Week 22: Financial Records...

This week I continued to arrange and describe series three of O’Neal’s papers and started writing the series description. It is almost complete! Interestingly, I found many financial records in this series about the Free Southern Theater and several correspondences from O’Neal in regards to obtaining grants and funding for the theater.  The philosophy of the founders of the theater felt that people need thought along with food and clothing; and, a cultural movement should coincide with the political mobilization that took place during the Civil Rights Movement. Thus, obtaining funds to support the efforts of the theater was essential to its survival.

Until next week!

Peace

Week 21: Atmospheric Science Librarians of Alaska

During week twenty-one, I lead a tour of Amistad’s processing department and gave a presentation about my current and future processing projects to the Atmospheric Science Librarians of Alaska. (Yes, Alaska). The group belongs to a larger international professional organization, The Atmospheric Science Librarians International (ASLI), dedicated to communication and dissemination of information among libraries and educational institutions involved in atmospheric science research and scholarship. The director of the Center briefly described the layout of the processing area, and afterwards, I explained the importance of the value of archival materials by showing them a few documents from the O’Neal’s papers, particularly documents about the Free Southern Theater. They appeared intrigued and asked several questions about how to access the collections located at the Center after the papers are processed.

Week 20: Let’s Get Digital!

After my digital projects meeting, I began creating metadata for one of the digital collections – The A. P. Tureaud Digital Collection. The collection will consist of approximately 55 items of collected historical documents from the A. P. Tureaud papers, focusing on the topics of African Americans during the Reconstruction South, Creoles, and African American contribution and participation in 19th and 20th century’s business and politics.

By the end of the week, I co-presented with an Amistad staff member to the New Orleans Jack & Jill of America, Inc.  The community organization held a meeting at the Center and we introduced the members to historical items in their collection, which is housed at Amistad. My part of the presentation included a brief introduction and discussion about the processing procedures.  I explained what happens after the acquisition of collections, how the materials are survey for any preservation needs, arranged into series, or categories, and described before entry into Archon.  And, of course, continuous research is essential to gain a sense of the historical context of each collection.

Until next week! Peace!

Week 19: Reference Services

This week I received reference training and completed reference requests for researchers.  The three day training comprised of basic customer service practices such as greeting researchers and visitors as they arrive and becoming more familiar with the institutions holdings to better assist each patron. We reviewed policies and guidelines for use of the Center’s materials, including access and security procedures and procedures for reproduction requests and rights. We also discussed handling rare materials and book preservation methods for the staff and researchers.   

Week 18: A Valediction Without Mourning: The Free Southern Theater (1963 - 1980)

The Free Southern Theater (FST) entered into eternal rest and produced its last play in October 1980, at the young age of 17.  Conceived at Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi in 1963 as an artistic idea of John M. O’Neal, Gilbert Moses, and Doris Derby,  FST’s aim was to help African Americans in their struggle for freedom by offering theatrical productions based upon both art and politics. FST is survived by numerous supporters that were influenced by the theater, including various African American theater companies from around the United States.

The brief obituary above is representative of the kind of documents found in O'Neal's third series, Theater Groups. This series includes correspondence, press releases, and other documents about New Orleans’ jazz funerals. Traditional funeral processions in the United States arose from family, friends, and love ones who solemnly morn the deceased. However, in New Orleans, Louisiana, a unique funeral tradition evolved from a combination of African, Spanish, and French cultural influences, spiritual practices, and musical traditions.  

Of note are materials about a unique celebration, titled “A Valediction Without Mourning for the Free Southern Theater,” in which the celebration included a funeral procession commemorating the close of the theater organization. The celebration comprised of events held in Louis Armstrong Park in New Orleans to celebrate the work of this cultural based institution that was based in New Orleans since 1965, including a parade through the Faubourg-Tremé community and returning to Louis Armstrong Park. (Founded in 1810, Faubourg-Tremé is the oldest surviving African American community in the United States, and was once known as the largest and most prosperous community of free people of color in the United States. The birth of jazz, social aid and pleasure clubs, Mardi-Gras Indians, brass bands, and second line parading all originated from this community).

Week 17: Holiday Break

I spent my holiday break visiting family and friends at home in Atlanta, Georgia.

Peace!

Week 16: Motion in the Ocean...

I continued to process series three of O’Neal’s papers, finding more historical treasures! Of note is one of O’Neal’s essays titled, “Motion in the Ocean – The Political Environment of the Free Southern Theater.” O’Neal penned an essay describing his stint in the southern student movement in 1962 and meeting Gilbert Moses for the first time in Jackson, Mississippi in 1963.  O’Neal’s essay expresses his preparations for a journey to New York City to learn the craft of theater, however, several encounters with SNCC members led O’Neal from Southern Illinois, to Southeast Missouri, to Atlanta, to Southeast Georgia, to the Mississippi Delta, to Central Southern Mississippi, and finally back to Jackson, Mississippi, where he met Gilbert Moses and co-founded the Free Southern Theater. He also noted how he felt politically responsible while remaining a true artist during the southern Civil Rights Movement.  

Another interesting document is a travel study by O'Neal.  From January to February 1972,  O’Neal traveled to New York City, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Maryland, Atlanta, Georgia, and Cleveland, Ohio to observe similar African American theater groups on their training and administrative efforts. His goal was to develop relationships with other theater groups and examine creative ideas that were applicable to the Free Southern Theater.

Week 15: Building Bridges

In preparation for next week’s archival workshop and tour, I attended a webinar entitled “Building Bridges #2: Community Outreach.”  The webinar focused on the importance of building and maintaining strong community partnerships and explains why these partnerships are integral to outreach and success.  Collaborations not only help us gain more outreach opportunities, but also help us operate more efficiently (save money) and communicate more effectively. The presenters introduced other benefits of partnerships, which include tapping into community assets/strengths; enabling knowledge and vision sharing; using technology for outreach opportunities; and most importantly, increasing respect for diversity. The webinar concluded with tips of how to find creative ways to be resourceful and how to drive partnerships with purpose, passion, gifts, and without setting limitations.

After the workshop I will leave for the holiday break and take the next “midnight train to Georgia.”

Until next year! Feliz Navidad!

Week 14: It's A Small World

This week began with Amistad’s board meeting, where all staff from each department reported highlights of their recent projects. We also discussed our upcoming acquisitions and processing plans for the Center.  I met several board members and discussed the importance of my fellowship and my involvement as an archival fellow at Amistad, and interestingly, one of the board members was my former undergraduate school history professor. She currently teaches African American Studies at Georgia State University. I never thought I'd run into a former professor at the board meeting. It's a small world!

In addition, my poster proposal, entitled “Black Arts Movement in the South” has been accepted for the 2012 SAA Conference in San Diego!  The presentation will highlight the John O’Neal papers and his involvement with community arts and theater organizations, focusing on black theater in the South. I hope to provide a broader prospective on the political and social issues related to the history of the Southern Black Arts Movement.  I am so excited!

Until next week!

Peace

Week 13: Projects and Community Outreach

Series two of O’Neal’s papers is finally complete! 

This week, I finished processing the community organization series and wrote the second series description of John O’Neal papers to enter into Archon. The series encompasses 2.5 linear feet of materials documenting O’Neal’s contribution as a member of several art and community organizations located in New Orleans and the Southeast, and collected records of over 50 associations.

Second, I met with the Director of Library and Reference Services to discuss two digital collection projects, the submission of the proposals for each project, and the review of metadata for entry into the LOUISiana Digital Library.  The projects will highlight existing collections at Amistad, including the papers of noted civil rights attorney A.P. Tureaud, (dated from circa 1798 – 1929) and printed ephemera produced by civil rights organizations and student groups, documenting several aspects of the civil rights efforts in the United States.

Lastly, I spent the rest of the week preparing for Amistad’s board meeting and preparing to co-lead a tour and archival workshop for the Westbank United Seventh-Day Adventist Church youth group.  We will introduce the youth group to the basics of using archives for effective research and guide them on a tour of the archives and a tour of the "The Revolution Will Not Be..." Print Culture of the Civil Rights Movement Exhibition.

Week 12: Happy Holidays

Week twelve was a short week for me because of the Thanksgiving holiday. During the week, I continued to process the O’Neal papers by arranging the second series, which is almost complete.  I plan to complete this series and write the series description soon...

Happy holidays!

Week 11: Content Analysis

I spent most of my time working on my processing projects and analyzing the content of the materials.  Based upon the many art AND community organizations I discovered in this series, I decided to change the name of the series from community arts organizations to community organizations in order to make the arrangement and series description of the materials easier for researchers. For this purpose, I will continue to identify, analyze the content, and describe materials in this collection deemed to have significant historical value.

Week 10: Process to Progress

Last week was all about processing and planning of future projects at the Center. I continued to work diligently on processing the John O’Neal papers (now approximately 37 linear feet) and participated in Amistad Research Center’s Staff Planning Day. We discussed our organizational goals for 2012, including innovative and effective utilization of the repository’s resources to make them available for use and how to help engage and empower new and existing researchers. I also look forward to curating an exhibition for the first quarter of 2012 and other digitization projects.

Until next week!

Peace

Week 9: Community Arts Organizations

Last week, I was consumed with the mission of processing series two of the John O’Neal papers at the Amistad Research Center. Series two, community arts organizations, comprises documents from arts associations that were mainly located in the South, including Alternate ROOTS, Southern Black Cultural Alliance, the Art Council of Greater New Orleans, and Voices of the New Orleans Movement. Of note are correspondence from Oretha Castle Haley (1939-1987), the cofounder of New Orleans’ Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and an activist for women and human rights. Later in Haley’s career, she established the New Orleans’ Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation.

As I continue to process this large collection, I am sure I will find other documents about community arts organizations and interesting facts to share.

Week 8: Art and Politics

During week eight, I was a “busy bee.” I finally completed the civil rights organizations series for the John O’Neal papers and composed a series description (yeah); attended a digital projects meeting to discuss metadata guidelines; participated in a collection development meeting; and joined fellow co-workers to a book signing on Tulane’s campus.

I decided to process O’Neal’s community arts organizations series as my second adventure! So far, this series encompass files of art and local community organizations in the Southeast and New Orleans, including committee minutes and agendas for Alternate ROOTS (Regional Organization of Theaters South). O’Neal served as a member of the Advancement Advisory Group and on the Board of Directors for Alternate ROOTS, and as an active member of several other community arts organizations in New Orleans.  Alternate ROOTS was created in 1976 by a small group of performing artists who addressed the goals of promoting social change and economic justice through art and cultural democracy in the Southeast.

As a staff, we attended the A.P. Tureaud, Jr. (Alexander Pierre Tureaud, Jr.) and Rachel Emanuel book signing to hear and discuss A More Noble Cause: A.P. Tureaud and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Louisiana. In 1953, A.P. Tureaud Jr. enrolled as a freshman at Louisiana State University, becoming the school's first African American undergraduate student. Co-author, Dr. Rachel Emanuel, is currently a lawyer and professor of the Southern University Law Center.  The authors passionately described the life of New Orleans attorney, A.P. Tureaud, Sr., his contributions as the principal attorney for the New Orleans chapter of the NAACP, and his personal stance as an advocate for integration, not desegregation of public schools.

A.P. Tureaud’s papers are archived at the Amistad Research Center.

Week 7: Fountain Pens

I met with Mr. John O’Neal again to discuss the arrangement of his papers at Amistad. O’Neal identified several documents in his collection for processing, including transcripts of interviews for his book proposal. While working with the Free Southern Theater, O’Neal wrote and directed several plays, and in his free time, O’Neal collected a variety of materials for his book, including personal interviews of civil rights advocates.  O’Neal also mentioned he worked with the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) to establish the Free Southern Theater.

During our meeting, I learned one unique and valuable lesson about fountain pens: never use another writer’s fountain pen.  O’Neal showed me his new fountain pen his wife bought him for his birthday and declared that using a fountain pen plays an important part in defining a writer’s experience.

I wonder if this little life lesson compares to using a painter’s paintbrush or borrowing an archivist’s stainless steel archival spatula. 

But I digress…

Week 6: Black Resistance in the Age of Revolution Conference

I attended the Black Resistance in the Age of Revolution Conference held on the campus of Tulane University. The conference was a symposium commemorating the bicentennial of the 1811 slave uprising in territorial Louisiana, the largest slave rebellion in the history of North America and the United States.

During the opening session, keynote speaker, Professor Maurice Jackson of Georgetown University, presented a paper titled, Haiti, Louisiana and Beyond: The Importance of Slave Rebellion in African American History.  Jackson described slave rebellions among enslaved Africans in the Americas and examined the 1811 slave uprising within the context of Louisiana, Southern, and Caribbean history. He discussed the success of the Haitian Revolution and various eras of revolutionary change that received great attention in popular history, including the revolts of well known slave revolutionaries Gabriel Prosser, Denmark Vesey, and Nat Turner.

Other scholars at the conference presented papers and discussed topics pertaining to the slave rebellion in the 1790s Caribbean; women, gender, and slave rebellion; the regional impact of the Haitian Revolution; and the slave rebels in history and memory.

In addition, the staff of the Amistad Research Center held a special reception for the event, hosting scholars and historians from Tulane University and other academic institutions across the country.

Week 5: Freedom Schools, Ritual Murder, and Black Resistance...

During week five, I continued to arrange O’Neal’s civil rights organizations series and I found another interesting document – a memorandum from the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project Staff that was sent to the Mississippi Freedom School Teachers. The memorandum describes an overview and purpose of the Freedom Schools, which was to provide an educational experience for African American students in Mississippi and the South and foster social and political participation in the Civil Rights Movement.

This week, I attended a play, titled Ritual Murder, at the Ashé Cultural Arts Center. The one-act play centers on an investigation of a murder of a young black man by his best friend in a black bar on a Saturday night in New Orleans. Written more than 30 years ago by Tom Dent, the play is still relevant today in the discussion of seemingly senseless murders. (Note: The Amistad Research Center is the repository for the Tom Dent papers).

Next, I plan to attend the Black Resistance in the Age of Revolution Conference. This symposium commemorates the bicentennial of the 1811 Slave Uprising in Territorial Louisiana. I read the book, American Uprising: The Untold Story of America’s Largest Slave Revolt by Daniel Rasmussen and I am extremely excited to learn more about this subject from other scholars at the symposium.  The conference will be held at Tulane University.

Check back next week for a conference update…

Week 4: Processing O’Neal’s Papers

I finished sorting the John O’Neal papers and began processing his civil rights organizations series. These files encompass reports, correspondence and meeting notes of O’Neal’s involvement with several civil rights organizations.  O’Neal graduated from Southern Illinois University and became a Field Secretary of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Georgia and Mississippi. O’Neal also contributed extensively to voter rights registration efforts with his participation in the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).

Of note is a certificate of attendance awarded to John O’Neal in recognition of his participation in the SCLC’s Citizenship School Training Program from August 19 to August 23, 1963.  Citizenship Schools focused on teaching adults to read so they could pass voter registration and other literacy tests…

In my free time, I stroll along the 1.7 mile jogging and bike path through Audubon Park. The park is located directly across from Tulane and Loyola University and was used as a temporary helicopter port and camp for National Guard troops and relief workers after Hurricane Katrina.

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!