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Thanks to an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant to process African American Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) collections, the Center's processing staff are making great progress on organizing its STEM-related collections.

The processing of the papers of sociologist Dr. James E. Blackwell is underway by Amistad's Director of Processing, Laura Thomson. Professor Emeritus of the University of Massachusetts-Boston, Dr. Blackwell was born in Anniston, Alabama. He received his B.S. and M.A. (1949) degrees from Western Reserve University and his Ph.D. degree (1959) in Sociology from Washington State University. Professor Blackwell has taught biology and sociology at a number of institutions, including San Jose State University and the University of Massachusetts-Boston. Dr. Blackwell was a consultant and expert witness on a number of high profile desegregation in higher education cases including, Ayers v. Fordice (Mississippi) and Knight v. Alabama (Alabama). It is anticipated that the Blackwell papers will be opened for research in late 2016.

 

Raymond J. Pitts was a mathematics educator and educational administrator whose innovation in mathematics education in California became the standard throughout the state. His papers, comprising 22 linear feet, are being organized by archivist Brenda Flora and reflect his lengthy and varied career in mathematics education and administration. Raymond Jackson Pitts was born in Macon, Georgia, the third of four sons born to Roberta and Willis Norman Pitts, Sr. He attended East Macon School and Ballard Normal School. He earned the bachelor's cum laude in mathematics and physics at Talladega College. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in mathematics and education at the University of Michigan. Dr. Pitts' papers will soon be open for research. These papers reflect his work as a mathematics instructor, as well as administrative positions at Santa Barbara County Schools, Pasadena City Unified and Junior College School District, the California State Department of Education, San Francisco Unified School District, and California Community College. 

Amistad's student assistants and interns are a valuable part of the Center's efforts, and this summer we were fortunate to host a number of engaged young people who completed many projects focused on archival processing, digitization, preservation, and outreach.

 

The archival processing unit had the pleasure of hosting Madeline Goebel and Lacey Hines. Madeline, a Tulane University sophomore whose studies are focused on history, gender, and sexuality, completed the arrangement and preservation of the Collins Family Papers and the papers of Dr. Henry E. Braden, III. The processing of these collections was supported by the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. 

 

The Center was also fortunate to host participants from the NOLA Youth Works summer employment program. High schools students London Kennedy and Aria Johnson, as well as college students Kristen Jackson and Christian T. Williams spent much of the summer assisting the Center in a wide variety of activities and projects including promotion of Amistad's August commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. The Youth Works students also organized archival collections and helped shift the Center's extensive library collection for better preservation.

Digitization was the focus of work conducted by Tulane students Jonas Darro and Hillary Kurland. Both assisted Amistad with the creation of digital collections as part of an educational outreach project to K-12 students and educators funded by the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation. Jonas and Hillary digitized documents related to the 1841 U.S. Supreme Court case United States v. Amistad, photographs of civil rights activities throughout the southern United States, and oral histories with civil rights workers. 

Amistad is excited to announce the award of a Basic Preservation Grant for 2015 from the National Film Preservation Foundation. This grant will continue preservation work on the Mardi Gras films in the Robert S. and Lillie Mae Green collection. This work builds upon the grant awarded last year, which funded the preservation of two 8mm films from the Green collection. 2015's selected film is a longer 16mm film, entitled "Bon Temps Carnival Balls" from the 1960s. This year's grant is the second step toward our long-term goal of creating new preservation masters of all the Carnival-related films in the collection.

 

The National Film Preservation Foundation awards grants to nonprofit and public institutions for laboratory work to preserve culturally and historically significant film materials. This year, the program will fund the preservation of 57 films from around the country. Amistad's selection records the rich tradition of Carnival costuming and performance integral to the fabric of New Orleans life. The silent home movie was shot in color on Kodachrome reversal film stock, which means that it is the only copy in existence. The ball depicted is a celebration of the Bon Temps organization, one of the city's oldest African American Carnival societies. Members display a variety of internationally themed costumes, including sombreros, sedge hats, and leis. They promenade through the room and then dance. A live band performs and there are many shots of the audience in their costumes. The edge code on the film suggests that the film may have been compiled from events across multiple years, with various portions labeled 1960, 1962, and 1965.

 

The grant will provide a new 16mm preservation master of the film, as well as a high definition digital transfer and DVD access copies. Upon completion of the project, the film will be available for viewing at Amistad and portions will be made available for online access.

With support from the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation, Amistad is pleased to welcome project assistant Lee Fancincani, who is currently organizing the papers of artist and illustrator Louise E. Jefferson.

Lee Facincani was born and raised in Butte, Montana, and has been living in New Orleans since 2008. Lee graduated with his B.A. in History from the University of New Orleans (UNO) in 2013. Lee then started his graduate work at UNO, graduating in 2015 with an M.A. in U.S. History. For a year during graduate school, Lee worked on the Freedom on the Move project, which is a digital collaborative project between Cornell University, the University of Alabama, and the University of New Orleans. While working on the project, Lee collected and transcribed over three thousand fugitive slave advertisements. Lee is excited to be a part of the Amistad team, and he looks forward to a career as an archivist.

 

Louise E. Jefferson was a multi-talented woman born in Washington D.C. She was an illustrator, writer, calligrapher, and typographer, but she is perhaps best known for her photography. She studied fine arts at Hunter College in New York and graphic arts at Columbia University. After school, Jefferson was the Art Director for the New York City-based Friendship Press from 1942 until 1968. She was responsible for many aspects of the publication process, such as cover design, maps, and illustrations. Once she left the Friendship Press, Jefferson began work as a freelance artist. Starting in the 1970s, with funding from the Ford Foundatin, she began travelling to Africa to photograph and illustrate communities and their customs. In 1973, her book The Decorative Arts of Africa, was published, which featured drawings and photographs from her travels in Africa. Jefferson's work has been on display at several prestigious institutions including the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City and the American Institute of Graphic arts. She also received several accolades throughout her career, such as a certificate of recognition from the Urban League and an award from the Connecticut Historical Society. Louise Jefferson passed away in 2002.

 

The Louise E. Jefferson papers at the Amistad Research Center include a wide variety of materials. The collection includes Jefferson's photographs, drawings, and designs; awards and certificates;and correspondence, both personal and professional, ranging from 1933 to 2001. Living in New York, Louise became friends with several artists such as Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Zora Neale Hurston, and the collection features original letters from these writers. The Louise E. Jefferson papers offer a bountiful mix of materials that document the life and times of a fascinating Renaissance woman.

In 1950s New Orleans, a young woman steps into her white tulle gown and glides down the long hallway of her parents' house into the front garden. Her father, a respected physician, drives her downtown, where she will make her debut into African American society. Sybil is mesmerized by the debut rituals, but cannot help noting their irony in a world where she daily faces the barriers and insults of Jim Crow.

So begins Witness to Change: From Jim Crow to Political Empowerment by Sybil Haydel Morial. Throughout her memoir, Morial revisits moments-from Brown v. Board of Education to Hurricane Katrina-that have defined her own life, the black community, and the nation. The book will be published by John F. Blair, Publishers, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on October 6, 2015.

The Amistad Research Center is pleased to partner with the New Orleans Film Society to sponsor and promote three films being screened during the 2015 New Orleans Film Festival. Amistad is a sponsor for the October 17th screening of Stanley Nelson's "The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution," which will be shown at the Orpheum Theater on October 17th at 2:30pm. The screening  will be followed by a Q&A with Stanley Nelson. 

In addition, Amistad will serve as a community partner for screenings of "Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band," which will be shown on October 18th and 20th, and "Yazoo Revisited: Integration and Segregation in a Deep South Town", which will screen on October 19th and 20th. Locations and times for these two films are available at the links above or via the film society's website. Amistad will be giving away two tickets to the Yazoo and Williams films via social media soon. Details will be posted via Facebook and Twitter, so check those in the coming days for more details!