Ardra Whitney: Week 27 @ Avery Research Center

Hooray, It’s Women’s History Month!

Monday, March 4^th – Tuesday, March 5^th:

With the help of Graduate Assistant, Daron Calhoun II, I searched through Avery’s photographic collections for images of the Phillis Wheatley Literary and Social Club to include in the Women’s History Month Exhibit. During my search I discovered images taken of the clubs members in 1950 and 1995, as well as negatives and proofs from the club’s 75^th anniversary celebration in 1991. I also came across a folder with collected images pertaining to the Avery Normal Institute that contained photocopied images of Jeanette Cox, the club’s founder. According to the note on the copies, the photo came from the Edmund Drago collection. Dr. Drago is a History professor at the College of Charleston. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1975, is the author of seven publications, and has developed several courses in The American Civil War, Reconstruction and World History.

Following the discovery of Mrs. Cox’s photograph, I went to Manager of Archival Services, Aaron Spelbring and asked him if he could help me in locating the collection. First we went up to the third floor storage room to look for it, but found no trace of the Drago collection. So using a shelf list, we went to the second floor where Avery’s non-circulating library books are stored with more archival collections. It just so happened that the collection was on the second floor, so I dug in. And although I did not find any photos of Ms. Cox, I did find a group of wonderful photos that were featured in Drago’s book on Avery, entitled Charleston’s Avery Center: From Education and Civil Rights to Preserving the African American Experience.

Wednesday, March 6^th – Friday, March 8^th:

Throughout the week I continued surveying the Virginia Geraty Papers. I am processing the collection at the series level using a series arrangement list Mr. Spelbring gave me. In processing the collection I am learning more about Dr. Geraty and her role as an advocate for the Gullah language. For example, Dr. Geraty wrote and produced the 1990 world premiere play of Porgy: A Gullah Version, in Charleston, SC. And in recognition of her work in the preservation of Gullah she was awarded the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the College of Charleston.

On Friday I continued planning for the Women’s History Month Exhibit by discussing items for inclusion with Processing Archivist, Georgette Mayo. Speaking with her about Avery’s collection on the Phillis Wheatley Literary and Social Club was a revelation because she was able to provide me with recommendations about how to display items from the collection; more insights on what materials to display and also suggested talking with Curator, Curtis Franks about exhibit installation.

Ardra Whitney: Week 19 @ Avery Research Center

Monday, January 7^th:

In the morning I discussed the possibility of putting together a public program/exhibit for Women’s History Month with Processing Archivist, Georgette Mayo. In return she provided with information on books relating to African American women’s clubs in Charleston in order to develop a thesis and the names of some professors I could contact to recruit guest speakers. She also offered to be facilitator for the program. Additionally, I mentioned the possibility of curating a complementing exhibition, which incorporates archival collection materials relating to women’s clubs and women’s club participants. Ultimately, she would like me to establish a thesis that is unique and addresses an aspect of women’s clubs that hasn’t been discussed before. One of the books she shared with me during our conversation was one called What a Women Ought To Be and To Do by Stephanie J. Shaw, which tells the story of American black professional women’s struggle for empowerment during the Jim Crow era.

Later in day I participated in a meeting with Manager of Archival Services, Aaron Spelbring and Ms. Mayo to discuss various topics relating to the Avery Research Center Archives and its archives staff, e.g., creating EAD finding aids with Archivist Toolkit; processing work on the Phillip Simmons papers; grant funding and backlog; potential host sites and promotion strategies for the digital photo archive project; and Mr. Spelbring’s new position as Treasurer of the Charleston Archives, Libraries and Museums Council. I also shared at the meeting that I had initiated a new Twitter account for the Center and asked for input from the staff on people and organizations to follow as well as news, happenings and events to post the page. Ms. Mayo recommended linking the Twitter account to the Center’s Facebook page and Mr. Spelbring mentioned developing a list of hash tags for the Twitter page in order to generate trends and help get the word out about the Center’s programs, exhibits and archival collections.

Tuesday, January 8^th:

I assisted Curator, Curtis J. Franks with updating the exhibit checklist for Sweetgrass: A Living Legacy of Community & Family-- an exhibit at Avery, which he is de-installing. I also continued working on arrangement, description and finding aid preparation for the St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Records. I have completed a preliminary finding aid and will work on editing and encoding it in the coming weeks.

 Wednesday, January 9^th and Thursday, January 10^th

On Wednesday I began surveying the Virginia Geraty Papers. The collection is 9 linear feet; completely unprocessed and unsorted and appears to have no arrangement or order. Geraty (1915-2004) was a writer and outspoken defender of Gullah language. As a white woman, Geraty spent some of her childhood years on Yonges Island in South Carolina. She learned Gullah from a family servant named, “Maum Chrish,” and attributed her love of Gullah speech to those early interactions. Geraty worked for many years as a librarian in the Charleston County School System. Noticing that white teachers could not understand the speech of Gullah-speaking children, Geraty spoke out in favor of language training for teachers. However, for many years her views were regarded as eccentric. Although the Gullah people and their language are now a focus of pride for African Americans reigning from this region, in the past, speakers of Geechee or Gullah was ridiculed as “ignorant” and “backward.” Today the Gullah language is spoken by approximately 250,000 African Americans called Gullahs, who live in the coastal “Lowcountry” region of South Carolina and Georgia. Gullah is considered a Creole language that combines influences from African and English languages. Geraty came forward as a defender of Gullah in the 1950s when prejudice against the language was extremely strong. She authored poetry and books in Gullah and also produced popular recordings in the language. In addition, she was involved in theater and film productions that promoted popular understanding of the language.

On Thursday I completed evaluating a video oral history interview for EducationMaker and MusicMaker, Verna Holley. Holley is a retired choral music teacher from Detroit, Michigan and the pianist and music director of the Earl Nelson Singers. The Earl Nelson Singers was founded in 1963 by Earl Nelson, who was also a choral music teacher. The group is an integrated ensemble of singers from the Lansing, Michigan area that performs spirituals.

Friday, January 11^th:

Ms. Mayo asked me to perform reference services in the Phillis Wheatley Literary and Social Club Reading Room, which included labeling artifacts from Avery Research Center’s collections for an art history class assignment on African art. After lunch, I continued surveying the Virginia Geraty Papers. I really enjoyed the reading correspondence, poems and stories for young people from the collection that were all written in Gullah.