Ardra Whitney: Week 28 @ Avery Research Center

Monday, March 11^th - Thursday, March 14^th:

I began the week by continuing to survey the Virginia Geraty Papers and plan the Women’s History Exhibit on the Phillis Wheatley Literary and Social Club. On Tuesday, I followed up with C.A. Brown High School Alumni Association President, Joey Washington and got his permission to use high school newspaper and yearbook photos for the Black in the Lowcountry: Digital Photo Archive project. On Wednesday morning I conducted an oral history interview with Associate Professor of Arts Management at the College of Charleston, Dr. Karen Chandler about her membership with the Phillis Wheatley Literary and Social Club. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to her speak about her work with the college’s Arts Management Program, as well as the Charleston Jazz Initiative and of course her participation in the Phillis Wheatley Literary and Social Club. One of the things she said during her interview that resonated with me, was how the club gives her the opportunity to be in the company of other African-American women that she shares personal and professional interests with. She also remarked on how gratifying it is to be around her fellow clubwomen, because of her great admiration and respect for the work that they do. In the afternoon, I posted an article from CHARLIE magazine to Avery’s Twitter page about Executive Director, Dr. Patricia Williams Lessane. In the article she is featured as one of Charleston’s 50 most progressive people and discusses what it means to be a “progressive leader”. On Thursday, I contacted Cynthia McCottry-Smith and left a voicemail asking if she had any photos of the Phillis Wheatley Literary and Social Club’s Founder, Jeanette Cox that I could include in the Women’s History Month Exhibit.

Friday, March 15^th:

I continued surveying the Virginia Geraty Papers, completing 7 out of 12 boxes. I created an item list for 60 out of approximately 90 some-odd spiral notebooks from the collection, which contained notes on everything from books of the bible translated into Gullah, Gullah vocabulary, educational materials, and preparation for the production of Porgy: A Gullah Version at the Garden Theatre. Additionally, I began placing the items I had selected for display and narrowing down the number of items to be part of the exhibit. In the afternoon, I stopped by Trident Technical College to meet with Phoebe Williams, where she burned all the images we had scanned related to C.A. Brown High School onto a CD. In the coming months, I will be posting these images on the Black in the Lowcountry: Digital Photo Archive's Tumblr page.