Chaitra Powell: Week 3 @ The HistoryMakers

Since graduating from the University of Arizona with my masters in library science, in 2010, I have learned that having a degree, while nice, is not the most important thing that a job applicant can have. In the words of the over used cliché, it is not what you know, it is who you know. If “knowing” people are the objective, how can one go about “knowing” people in sincere and meaningful ways in these times of limited resources and ever increasing demand? I’m on Facebook and Linked-in but I can attest that these digital connections are not substitutes for the benefits of taking the time to really become acquainted with someone in person.

This year long fellowship is giving us an amazing opportunity to showcase our professional interest in archives, our personalities and our abilities with some amazing individuals in the industry. I have a natural inclination to keep my mouth closed, but when I think about all of the missed opportunities to show the world how awesome I am, I get over my shyness and join the conversation. It usually works out for the best. Sometimes I think about Alex, Amanda, Ardra, Cynthia and Skyla what they will accomplish in their careers, I am so grateful to have a chance to be in the trenches with them now. We are laughing, working, learning and growing together in this fellowship and it will be a pleasure to reflect on these experiences when we collaborate in the future. 

British Studies Students at Kings Cross in London, England

The same is true for other individuals that I have met on my journey in archives. During my last year in graduate school, I traveled to London, England for four weeks to participate in British Studies Program through The University of Southern Mississippi. I received 6 graduate credits for Dr. Teresa Welsh’s course on British Libraries and Information Centers. Dr. Welsh wrote one of my recommendation letters for my application to The HistoryMakers and I am sharing my experience here to help her to write a grant for a similar program at The University of Southern Mississippi. The first night in London, after we had settled in, a few of my classmates and I took Dr. Welsh up on her offer to show us around the city, mainly how to use the Tube and where to get tickets to the theater, and it set a very positive tone for the entire trip. She also bought me dessert in Edinburgh, when she found out that it was my birthday. Getting to know her in these organic and low stakes scenarios has given me a sincere level of comfort with her, and has made it easier to ask her for assistance today.

Dr. Welsh giving a presentation

This week at the HistoryMakers, I went to town on my finding aids. Up until now, I thought I was doing something, when I finished the evaluation forms, but now I know that is hardly the end of the process. I made corrections to the evaluation forms based on Julieanna’s feedback, worked with Dan on my subject headings, updated Filemaker Pro, edited the EAC-CPF and EAD in Oxygen and cranked out four complete finding aids by Wednesday. I also finished Sheila Grimes, the veterinary pathologist and started watching the playwright, Suzan-Lori Parks. I went through a box of the Diahann Carroll special collections documents and worked on my Mayme Clayton presentation. Dr. Salvatore talked with us about arrangement and description, as well as “more product, less process”. Dr. Reed led an interesting discussion on the attitudes of the northerners and the southerners when it came to slavery and the humanity of blacks in the 1800s, before the Civil War.     

Cynthia Lovett: Week 2 @ The HistoryMakers

 Last week I worked with the interview of Illinois Senator James F. Clayborne, and completed it this week. Clayborne filled the seat of Senator Kenneth Hall who passed away during his term.  When Clayborne was first elected, Republicans were attempting to shut down East St. Louis Board of Election because of an accusation of voter fraud.  However Clayborne worked with Republicans across the aisle to save the East St. Louis Board of Election.

I also created evaluations for the interview of Dr. Billie Wright Adams, a pediatrician in the Chicago area.  Dr. Adams grew up in Bluefield, West Virginia, which she described as the gateway to the coalmines.  Bluefield was a cultural, musical, and industrial hub. It was a college town with two neighboring schools, Bluefield State University and Bluefield College. Many jazz musicians such as Duke Ellington, as well as writers and intellectuals such as Langston Hughes and Thurgood Marshall passed through Bluefield while Dr. Wright was growing up there.

This week our topic of African American History with Christopher Reed focused on the American Revolution and and what that meant for slavery.  While Britain and the colonies of America were fighting their battles, African Americans who were enslaved were deciding which side would better further their cause.  We also discussed how the 18th century Enlightenment influenced a consciousness shift with regards to the natural rights of slaves in the 1800s. Many of them even sued for their freedom.

One of the week's highlights was our visit to the Carter G. Woodson library here in Chicago.  Archivist Beverly Cook told us: "Being an archivist is being a public servant.” She also added that it means being a bit nosey.  Upon walking into the library, we were greeted with the sculpture of Richard Hunt's "Jacobs Ladder."  Beverly detailed the history of the Vivian H. Harsh Collection and gave us a tour of the building.  We had the chance to  see the processing room, the deacidification chamber, and special room that housed archives and manuscripts with ultraviolet filtered lights.  It was also nice to see their display honoring the late and great Ray Bradbury. 

Later in the week, Professor Cecilia Salvatore, from Dominican University gave us some indexing exercises that we can apply to our evaluations and finding aids.  Professor Salvatore will be available every week for questions, which will be very helpful as we move forward.

Ardra Whitney: Week 2 @ The HistoryMakers

The highlight of my week was the 2012 IMLS Summer Immersion Program’s scheduled field trip to the Carter G. Woodson Regional Library (pictured at right).  On Tuesday, June 12^th, fellows received an introduction to the Woodson Library, as well as an overview of the library’s Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Following her introduction and overview, Beverly Cook, Director of Archives and Processing, led fellows on a group tour of the Woodson Library’s preservation lab and archival processing and storage facilities. She also provided us with a fun tutorial on how to access and utilize “Find it” – the Chicago Public Library’s digital access portal. Additionally, fellows completed an archives “scavenger hunt” exercise, which required us to use online findings aids to locate specific collection materials. Ms. Cook‘s tour and conference room presentations were very informative:  I learned about Society for American Archivists’ (SAA) emergency preparedness workshops; stewardship in the archival profession; and the Illinois Collections Preservation Network (ICPN).  Ms. Cook also spoke about the collection development efforts of Vivian G. Harsh (the Chicago Public Library system’s first black librarian). Harsh worked diligently to have books depicting negative and derogatory images of African American s removed from the library. She believed that by replacing these books with ones that more richly documented the history of blacks in America, African American patrons would have a better and more positive library experience.

On Thursday, June 14^th, I attended an archives seminar with Cecilia Salvatore, Ph.D. and Associate Professor of Library and InformationScience at Dominican College. The topic of the seminar was archival cataloging using Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). Fellows discussed general usage of LCSHs, as well as their use in The HistoryMakers EAD/EAC-CPF finding aids. We also completed a simple but insightful practice exercise that required us to use two different indexing methods: derived and free. In addition, the seminar provided fellows with the opportunity to address major challenges we’ve experienced in processing collections for The HistoryMakers Digital Archives.

This week I completed an interview evaluation for journalist, radio host and television news correspondent, Michele Norris (MediaMaker). I also began evaluating an interview for educator, politician and South Carolina native, Crain Woods (EducationMaker). Norris tells such wonderful stories in her interview; I enjoyed listening to her describe Minnesota winters, Birmingham summers and her father’s flower garden.  It was difficult to pick only a few web clips to accompany her interview because she had so many lush and terrifically detailed stories. Likewise, Woods’ remembrances of the sights, smells, and sounds he experienced growing up in Due West, South Carolina, were also beautiful to listen to.

Also, this week Dan Johnson, Digital Archivist, taught fellows how to transform interview evaluations in FileMaker Pro into XML documents in order to create EAD/EAC-CPF finding aids. I look forward to publishing my first finding aid for the Alvin Little oral history interview soon.

In preparation for my upcoming special collections processing project, I watched The HistoryMakers’ DVD of "An Evening with B.B. King,” hosted by producer and songwriter, Isaac Hayes. During the hour long program, I learned that King’s real name is Riley B. King—and that the “B.B.” in his stage name stands for Blues Boy.  I also learned the startling but humorous story behind the name of his famous guitar, Lucille. In addition to blues guitarist and vocalist, B.B. King, I have been assigned to process special collections for the multiple Grammy award winning music producer, composer and arranger, Quincy Jones; and politician, diplomat and activist, Andrew Young.

On Wednesday, June 13^th, I met with Dan Johnson and Julieanna Richardson, Founder/Executive Director, to discuss my progress with the fellowship.  During the meeting, she discussed the importance of creating a narrative flow when writing evaluation summaries that captured the essence of an interview–without reading like a transcript. When our conversation turned to my interest in the visual arts, she recommended I call and speak with South Carolina painter and printmaker, Jonathan Green (ArtsMaker).  When I called the Jonathan Green Studio in Daniel Island, South Carolina, I spoke with Richard Weedman, Studio Director. Mr. Weedman was very gracious and invited me to stop by the studio, once I started my residency with Avery Research Center.

At the African American history lecture with Christopher Reed on Wednesday, discussion focused on topics, such as blacks and the 18th century Revolutionary War; blacks in the North;  and slave labor in American agriculture. One thing that Dr. Reed said regarding blacks and the American Revolution , which resonated with me was that  “black soldiers served on both sides during the Revolutionary War as a safeguard for their interests”—namely freedom. I think the same was true for black soldiers who fought on both sides during the Civil War.

Speaking of emancipation, this upcoming Tuesday, June 19^th, is Juneteenth–also known as Freedom or Emancipation Day. The term is a combination of the words "June" and "nineteenth". Recognized as a state holiday in forty-one U.S. states, including Illinois; Juneteenth commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in Galveston, Texas in 1865.

Ardra Whitney
IMLS Fellow
Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture

Chicago State of Mind: Alex Champion's Week 2

As America’s second city Chicago is a smaller version of old New York with its vibrant neighborhoods and tall buildings. As America’s second city Chicago is more compact than Los Angeles; these combinations afford Chicago’s neighborhoods a fiefdom-like status while easily connecting them with mass transit and bicycle paths. My sublet is in Kenwood, immediately north of the invisible line that separates it from Hyde Park, and just two blocks away from President Barack Obama’s private residence. Since the president calls the very Democratic Chicago home and his former aid is the mayor, Obama is quite popular around these parts. Twice in as many weeks he stopped over and each time I missed—arriving immediately after he left or leaving the city before he came. The maintenance man for the condo was cleaning the front door and smiled kindly as he opened it for me; little did he know my bicycling injury the previous week required me to set down my conveyance in order to use the door.  I returned the smile and, modifying a favorite bumper sticker, I commanded him to “look busy,” since “the President’s coming today.” He continued smiling and, with a tinge of pride, gently complained about the security measures.
 

A quarter of the way to work...

This second week in Chicago was the first one where I commuted by bike every day. Kenwood and Hyde Park have no El service and any convenient buses require passing The HistoryMakers’ cross street and transferring to a second bus or walk fifteen minutes to catch a direct bus. The alternative is the Metra commuter line; rather than learn which local trains need to be flagged and which of these go to Soldier Field I simply bike the five and a half miles along the scenic coast. Bicyclists and joggers clog the trails like the car traffic along Lake Shore Drive while ubiquitous parks personnel pick up litter, water the soil with fire hoses, and avoid inattentive bicyclists and joggers who would mow them down.

Unlike Week 1 we had no extended workshop. Our primary tasks were the interview evaluations, the basis of the EAD and EAC finding aids, to Julieanna Richardson’s satisfaction. Unfortunately she was absent for the “A NightWith Warren Washington” ScienceMakers event in Washington, D.C. and gave us our critiques in a single day. We have yet to create a single finding aid but, pending final approval, I have three ready to go. The most recent interview I processed was Bernice King, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s youngest daughter. Interviewed in February 2008, King extensively described her mother and father’s genealogy and her reaction to her father’s death; it was simultaneously touching and tragic that she created no permanent memories of her father. Having just turned five years old, King had an admittedly poor grasp of death’s permanence. In a telling anecdote from his funeral, they played an excerpt from King’s sermon “The Drum Major Instinct” for the eulogy and young Bernice, tired from a long day, believed her father was alive again. His extended absences and, when Coretta toured to continue his legacy, the celebrity of her mother made a normal childhood impossible. I listened to the complete sermon as I revised her interview evaluation and reexamined the controversy behind the King memorial in Washington, D.C.’s paraphrasing of its closing passages; I agree with May Angelou that omitting the “if” clause makes King sound like an arrogant twit, which is precisely what his sermon decries.

Art

Bev Cook shows us around

Curiously, I seem to be building a reputation within the Chicago community. Before our tour of the Carter G. Woodson branch of the Chicago Public Library, the archivist of the Vivian Harsh Collection, Beverly “Bev” Cook, smiled knowingly at me and proclaimed “I was warned about you…” She repeated this phrase every so often when I joked; after my departing quip, which referenced something she said two hours earlier, again she laughed but this time claimed she was “gonna miss me.” Our history professor Dr. Christopher Reed said something similar; Dr. Reed casually wondered aloud if the McCormick-International Harvester Collection at the Wisconsin Historical Society had papers concerning blacks who participated in the development of the reaper. I told him I knew the PA and, if he dropped my name, he may get extra help. He laughed and claimed I was becoming a Chicago politician by using connections like favors and, as I usually do, I played along with the same deadpan delivery I used to announce the connection. Dr. Reed went on to say I was “like his son”; I sincerely hope that is a good thing.

Dr. Reed plays the role of eminent professor

Both experiences were rewarding in their own ways. I always enjoy frank and practical counsel from practicing archivists and Bev certainly fits that description. After the usual introductions we talked about the Vivian Harsh Collection and its place in Chicago history and toured the facility; Bev emphasized their preservation methods and showed me my first de-acidification chamber. After lunch she gave us an assignment to use the library’s website or catalog to find information about particular to us. My assignment involved locating audio visual materials in a collection of scripts, supporting files, and CDs of a 1948-1950 radio drama of black pioneers. I needed to locate the CDs for three scripts, each with an incremental level of difficulty. The first script was found with a simple “Ctrl F” of the subject’s whole name, the second one required me to use their last name because the CD spelled out the subject’s entire time, and the third subject could not be found with “Ctrl F” because the CD portion the inventory had a typo; instead I used the chronological structure of the finding aid to locate the CD.

My happy face

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Alex Champion~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Week 2@The HistoryMakers: Skyla S. Hearn

I had a conversation last week about African American political figures who have and continue to serve in the Illinois General Assembly! I realize this may not be the most exciting topic to discuss but this is a topic I have not discussed in detail---before last week. So, I’m pretty psyched about it. I usually become engrossed in conversations about artists or educators. I stay as far away from political discussions as possible. From my observations, I’ve surmised the subject is too subjective and sensitive. Politics has an ugly face, which people don’t like to attach to the candidates of their choice, etc. The conversations become too personal and before I realize it people are offended. This conversation was different. We talked about the challenges, successes and unfortunately the falls of particular candidates. The person I spoke with didn’t know I had an “inside scoop” on some of the candidates mentioned. As the person went on about the candidates, I remembered their interviews and them sharing victories for the communities they served and challenging accounts while serving in office. 

In the interviews of Todd Stroger, Monique Davis and Jesse White, I was able to learn a great deal about local politics, how bills are formed and passed, and the challenges of being a minority and representative for minority groups. While I found their jobs interesting, I felt most touched by their connections with the communities they served, their drive, ambition and courageousness to stand behind the issues they strongly believed in. The before mentioned politicians are a part the series presented by The HistoryMakers entitled Pioneers in the Struggle: The History of African Americans in the Illinois General Assembly 1877-2001. 

Another highlight of the week was the field trip to the Carter G. Woodson Regional Library/Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. The tour was led by archivist and librarian, Beverly Cook. Although I have visited the Woodson/Harsh Research Center on various occasions, the tour and lecture opened my eyes to aspects of the history of the facility and collection I previously had little to no knowledge of. The archives, in addition to the other departments in the two-story building, are well-built and house a sizable amount of materials from photographs to microfilm. The Carter G. Woodson Regional Library/Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature is my host repository where I will be spending the remaining nine months of the fellowship. While I enjoy engaging in the materials at The HistoryMakers I am anxiously waiting to scurry on over to the Woodson/Harsh Research Center! (Photo of George Cleveland Hall Branch, Chicago Public Library, photograph, n.d. Chicago Public Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Librarian Vivian Harsh (MLS 1931) who oversaw the George Cleveland Hall Branch of the Chicago Public Library encouraged African American artists to gather and collaborate in this space.) 

Resources! Resources! Resources! We attended the second brown bag lecture with Dr. Reed, which covered the American Revolution and the Emergence of the "Cotton Kingdom", 1763-1861. Dr. Reed covers topics in our readings in addition to addressing contemporary issues that are closely related to the subject matter. He is a wealth of information and enjoys sharing his perspectives. His lectures are insightful. We also had our first seminar with Cecilia Salvatore, which covered Cataloguing and Library of Congress Subject Headings. In graduate school, cataloguing was an area I did not strongly embrace. After working on an exercise with Mrs. Salvatore, I wondered what I had been intimidated about! Her exercise and approach to cataloguing was extremely helpful. Dr. Reed and Mrs. Salvatore are valuable resources. I appreciate having access of their knowledge at my finger tips!