first focus on the true reasoning behind Woodson's emphasis on collections as a means to present a true picture of a race of people and its contribution to the fabric of the nation. I went with my wife and daughter to see The Great Debaters,, and though many people were thrilled to see Washington, I was more concerned about the story of Wiley College and the legacy of James Farmer. What comes through very clearly is that its in the papers of the black college-particularly those that are dying (as Wiley is)- that we see the true history of the development of black people under intolerable circumstances. I have been intrigued by the Borinski Papers and I must finish them quickly and return to your papers. My planned work now is the Papers of Tougaloo Scholars- (Bender, Borinski, Durgin, Ladner and Ward). I'll send you a prospectus soon.

This is the tentative outline of the Woodson talk:

    A. Woodson the Man and Mission
    B. The Major African-American Historical Sites and the Message they bring
    C. The HBCU and the Archival Mission
    D. What the future Holds.

Let me know what you think.—Clarence

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Mr. Siler and all of our wonderful friends, Happy New Year!
 
What a timely discussion.  Archives are in the news in many forms.  The model that I grew up with—libraries—are still my favorite.  However, with the wild world of digital technology, there are a few new wrinkles that we can add to the questions of collection, storage, protection, distribution and even revenue.
 
I would be very interested to know how I could support your concerns with my interest in databases, the Internet and most importantly digital and interactive media.
 
There is even a new national schedule of my campus lectures and meetings related to digital television that I would be willing to e-mail to any of our interested associates.
 
Thanks Chuck.—Andrew W. Thornhill

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Related links:

Cornell University Library and HBCU Library Alliance Awarded Collaborative Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Grant To Create Digital Library

Building Collections, Building Services, and Building Sustainability

Preserving a Legacy--Janice R. Franklin & Loretta O'Brien Parham

Annual Report to The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation on Building Collections, Building Services, and Building Sustainability: A Collaborative Model for the HBCU Library Alliance

Archivists & Archives of Color Newsletter

The State of Internet Access to North Carolina African-American Archival Collections (Eben K. Lehman)

Guide to African-American Documentary Resources in North Carolina

History and Archival Resources in Higher Education

John B. Coleman Library Receives Grant From The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation To Preserve Historic Photographs

HBCU Library Alliance Photograph Preservation Summit at UD

The HBCU Library Alliance

North Carolina Exploring Cultural Heritage Online (NC ECHO)

The Lincoln University Herald Newsletters and Annual Catalogues (Digitized)

Louisiana WPA Digital Library  / WPA Documents on African Americans

African-American Women On-line Archival Collections (Duke University)

African American Women Writers of the 19th Century (Schomburg’s Digital Collection)

Digital Librarian  / American Memory / Archive Builders / Repositories of Primary Resources / The African-American Monument

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The State of Internet Access Fundamental principle of  the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), stated: A repository should not deny access to materials to any researcher, nor grant privileged or exclusive use of materials to any researcher, nor conceal the existence of any body of material from any researcher, unless required to do so by statutory authority, institutional mandate, or donor or purchase stipulation. (Association of College and Research Libraries [ACRL], 1994) *   *   *   *   * As the accessibility of material depends on knowing of its existence, it is the repository's responsibility to inform researchers of the collections in its custody. This may be accomplished through local, regional, or national catalogs; inventories and other internal finding aids; published guides; and the assistance of staff members. (ACRL, 1994) *   *   *   *   * The best way for an institution “to provide equal access to all materials and collections” is “to place information about its holdings, digital representations of its holdings, or both online in order to successfully reach the largest number of researchers.” “Creating online digital images of primary source materials--correspondence, diaries, photographs, etc.--is seen by many as the best way to provide access to collections via the Internet. Anjana Bhatnagar (2006) touts some of these benefits in his examination of digitization efforts by academic libraries. Digitized collections are able to offer 24/7 remote access, as well as provide multiple points of simultaneous access to a single resource (Bhatnagar, pp. 40-41). Allowing multiple remote users full visual access to materials seems to ease some of the online services burden on archives staff as well as to greatly assist the online research.” “Digitization requires hardware such as scanners and computers, software such as imaging programs, a large amount of server space, as well as training and staffing costs (Wisser, 2006). For smaller archival institutions, these costs may be impossible to overcome. Outside sources of funding, such as grant funding, collaboration with other institutions, etc., therefore become necessary to accomplish digitization projects." *   *   *   *   * The larger institutions within the state, many of which are nationally and internationally recognized, often have greater fiscal and staffing resources. Many have begun digitization or are well into the process. When smaller institutions begin to plan for digitizing their collections, they may want to collaborate with their colleagues at the larger institutions. Larger institutions may, in turn, wish to reach out to smaller, local institutions in order to expand their intellectual base. Often holdings at one institution can be linked to holdings at another or institutions can share in the development of a digital archive built around a particular concept. Small institutions can learn from the larger institution's practices and successes, while contributing valuable insight on content and organization as well as a reality check for technical experimentation. (Wisser, 2006) *   *   *   *   * As these institutions [HBCUs] continue to suffer from a lack of adequate financial, physical, and technological resources, they are prevented from making progress in providing online access to their archival collections, the importance of which is commented on by Stanton F. Biddle in the Handbook of Black Librarianship: There is also a very critical need for institutions involved with documenting the African experience in America to become more involved in the use of the new advances in information technology to preserve and provide access to their resources. Although the government agencies appear to be making reasonable efforts to include African-American resources in their digitization programs . . . very few historically black institutions or other research centers focusing on African-American historical documentation are making their presence felt on the Internet and World Wide Web. (p. 233) 27   The survey reveals this to be the case in North Carolina, with only four of the state’s HBCUs having made significant progress in using the Internet to provide access to their historical collections. The importance of supporting and promoting access to the archival collections at HBCUs is of special importance because it is these institutions that hold a long legacy of preserving a historical record of the African-American experience, and also of providing educational resources for the African-American population. Karen Jefferson (1993) writes that archives and special collections at HBCUs have “a responsibility to be in the leadership of not only the preservation of Black history but also the promotion of that history” (p. 107). Promotion of that history, within an environment of limited resources, means utilizing available grant money and seeking out collaborations when necessary in order to continue to increase online access to archival collections. Eben K. Lehman

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James Terry’s  The Willie Harris Collection

Chronicles Southern University and Life in Scotlandviille

Willie Harris was the first Chief of Police for Southern University and built the Southern police department himself. He was also a professional photographer who captured every aspect of the world around him. After Harris' death in 1992, his house was being readied for sale. During the clean-up, Harris’ family threw out the photos that their father had been taking during his career.

James Terry was walking his dog, as he and Capt. Harris lived on the same street and happened across the bags of photos that were set out on the curb. There were eight bags of photos containing somewhere around 30,000 black and white eight by ten photos and 20,000 five by seven photos total. He then asked the family if he could have them and they said yes. Terry contacted other local photographers, Naville J. Oubre, Christopher J. Rogers, Eddie Harris and the photos were taken to the Southern University John B. Cade Library to be sorted and categorized.

The collection had been organized into seven basic categories - portraits, churches, schools, weddings, funerals, social organizations at Southern University, social organizations not at Southern University, and historical photos. I Remember Coach

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Just Discovered Slave Records Go To Pennsylvania Museum

The "freedom papers" and documents of indenture were discovered earlier this year, after recorder of deeds supervisor Jeff Liebert stumbled upon the word "Negro" in the index of an 1816 deed book. He checked the referenced page and found the paper, declaring that owner Hanson Catlett was setting free a child of 14, "my Negro Girl Lucy," on the condition that she "faithfully bind herself" to his family until she turned 28.

Upon learning of the find, Ms. McDonald Roberts directed lead supervisor Will Steele to review all deed books from 1788 through 1865, the year of emancipation. He found 56 original papers of freedom or indenture for African-American slaves in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. The oldest dates to 1792.

In the case of Mr. Cosco, the document states that slaveholder John McKee of Allegheny County, set free what he called "my negro man . . . for the consideration of the sum of one hundred pounds."

The papers will be preserved in the history center's climate-controlled archives, where researchers will be able to handle the original documents. Digitized copies will be available for public use online and in the recorder of deeds office. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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Selling off Art Collections & Black Museum Movement

By Wilson J. Moses

Dear Rudy, 

Last month ChickenBones began discussion of a reputed plan at Fisk University to begin selling off its art collection to offset the debt resulting from years of gross financial mismanagement.  In the back of my mind at the time was a similar situation at Lincoln University. It is within this contact that I am forced to make an ironic observation on the so-called black museum movement. 

It is a matter of reproach that most of black museums around the country do not have original art collections, while we have historically black colleges or universities (HBCUs) that do possess interesting collections, but propose to sell them off. 

Would it not be more respectable if the colored people of the United States could permanently endow a museum at Fisk and another one at Lincoln which would be separately endowed and separately managed?  

Or would it not at least be intelligent if the so-called black museums would buy the collections of those institutions that are forced to sell them.  Yes, but that would involve a coordination of resources at a national level, and it would require a coordinated national plan.  Are you listening Black Nationalists?   I said a coordinated national plan! 

The International Afro-American Museum of Detroit founded by Dr. Charles Wright is an excellent structure, but its collection is still in the early developmental stage.  I am certain that many young people "lift up their hearts and sing," whenever they see this beautiful façade.  But I doubt if the museum has either the staff or the funds to go into the business of preserving black art and archival materials that are about to be sold off by HBCUs.

Or we might keep African Americans from looking like such fools in the eyes of the world if the Black Museums Association could generate funding to to preserve the collections intact at their original sites, but permanently separated in all financial respects from the HBCUs with which they have been associated. 

But that would look too much like black nationalism.  Wilson J. Moses

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Dear Rudy,
 
I just finished watching a three-hour program with the historian Nell Irvin Painter on C-SPAN Book TV. Painter did stress the importance of using archives.  I think people who are participating in the HBCU Archive Forum would draw some useful insights from the program. Peace, Jerry

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National Conference of Artists New York (NCA)—On Friday, February 8th, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NCA will present panels on “Art of Historically Black Colleges & Universities” and “Historic Black Murals, Public Art & Architecture”  —National Conference of Artists Meet

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HOLDINGS Project (1997 )

HOLDINGS, the acronym for Holding Our Library Documents Insures Nobility, Greatness and Strength, is a long-term initiative designed to preserve valuable, one-of-a-kind historical records and artifacts that document the early African-American experience.

"The goal of HOLDINGS is to preserve, protect and distribute the historical and intellectual properties of Black people throughout the Black Diaspora. It's important to preserve the legacy of our ancestors and document our struggles and accomplishments. We must be aware that keeping records intact is crucial for the accurate telling of the African-American story. In order to do this, we recognize the need for maintaining proprietary control over our intellectual properties." said Dr. Raymond Winbush, director of the Race Relations Institute at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, and one of HOLDING founding partners.

Urban City Foods, Burger King, the La-Van and Wendy Hawkins Foundation, the National Council of Negro Women, the National Council of Black Studies, and Historically Black Colleges & Universities are founding partners in this monumental effort.

Accessible archives will include, but certainly shall not be limited to:

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Holding on to African American History

B. Denise Hawkins

Fisk University, along with a coalition of Black institutions and international organizations, is gearing up to retrieve, preserve and distribute the historical and intellectual properties of African Americans, Organizers of the effort, known as the HOLDINGS Projects (Holding Our Library Documents Insures Nobility, Greatness and Strength), envision the formation of a single repository of historical information documenting the African American experience. . . .

While Fisk will be the central repository, collection and preservation sites will be housed at HBCUs and Black organizations in: Portland, Oregon; Los Angeles; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; Nashville, Tennessee; Atlanta; Tallahassee, Florida; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Accra, Ghana. . . .

And the project is expected to generate needed revenues for HBCUs and other (organizations by allowing them to royalties and multimedia products. Profits from the sale of royalties and multimedia products will be split three ways -- among the owner or producer of the work, the La-Van and Wendy Hawkins Foundation and HOLDINGS, Inc. .  .  .

The HOLDINGS Project is an attractive venture for HBCUs, especially those whose archives have sputtered along because they lacked financial backing and technical expertise. The project will provide both technical equipment and assistance, says Dr. Mabel Phifer, president of Maryland-based International Telecommunications Consortium. Black Issues in Higher Education,  May 29, 1997

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Cooperative HBCU Archival Survey Project (CHASP)

Cooperative HBCU Archival Survey Project (CHASP), which is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, is an on-site survey of the HBCU archives. These materials are generally unknown to researchers because they are not listed in existing reference tools and databases. CHASP is surveying ninety-seven HBCU and is more than half completed. When CHASP surveys an archive, the team writes a description of each collection including title, inclusive dates, size, and contents. These descriptions are then sent to the NUCMC program for cataloging. In addition, the CHASP descriptions will eventually be published in a printed guide toHBCU archival and manuscript collections.

To date the NUCMC Team has cataloged 102 collections from sixteen repositories: Allen University, Arkansas Baptist College, Barber-Scotia College, Benedict College, Bennett College, Bowie State University, Claflin College Archives, Clinton Junior College, Delaware State University, Fayetteville State University, Harris-Stowe State College, Lewis College of Business, Lincoln University, Morgan State University, Paul Quinn College, and University of Maryland, Eastern Shore. Infomotions

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When CHASP surveys an archives, the team writes a description of each collection including title, inclusive dates, size, and contents. These descriptions are then sent to the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC)  program for cataloging in the RLG Union Catalog. http://lcweb.loc.gov/coll/nucmc. In addition, the CHASP descriptions will eventually be published in a printed guide to HBCU archival and manuscript collections. Buffalo Edu

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NPS and HBCU: Preserving Our Heritage

Cecil McKithan

On September 10,1991, the Secretary of the Interior, Manual Lujan, announced a precedent setting project aimed at the preservation of select buildings on Historically Black College and University campuses. The project is being launched with support from the American Gas Association.

Many of the historic structures that physically attest to the contribution that these schools have made in educating this Nation's citizens are at risk of being lost forever. The concern for the preservation of these structures led many HBCU presidents to appeal to the Office of Historically Black Colleges and Universities for help. This appeal for help was the beginning for the project recently announced by the Secretary of the Interior.

The project began with a survey of the most historic and endangered structures on HBCU campuses. Initially, 144 buildings were identified as candidates for preservation. Through a careful evaluation process, that number was reduced to 12. A Department of the Interior/Private Sector Field Assessment Team, headed by the National Park Service, inspected each of the 12 buildings and ranked them in priority order in terms of significance and threatened status. In order for the evaluation to be thorough and consistent, the Field Assessment Team used the following criteria to make their decision:

During the course of the field assessments, it was determined that one of the buildings had been damaged to such a degree as to no longer have any architectural integrity, thus eliminating it from the process. The final rankings are as follows:

The next step in the project is for the National Park Service to have "condition assessments" completed on each of the structures. These assessments will pinpoint the problems with the buildings, make recommendations for the proper corrective active and provide cost estimates for the rehabilitation of the buildings. Three on-site field assessments have been completed and the final reports will be available shortly. It is planned that all of the assessments be completed by July 31,1992. Concurrently, other Interior agencies are moving forward with plans to marshal resources to support this effort. National Park Service

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ProQuest Historical Newspapers-Black Newspapers

Just in case you were not aware, last year Proquest digitized several black newspapers. I was able to secure a database subscription for my faculty at Emory.  Here's a description of the database and the newspapers included:

 ProQuest Historical Newspapers-Black Newspapers offers primary source material essential to the study of American history and African-American culture, history, politics, and the arts.  Examine major movements from the Harlem Renaissance to Civil Rights, and explore everyday life as written in the Chicago Defender, New York Amsterdam News, Pittsburgh Courier, Los Angeles Sentinel, and Atlanta Daily World.  

The Black Newspapers Collection is cross-searchable with all other ProQuest Historical Newspapers-including The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Los Angeles Times- allowing researchers to evaluate history from multiple points of view.

The ProQuest historical platform offers powerful and easy-to-use tools, including:  full-page and article images in easily downloadable PDF format, lengthy backfiles, and the ability to search 21 different article types.

Atlanta Daily World (1931-2003) Atlanta Daily World had the first black White House correspondent and was the first black daily in the nation in the 20th century.

The Chicago Defender (1909-1975) A leading African-American newspaper, with more than two-thirds of its readership outside Chicago.

Los Angeles Sentinel (1934-2005) The oldest and largest black newspaper in the western United States and the largest African-American owned newspaper in the U.S.

New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993) This leading Black newspaper of the 20^th  century reached its peak in the 1940s.  The Amsterdam News was a strong advocate for the desegregation of the U.S. military during World War II, and  also covered the historically important Harlem Renaissance.

Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2002) One of the most nationally circulated Black newspapers, the Courier reached its peak in the 1930s.  A conservative voice in the African-American community, the Courier challenged the misrepresentation of African-Americans in the national media and advocated social reforms to advance the cause of civil rights.

Carmelita Pickett

African American Studies Librarian/Research Archivist

Emory University

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Historically Black Colleges and Universities

And a Spotlight on Mary McLeod Bethune, 1875-1955

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are colleges or universities that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the African American community. There are more than 100 historically black colleges in the United States, located almost exclusively in the southern and eastern states.

Southern University is the largest HBCU and one of the most prestigious universities. Located in Louisiana, Southern University has campuses in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Shreveport, the Southern University Law Center and the Southern University Agricultural and Extension Center.

Southern University has become the only HBCU system in the United States with an enrollment of over 15,000 students. The System encompasses five institutions offering two-year, four-year, graduate, professional, and doctoral degrees.

Cheyney University in Cheney, Pennsylvania has been known for graduating prominent alumni through its education and journalism departments. Cheyney, founded in 1837, is the oldest HBCU, established for the purpose of educating youth of African descent.

Hampton University was founded in 1868 and is located in Hampton, Virginia. With an endowment of more than $185.8 million, Hampton is one of the wealthiest HBCUs. The school confers approximately 848 undergraduate degrees yearly and consistently ranks in the top 10 in graduating African Americans with degrees in biology, business administration, communications, English, journalism, pharmacy, nursing and psychology.

Howard University, located in Washington, D.C., is one of the most prominent historically Black higher education institutions in the United States. Howard University is a comprehensive, research-oriented, private university providing an educational experience of exceptional quality to students of high academic potential. Particular emphasis is placed upon providing educational opportunities to promising Black students. Howard has produced more African American doctorate degree holders than any other institution in the world. Howard is the only HBCU to make the U.S. News and World Report’s top 100 colleges and universities.

Florida A & M University was announced as the best school for African Americans in 2006 by the Black Enterprise magazine. Founded in 1887 as the State Normal College for Colored Students, the venerable HBCU offers 62 bachelors degrees in 103 majors/tracks and 36 master’s degrees in 56 majors/tracks. Xavier University of New Orleans, Louisiana is the top school in the nation in the placement of Black students into medical schools and has the largest number of Black undergraduates receiving degrees in biology or life sciences. Xavier also has the distinction of being the only historically Black and Catholic university in the Western Hemisphere.

North Carolina Central University (NCCU) is a rapidly growing institution. It is the first liberal arts college for African Americans in the country. Its School of Law is ranked as one of America’s top law schools in the nation by the Princeton Review. With a student population of 9,000, NCCU is the ninth largest HBCU. NCCU also has the highest HBCU graduation rate in North Carolina. In 2005, NCCU ranked third in North Carolina in admitting the most National Merit Scholars.

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Mary McLeod Bethune was born in 1875 to former slaves in Mayesville, South Carolina. She devoted her life to ensuring the right to education and freedom from discrimination for African Americans. She believed that through education, Blacks could begin to earn a living in a country that opposed racial equality.

In 1904, Bethune opened the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls. Bethune never refused to educate a child whose family could not afford tuition. There was objection during Bethune’s time to the education of Black children, but her zeal and dedication won over skeptics of both races. Bethune also opened a high school and a hospital for Blacks. In 1923, Bethune oversaw the high school’s merger with the Cookman Institute, thereby forming the HBCU Bethune-Cookman College. She helped integrate the Red Cross and became president of the National Association of Colored Women, formed the National Council of Negro Women, and in 1940, Bethune served as VP of the NAACP.Wesleyan

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Archives of Alice Walker Go To Emory University

In all, Walker sent 122 boxes to the university for an undisclosed sum. . . . "I chose Emory to receive my archive because I myself feel at ease and comfortable at Emory. However, having visited several libraries at different universities, I realized the importance to me of a lively, diverse, committed-to-human-growth atmosphere, that when I visited Emory, I found," said Walker in a press statement. Walker, who has visited Emory almost every other year since 1998 for readings or to visit colleagues, announced she chose Emory after researching other universities. According to Stephen Enniss, director of Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library at Emory, Walker had been looking for a location for her archives since 2004 and her negotiations with Emory took almost two years (2005-2007).Black Enterprise

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It’s difficult as a black archivist to quarrel with this decision. Emory is good and aggressive. Margaret Walker had considered Emory for her papers but she chose her devotion to her students over monetary consideration. The choice of sites is difficult and HBCUs are not as equipped to compete.—chunter

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King Archive at Morehouse

After years at the Sotheby's auction house in New York, a collection of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s papers has come home to Atlanta.

The papers had been scheduled for sale last year when an anonymous group ponied up a reported $32 million to buy the roughly 10,000 documents and books.

The documents have been entrusted to the library at King's alma mater, Morehouse College, and CNN has been given rare access to King's writings, which illuminate his thoughts along the difficult road that ended with his assassination

The collection features 7,000 papers written by King, including drafts of his 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech and his 1964 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance address. They also include a 1946 college examination on the Bible, his earliest surviving theological writing, and papers he was working on just before he was killed in 1968. . . .

The city plans to build a center where the King papers and other exhibits remembering the civil and human rights fight will be housed.The debate at the public meeting focused on where the museum should be built—on donated land near the center of town and several popular tourist attractions or just east of downtown in the Sweet Auburn Historic District where King was born and later preached. For now, the papers will be housed in the Robert W. Woodruff Library, which is run by Atlanta's historically black colleges, including Morehouse. Some of the documents will go on display at the Atlanta History Center from King's birthday on January 15 through May 13. CNN-MLK Papers

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The Charles L Blockson Collection of African-Americana and the African Diaspora

The Pennsylvania State University Libraries has recently acquired the Charles L. Blockson Collection of African-Americana and the African Diaspora, which contains materials relating to African-American, African, Latin American, and Caribbean history and culture. . . . For many years, Blockson has been devoted to the recovery and preservation of black history, forming not one but two great collections in the process. In 1984, Blockson donated to Temple University the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American History Collection, the result of many years that Blockson spent haunting bookstores, scouting out book sales, and otherwise following his interest with resolve. He currently serves as curator emeritus of the Temple collection.

More recently, but no less actively, Blockson has formed a second collection on black history, which now forms part of the Penn State's Special Collections Library. Penn State's Blockson Collection focuses not only on African-Americana, but more broadly documents the African Diaspora, the pattern of human migration that reaches back hundreds of years and traces the movement of blacks from their African homelands to areas around the world, most notably in South America (Brazil and Guyana, for example), the Caribbean, and, of course, in the United States. . . . Penn State Collections

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Response to Charles L. Blockson Collection

Rudy,
 
This is good news! Yes, and also another very good collector. I believe Miriam knows him. She mentions him in her Erotique Noire.

—Herbert

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Hey Rudy,

Blockson is an old family friend and I can attest to the magnificence of his collections.  Recently he was in a knock down, drag out battle with Temple regarding their stewardship of the Temple collection which is another situation that underscores our need to control our material.  Peace,—Vicki

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Thanks for sending this piece to me, Rudy. Charles is a good friend of mine, though I've been out of touch with him recently. I dedicated Erotique Noire to him because he was so helpful in getting submissions from well known writers. He also has a terrific collection of erotica and contributed a piece to the book. It's interesting that he chose to give this set of materials to Penn State, because he fell out with Temple. The university officials wanted to split up his collection; as a result, it would have lost its integrity. I think that the dispute ended up in court, but I don't know how it turned out. I think I'll call him. —Miriam

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Library of Congress Acquires Papers of Civil Rights Activist James Forman—At a ceremony held today at the Library of Congress, the papers of civil-rights activist James Forman were given to the Library by Forman’s sons James Jr. and Chaka. Their mother, Constancia Romilly, also attended the event. . . . James Forman (1928-2005), executive secretary of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) from 1961 to 1966, was instrumental in organizing many of the major civil rights campaigns of the era, including the 1963 March on Washington. The Forman Papers—comprising approximately 70,000 items—chronicle his life and role in the civil rights movement. The bulk of the collection dates from 1960. Included are correspondence, memoranda, diaries, speeches and other writings, notebooks, transcripts of interviews, subject files, scrapbooks, appointment books, photographs, and video and sound recordings.—Library of Congress

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The Ishmael Reed Papers, 1964 - 1995—Special Collections, University of Delaware Library / Newark, Delaware 19717-5267 / (302) 831-2229

Scope and Content Note—The Ishmael Reed Papers is a substantial collection of the manuscripts, correspondence, business and publishing records, printed and multimedia productions, and other materials which document the multi-faceted career of Ishmael Reed. Using the materials in this collection, it will be possible for scholars to discover Reed's prolific and productive life of involvement in arts, letters, and politics. All of Reed's many activities are represented in this collection, which takes its basic organizational form and order from his works, activities, and achievements. In addition, the collection provides detailed documentation of Reed's creative and professional work on individual projects with extensive holdings in manuscripts, project records, paste-ups and galley proofs, audio and videotapes, calendars, travel records, and planning notes. Literary and professional correspondence, legal and publishing correspondence, and additional personal correspondence provide a framework for tracing the influence of personal and professional relationships throughout his career, as well as the ways in which Reed's multiple roles and projects are related.

The strength of this collection is in the manuscript holdings found in Series I. Works by Reed. Reed revised and rewrote continuously. Each published novel is represented by many folders of draft pages in typescript and holograph, multiple complete and/or substantial partial drafts, and revisions of pages and sections. Typewritten and holograph lists of corrections and changes to be made accompany many manuscripts. Even short essays and letters to editors are usually represented in this collection with multiple, corrected drafts. In addition to Reed's holograph corrections and revisions, some drafts bear comments and corrections in other hands. Paste-ups and galleys with printers' and editors' marks form part of the record of many of Reed's works, including essays and articles as well as novels and books. Where appropriate and convenient, correspondence concerning the publication and marketing of a particular work is housed adjacent to the manuscript holdings. . . . University of Delaware Library

Other Links: The Dark Heathenism of Ishmael Reed  /  How the Media Uses Blacks to Chatise Blacks  / “Preface” to Eldridge Cleaver’s Soul on Ice 

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Scattered Treasures

Losing the Legacy of Photographer Nestor Hernandez, Jr.

Stewardship of Private Collections in the Twenty First Century Forum

10/15/2008 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

October is National Archives Month and this forum demonstrates the critical importance of proactively protecting family collections.  Without protection, invaluable collections are lost time and time again. 

Hosted by the Historical Society of Washington, DC, the Exposure Group African American Photographers Association, and the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University, this forum will focus on the recent loss of a tremendous collection of photographs and demonstrate how important it is that we actively protect family collections. 

An unpredicted series of tragic events resulted in the actual flea-market sale of the unique and irreplaceable collections of local photographer Nester Hernandez.  

The situation will be discussed from a variety of perspectives and the panelists will include Syreeta N. Swann Joseph, Copyright Specialist, Library of Congress; Larry Frazier, attorney specializing in probate, estates and trust law; Philip Merrill, Founder of Nanny Jack & Co., author, historian and former appraiser on PBS’ Antiques Roadshow; Allan Stypeck, Owner of Second Story Books, Senior Member of the American Society of Appraisers; Yvonne Hernandez, sister, Nestor Hernandez, Jr.;

Donna M. Wells, Prints and Photo Librarian at Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard University, historian, co-author of Legacy: Treasures of Black History.(Adults) FREE  RSVP@historydc.org  or 202-383-1828

Source: HistoryDC

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posted 4 January 2008 /  last updated February 2008