As my work at Franklin Library continues into the third week, I am now concentrating on collecting all of the correspondence materials into a series. Since this collection includes mostly business records, there is not the plethora of correspondence that can often be found in other collections. So far, most of the correspondence pertains to personal communication between Moses McKissack and the community. Due to the firm’s reputation, Moses McKissack was seen as a knowledgeable and trustworthy source for the community. People would write him letters asking for advice or help finding employment. Correspondence for Calvin McKissack pertained mostly to the business side of the firm. Most of the business correspondence include reports from foremen about the progress of particular jobs and tax information. While there are not yet boxes and boxes of correspondence, this is a somewhat lengthy process due to the condition of the materials and the need to do minor conservation and clean-up work on the files.
Interesting finds
The most interesting find of the week is a publication from The National Negro Business League entitled, “The Dawn of a New Day for the Negro.” Published in 1949, it contained outreach materials requesting support for The National Negro Business League, started by Booker T. Washington nearly 50 years prior, as well as discussions of a new direction for the last half of the 20th century.
As I continue processing the correspondence files this next week, I look forward to more interesting tidbits of Nashville’s African American community during the mid-twentieth century.
Until next week…
Amanda J. Carter
Franklin Library, Fisk University
IMLS HistoryMakers Fellow 2012-2013
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