Skyla S. Hearn: Week 13 at the Harsh/Woodson/HistoryMakers

Freedom Fighters Never Retire There's a group of retirees that I like to refer to as freedom fighters that frequent the Harsh Research Center approximately four times a month. The Freedom Fighters, comprised of civil rights activists, educators, public servants, corporate and not-for-profit executives, community members and so forth, meet to discuss the methodology, importance and purpose of developing a collective archive. One by one I've watched them arrive and walk into the Woodson Conference Room. I have not had the priviledge of attending a meeting but often feel a sense of pride and hope to be in the presence of the  Freedom Fighter Collective. I can only imagine that their collective archive is one that will bring about strong research topics, interesting finds and more in-depth perspectives of each of their lives and many contributions to society. The Freedom Fighters have become a part of my weekly inspiration. 

2012-2013 IMLS Fellow Quarterly Survey On Monday, I spent the beginning of my day reviewing the questions and answers for the 2012-2013 IMLS Fellow Quarterly Survey before submitting it for feedback. Usually I enjoy answering questions and engaging in discussion as it pertains to my developing archival work experience and knowledge---when the conversation is verbal and face-to-face. Hopefully, the responses I submitted will provide insight into my experiences of the last ~ 6 months and topics for discussion, along with input from the other Fellows, in the upcoming IMLS Fellows conference calls. Over the last approximately 7 months I have gained archival work experience in the areas of archival processing, archival reference and community outreach while working at a research center located within a public library. Its been beneficial, exciting, challenging and rewarding. Hopefully, the responses reflect this experience.

 

Harold Washington and Addie L. Wyatt, Courtesy of the Chicago Citizens Newspaper

 

Processing: Arrangement and Description Half of my week was spent processing the Reverend Addie L. Wyatt's photograph collection. Occasionally, I become stumped for answers when working with unidentified photographs. Although, continuous efforts to completely id all photographs are made through meetings with the Photo Identification Committee, researching subject categories in the Wyatt Papers and topics on the internet there remains a number of photographs that do not answer one of the four questions: who, what, where, when. These unidentified photographs are set aside. One of my tasks of the day was to attempt to identify these photographs. Fortunately, I was successful with adding criteria to nearly half of the photographs. To my credit, developing familiarity with the subjects and content of the images decreases the amount of trips needed to consult the archives and the internet for clues and tips. Its rewarding to learn "my" collection.

2012-2013 IMLS Fellow Conference Call We, the Fellows, participate in a monthly conference call. During the call, we provide updates about our happenings at our host repositories to one another and Julieanna Richardson, the Executive Director of the HistoryMakers. These calls are often a highlight of my day as I am able to listen to everyone's presentations, gain knowledge of their collections and an understanding of how everyone's managing their work flow, etc. Each of us are completing interesting assignments: processing collections, participating in community outreach, public programs and providing archival reference.

Finishing Out the Work Week

On Friday, I arrived at the Harsh Research Center bright and early, ready for a long and productive day of photograph archival collection arrangement and selection. I stood in the break room and finished my cup of coffee while thinking about my "to do" list, which listed about 15-20 items to be completed by 5pm. For the last two weeks, I've been centered on tightening all loose ends, meeting deadlines, discussing text panel descriptions and selecting photographs (approximately 150) for the upcoming Addie L. Wyatt Photograph exhibition. 

Saturday, I spent the day reviewing the HistoryMakers, Honorable Blanche Manning and Carrie Spann-Cooper, interviews and evaluations. As I evaluated Hon. Manning's interview, I was captivated by her demeanor and ease with answering Mr. Crowe's, the interviewer, questions. Hon. Manning's interview provided a wealth of concrete information, which would aid in providing primary source materials to researchers. In addition, the interview was quite enjoyable due to her subtle humor and peaceful disposition. Hon. Manning has achieved a great deal in her lifetime and despite her level of success she seems to remain humble and personable. Hon. Blanche Manning is the United States District Court Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. She is a Chicago native were she continues to work and reside. Hon. Manning's interview will be accessible, in the future, on the HistoryMakers Digital Archive: http://www.idvl.org/thehistorymakers/LawMakers.html.