Week 29: Ardra Whitney @ Avery Research Center

Monday, March 18^th:

Administrative Assistant, Savannah Frierson and I worked on scanning and printing images of materials selected for display in the Phillis Wheatley Literary and Social Club exhibit—materials which included, a thank you note to the club from W.E.B. DuBois (1925); correspondence from Mary McLeod Bethune to Mrs. Miriam D. Seabrook (1931); and a press release announcing the club’s sponsorship of an exhibit of art works and paintings by black artists for the Spoleto Festival (1978). Although before we could get started, she had to install the two office printers to the new workstation computer in the processing lab. While scanning materials from the Phillis Wheatley Literary and Social Club Papers with Savannah; club member, Cynthia McCottry-Smith stopped by to follow up with me about locating photos of the club’s founder, Jeannette K. Cox to use in the exhibit. Ms. Smith also took some time to tell me about members of the club pictured in a circa 1949 photo. She recalled that one of the members taught her when she was in school and that another member’s husband owned a realty company in Charleston.

Tuesday, March 19^th:

As I worked on placing the exhibit items, Curator, Curtis Franks and Assistant Director, Deborah Wright observed that the documents on display needed some form of support to prevent them from curling or bending. I agreed and so Mr. Franks went out and purchased some white mounting board to help reinforce the documents, which were placed on upright clear acrylic display stands. Mr. Franks was also able to find a large portrait of Mrs. Cox to hang as part of the exhibit. I was very happy about this because her image positioned over the exhibit materials serves as a wonderful focal point.

Wednesday, March 20^th:

Throughout the day I continued surveying the Virginia Geraty Papers by making an item list of her many notebooks (and scrapbooks), which contain: lesson plans on Gullah grammar instruction; Gullah vocabulary; fables, poems and short stories translated into Gullah; as well as other literary productions and notes pertaining to Gullah language education/instruction.

Thursday, March 21^st:

In the morning I met with Manager of Archival Services, Aaron Spelbring and Processing Archivist, Georgette Mayo to discuss department updates and submissions for the inaugural undergraduate essay contest. I also began processing the audio-visual material from the Virginia Geraty collection, which includes cassette tape recordings of her presentations and speaking engagements, lectures at the College of Charleston, and Gullah music; as well as video cassette tapes of television programs/films on Gullah language and culture.

In the afternoon, I participated in The HistoryMakers’ Monthly Professional Development Call with the former Chief Curator and Director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and present Director of Howard University’s Moorland Spingarn Research Center, Howard Dodson, Jr. I enjoyed his remarks on the differences between museum and library curators, in addition to his observations on what makes a library successful.

Friday, March 22^nd:

By the end of the week I had completed 11 out of 12 boxes from the Virginia Geraty Papers and began surveying the final box from the collection.

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.

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.