Week 3: Meeting History

Week three was AWESOME! I had the honor of meeting Mr. John M. O’Neal and his wife when they stopped by to visit the Amistad Research Center. He was very enthusiastic about the archival processing of his papers. I also participated in the HistoryMakers’ Back-to-School program, where I met blues, rhythm and blues and rock and roll musician, singer, and bandleader, Deacon John Moore, better known as Deacon John. He is a local favorite on the New Orleans music scene. At the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), Deacon John talked to sixty high school freshmen students about the importance of education and followed his presentation with two crowd-pleasing songs. It was an extraordinary performance of high acclaim!

Week 2: Historical Treasures

As I undertake the mission of surveying the John M. O’Neal papers for processing, I discovered some interesting historical treasures. The John M. O’Neal papers consist of 30 linear feet and document O’Neal’s artistic style and vision as an actor, director, playwright, community and civil rights activist. One finding is the working notes for the development of the Free Southern Theater, which includes the general plan for the theater group, project planning and other writings related to theater productions. O’Neal founded the Free Southern Theater in 1965 as the cultural and educational arm of the Southern Civil Rights Movement. His philosophy is that politics and art are complementary, not opposing terms, and his work has taken him to perform for audiences throughout North America and Europe.

Another discovery is a signed letter from Coretta Scott King and Yolanda King inviting O’Neal to join the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Center’s Institute on Cultural Affairs (ICA) through membership on the Advisory Committee. ICA was one of the ten institutes of the King Center, which sought to use the power of the arts to advance the teachings and methods of Dr. King for nonviolent social change throughout the world community. Mrs. King asked O’Neal to serve as a national and international advocate for the ICA. Members of the committee included artist from a variety of disciplines as well as supporters of the arts. The letter is dated December 17, 1982.

Week 1: Welcome to Amistad!

Flying to New Orleans in the midst of Tropical Storm Lee was extremely frightening. But, after a turbulent voyage and a weekend of heavy rainfall and gusting winds, I began my first day at the Amistad Research Center (ARC) with welcoming smiles.  I received a friendly welcome from the Executive Director of Amistad, Lee Hampton, Director of Processing, Laura Thomson, Director of Library and Reference Services, Christopher Harter, and the Center’s entire staff. After a brief staff meeting, I toured the repository with Laura.

 

My first week at ARC has been educational. There is a lot of valuable material at ARC and researchers can certainly take advantage of over 600 manuscript collections and 200,000 books documenting Africana and ethnic history.  For me, the biggest thing right now is familiarizing myself with the institutional holdings and focusing on my individual projects, including processing the papers of playwright and community activist, John M. O’Neal. 

 

In addition, I appraised two small collections, developed appraisal reports, created container lists and accessioned the records in Archon database management system. One of the collections I appraised provides an extensive view into the life of an African American classical musician.

 

It is interesting work…