Preserving New Orleans Cultural Heritage: Post Katrina

Since Hurricane Katrina and the levee failures, Amistad staff and volunteers have contributed many hours to salvaging endangered, at-risk records and collecting oral history interviews from former residents of New Orleans historic neighborhoods.  We are concentrating on the lower 9^th ward, the most devastated area of the city; Pontchartrain Park, the city's first African American suburb, and Treme, the nation's oldest African American neighborhood.  Amistad has acquired photographs from local photographers including, Eric Waters; papers of civil rights activist, Ernest Wright; and the papers of retiring University of New Orleans professors, Dr. Raphael L. Cassimere, and Professor Harold Battiste.  In this issue Brenda Square, Director of Archives and Library also reports a recent donation from Yvette Marsalis Washington, who donated the papers of her father, the late Ellis L. Marsalis, Sr. along with a recent addition to the papers of an internationally celebrated artist and friend, Elizabeth Catlett.

Yvette Marsalis Washington Donates Father's Papers to the Amistad Research Center 

Amistad recently received the papers of Ellis Marsalis Sr., (1908 -2004) the patriarch of one of New Orleans' most celebrated families of musicians.  The father of Ellis Jr and grandfather of Branford, Wynton, Delfeayo and Jason Marsalis was a prominent New Orleans businessman, churchman, and photographer who led early voter registration efforts for African American residents in the Shrewsbury community of Jefferson Parish.  In 1936, Ellis L. Marsalis Sr.  became the first African American manager of an Esso (now Exxon) service station in the uptown area of New Orleans. During the 1940s he owned and operated a service station at the corner of Sixth and Claiborne Avenue.  From 1944 to 1986 he operated the Marsalis Mansion near the Mississippi River in Shrewsbury.  The 40 room hotel featured a restaurant, lounge and swimming pool.  Records show that guests included the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, Ray Charles and numerous celebrities who visited the New Orleans area during the days of segregated hotels.  The collection comprises two linear feet of photographs, correspondence and hotel memorabilia, along with the transcription of a 1989 oral history interview with Dr. Larry Powell of Tulane University.  These primary sources provide rare images of Black life in the Jim Crow era and detail Marsalis' civil rights efforts, family and business activities. The papers also include records of his leadership at historic St. James AME church, his role as a founding member of St. James Methodist Church of Louisiana, and activities as former president of the Nationwide Hotel Association.  There are numerous photographs of New Orleans church programs, African American celebrities, civil rights activists and the Marsalis family gatherings. 

Elizabeth Catlett Papers Addendum 2007 (2 linear feet) (ca 1920 - 2006)

Amistad has received an important addition of papers from internationally acclaimed, legendary sculptress, painter, printmaker, and activist Elizabeth Catlett.  The recent addition consists primarily of Mrs. Catlett's professional correspondence (1998-2006) with several American art galleries, museums, and universities.  Collected publications, catalogs, a large collection of family photographs, images of Catlett's sculpture, and prints are also included.  

Born in 1915 in Washington, DC, Mrs. Catlett earned a Bachelor's Degree in art and graduated cum laude from Howard University in 1936.  In 1940, Catlett became the first student to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from the University of Iowa.  She also studied ceramics at the Art Institute of Chicago.  In 1946, Catlett accepted an invitation to work in Mexico City's Taller De Grafica Popular, a collective graphic arts and mural workshop.  She married Mexican painter and printmaker, Francisco Mora, in 1947, and a lively community of artists surrounded her and Mora.  From 1958 to 1976, she was professor and director of the sculpture department at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.  Regarded among the most significant artists of the 20^th century, Mrs. Catlett's works are in the collections of New York City's Metropolitan Museum, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the New Orleans Museum of Art.  She continues to live in Mexico today.

Regarding the collection of her works and papers at the Amistad Research Center, Mrs. Catlett has written "I am pleased that my personal papers and some of my art works are permanently preserved in one of the great repositories in the United States..."

An interview with Florence E. Borders, Archivist, and Lindsey Darnell, Reference/ Communications Assistant, about their Amistad Research Center experiences would produce vastly different accounts.  However, both would relate interesting personal stories and likely describe participation in key functions that produce efficient services while enhancing opportunities for individual philanthropy and other forms of private support.

Mrs. Borders is a charter member of the Academy of Certified Archivists and a "pioneer staff member" of Amistad Research Center.  She holds the Master of Arts degree in library Science from Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois.  In addition to her initial Amistad tenure and retirement, former employers include the University of Chicago, Bethune-Cookman College, Tennessee A & I University, Grambling State University, and the Center for African and African American Studies at Southern University New Orleans, from which she also retired.

Mrs. Borders is the founder of the Chicory Society for the Study of Afro-Louisiana History and Culture and was editor of the Society's publication, Chicory Review.  Other memberships include the Society of American Archivists, Third World Archivists, and Who's Who in Library and Information Sciences.  She is also a charter member of the Veritas Chapter of Dominican Laity and the B Sharp Music Club.

Florence Borders is presently arranging the Thomas C. Dent Papers, (1972 - 2000), one of the most extensive collections at Amistad, to which researchers and scholars frequently request access.  Record types include incoming and outgoing correspondence (business and family), journals, diaries, notebooks, financial records, writings (personal and collected), oral history transcripts, clippings, photographs and memorabilia.  Mrs. Borders is the sole processor of the collection and she receives periodic assistance from volunteers.  Presently Alice Shannon, graduate intern in the Southern University New Orleans Museum Studies Program, provides assistance while being mentored by Mrs. Borders (pictured above, right).

In contrast, Lindsey Darnell is a relative newcomer to the Amistad staff. She is a native of New Orleans, a recent graduate of New York University, and "eager to contribute time to the preservation of our unique culture and invaluable history."  She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Black Cultural Identity in North America in January 2006, after living in West Africa and traveling to South Africa.  "Since my return to Louisiana, I have been on a mission to locate a place that merges three of my passions: art, history, and New Orleans."  "I know now that the Amistad Research Center is that place."  

Lindsey understands that Amistad is and has been a vital resource in the preservation and cultivation of African American History and she elaborates:  It is a beacon for understanding times past, and an inspiration for those living today.  The Amistad Research Center does not just house history; it allows individuals the rare opportunity to touch history.  In my time here, I have learned invaluable lessons about the importance of human interaction, historically and even today, and the learning experiences that inevitably follow. 

The Center is a very charming, yet powerful place to work everyday.  Having the opportunity to be a part of such an extraordinary organization, which allows the world to come inside and embrace history, has been an extremely fulfilling and unforgettable experience.  

Mrs. Borders and Lindsey deserve to be recognized for their keen intellect, hard work and dedication, which contribute to the overall success of the institution.  Besides the numerous daily requests for work above and beyond their normal duties, the unusual Post Katrina situation has added many more projects for completion.  The organizational skills demonstrated and willingness to get the job done in short periods of time are unusual and exemplary of standards required for excellence.  Amistad is aware of the importance of appreciating commitment and acknowledging outstanding contributions to its mission.  That is precisely why, in this and future editions of e-Amistad Reports, staff news and profiles will be presented. 

Rhoda Janet Henry was born April 6, 1921, the fifth child of the Reverend James Henry and Mary Alice Lilly Henry.  Because of segregation laws, elementary public schools were not an option for young Janet so she received early training at home and later was able to attend schools in Mt. Gilead and Asheboro, North Carolina.  

Janet received her undergraduate degree from Elizabeth City State Teachers College in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.  She met Tilman Rhodes in undergraduate school, after which they married and moved to New York City.  Mrs. Rhodes initially worked in child protective services and later earned a graduate certificate from Columbia University. 

For several years, Janet was an active participant in civil rights activities and she supported organized protests.  She was hard-working, creative and possessed outstanding organizational skills.  Her efforts were helpful in renaming a public school in honor of the late musician, conductor and composer, Edward "Duke" Ellington.  She also wrote children's books and throughout her life was an ardent advocate for the protection and preservation of black history. 

Rhoda Janet Henry Rhodes died at home on March 2, 2007 after an extended illness.