Laura and Julie dive into the history of the Black Studies collection at The People's Archive and take a look at other resources for researching Black history. Plus book reviews and new collections.
Black Studies Collection at The People’s Archive
Black Studies digital resources
Buses are a comin' : memoir of a freedom rider by Charles Person, with Richard Rooker
The Griots' cookbook : rare and well-done by Alice McGill, Mary Carter Smith & Elmira Washington
Where is My Place? Experimental Arts Community Building and Re-Building in Washington, D.C. in Dig DC
April 28, 1968 recording of the Friday Morning Music Club in Dig DC
Laura Farley 0:04
Hello and welcome to the People's Podchive recorded in the labs at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. I'm Laura Farley, Digital Curation librarian.
Julie Burns 0:14
And I'm Julie burns Library Associate at The People's Archive. Today, we're going to take a look back at the founding of the Black Studies collection at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, and how it came to be part of The People's Archive, plus other resources for researching Black history and culture and book reviews. But first, we want to welcome our newest team member of The People's Archive Robert LaRose. Robert's name may sound familiar as he is one of the sound engineers for this podcast. But now he's joining our department as the Digital Curation Librarian. Hello, Robert, tell us a little bit about yourself!
Robert LaRose 0:52
Thanks, Julie! Happy to be here. As you may know, I used to work in the department known as The Labs, which is devoted to helping makers, artists, designers and other creative people bring their projects to life. They're also the department that produces the Library's podcast, which you're listening to now. While the labs will always have a special place in my heart, I'm really excited to join The People's Archive, and help show off the awesome collections that we have.
Laura Farley 1:21
Welcome, Robert. We're so happy to have you on our team. Now onto the show.
Julie Burns 1:28
All right, well, let's get into the Black Studies collection, which as you may know, is now part of The People's Archive and formerly Special Collections. But it wasn't always that way, was it Laura?
Laura Farley 1:39
Indeed it was not Julie. When planning for a new central library in the 1960s, there was a growing demand by D.C. residents for circulating books by and about African Americans. And in 1970, the Library Board of Trustees voted to establish a Black Studies Division. Originally located on the first floor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, which we're just going to call MLK from here on out because it's a bit of a mouthful. The Black Studies division first opened in 1972. This stacks included over 1,700 volumes of books. Plus the division also provided programming and displays.
Julie Burns 2:20
I know we were curious to learn a little bit more about what the department was like around that time, so I took a look in some of the Library's annual reports and found one from 1976 specifically about the Black Studies Division. It included some interesting details like popular subjects and book titles and what book displays they put up that year.
Laura Farley 2:39
Everyone loves the listicle! What did you find Julie?
Julie Burns 2:43
Well, the report indicated that some of the most asked for subjects included Black women, folklore, and the Harlem Renaissance. While some of the most popular titles were if Beale Street could talk by James Baldwin, Manchild in the Promised Land by Claude Brown, and Before the Mayflower by Lerone Bennett, all of which we still have in the collection. One other thing that grabbed my attention from the report is the description of frequent users. It sounds like students visited the division regularly to work on school projects or research papers, especially from Federal City College, Howard University, and D.C. Teachers College. Apparently, there was even a special children's collection in Black Studies at that time. So children and young adults made use of the books as well. Oh, and they only had three staff members for the entire division, which is hard to imagine these days.
Laura Farley 3:34
Three staff members, good gravy! They must have been very energetic people. And that totally makes sense that students sought out the collection, especially students from Federal City College, which was one of the institutions that combined to become what we know today as the University of the District of Columbia, because it was located right around the corner from MLK before moving to the upper Northwest.
Julie Burns 3:58
Oh, interesting! I didn't realize Federal City College was located downtown. That does make sense. And I believe you said you did some newspaper research on Black Studies. Right, Laura, did anything in particular jump out to you?
Laura Farley 4:11
As a matter of fact, yes. I cannot let go of a little something called Night Owl Service. During the 1970s, the Popular Books Division and the Black Studies Division at MLK were both open until midnight on weekdays.
Julie Burns 4:28
Wow. I had no idea. I wonder when they stopped doing that? That'll have to be a research project for another day.
Laura Farley 4:35
Well, I would certainly need a bigger cup of coffee to make it to midnight, that's for sure. According to the articles I found in the Washington Evening Star, Night Owl Service was unsurprisingly popular with students but also with people who work during the day. We weren't able to find how long the Service lasted but it seems like it was around for at least a few years. Maybe you know, hit us up if do!
Julie Burns 5:01
The Black Studies collection is now one of three major collections in The People's Archive, established to collect and document the full experience of life in the District of Columbia. In 2011, Black Studies became part of what was then known as Special Collections, joining our other two major collections, Washingtonia and the Peabody Room.
Laura Farley 5:21
Side note. What do we mean when we're saying "collection" in this context? Because you may be thinking "you only have three collections and that giant space?" No! We have a hundreds of collections. What we're talking about here is a specific collection scope. Black Studies only includes items related to the African American experience, while Washingtoniana includes items that document broader life in the District, and the Peabody Room only includes items related to the Georgetown neighborhood.
Julie Burns 5:53
Today, the Black Studies collection is located on the fourth floor of MLK. The books no longer circulate, so you have to hang out with us in the reading room while you use them. The collection has a particular focus on civil rights and social justice, covering diverse subjects ranging from academic texts on enslavement and race relations, to works on art, music, and dance. It is mostly nonfiction though there are works of fiction too. And the collection also includes a pretty extensive biography section.
Laura Farley 6:23
What I like about the biography section is that includes lots of people that you've heard of like Maya Angelou and Malcolm X, but plenty of people you may not know yet.
Julie Burns 6:34
While most of the collection is books, there are also a number of digital resources that are part of Black Studies. Could you tell us more about those Laura?
Laura Farley 6:41
I sure can. The digital resources can be accessed through the DC Public Library's website under the Research tab, both at home where you can wear your jammies, or here at the Library where you're welcome to wear your jammies as well. If you're using digital resources at home, you will need a library card. What you'll find is access to digitized collections of African American newspapers, other types of primary sources, documents, ebooks, maps, images, and academic articles. Through the library, you can access digitized records of federal surveillance of African Americans deemed "politically suspect" between 1920 and 1984, documents from the Civil Rights Congress, and transcripts from the Ralph J. Bunche Oral History Collection on the civil rights movement. The resources cover from the year 500, I did not misspeak there, the year 500 to the present day.
Julie Burns 7:40
2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Black Studies Division, browse in person or online.
In addition to the books and digital resources, The People's Archive has a number of archival collections that could be helpful for Black history research as well. As I was searching through our catalog, I started to kind of naturally break them up into five different categories in my head. Records related to individual's, records related to organizations, research collections, genealogical or family collections, and lastly, photograph collections.
Laura Farley 8:33
Back to the listicles. I like it. Let's start with the first category. Who are some of the individuals represented in these collections?
Julie Burns 8:41
Well, I know we mentioned the Julius Hobson Collection in our last episode, but there are several more individuals to explore. We've got the papers of Josephine Butler, a community activist who co-founded the D.C. Statehood Party; Beatrice Murphy Campbell, a poet editor, an advocate for people with disabilities who founded the Negro Bibliographic and Research Center later renamed the Minority Research Center; and Damu Smith and activist who fought for social and environmental justice in the US and around the world, and established Black Voices for Peace, just to name a few.
As for organizations, one that I came across, which I have to admit I did not know much about, is the Northeasterners Papers. According to the collections finding aid, the Northeasterners was a social and philanthropic club for African American women founded in 1930 by Agatha Scott Davis, who was inspired by the African American debutantes she'd visited in various northeastern cities. Though the headquarters was located in New York, D.C. was one of the first chapters, along with Philadelphia. It's a small collection, only one box, but it sounds really fascinating. I would be very interested to set aside some time one day to take a look.
Laura Farley 9:56
I worked with the Northeasterners Papers a little bit last year and was also very intrigued by this group of smart and stylish women. Definitely worth a look. Research Collections usually come from individuals who've written a book or article, or worked on some other research project, and typically include their notes, photocopies, newspaper clippings, drafts, and other information gathered throughout the research process. Our family and genealogical collections include materials such as correspondence, photographs, school and work related items, printed materials such as articles and publications, brochures and programs, and on and on and on.
Julie Burns 10:40
And lastly, of course, we have our photograph collections, a couple that we'd like to highlight because they're great collections but also because they've been digitized and are available on Dig DC, are the Chip Py Go-Go Collection and the Joseph Owen Curtis Collection. Now Chip Py, I believe we mentioned on the podcast previously as well. He was Chuck Brown's personal photographer from 2011 until his death, and there are a lot of images of Brown and other Go-Go musicians and bands. And the Joseph Owen Curtis collection is another good one. Curtis was an amateur photographer and historian whose photographs document the culture, social life and architecture of Southwest, D.C. from the 1920s through the 1980s.
Laura Farley 11:24
Thanks for sharing your research, Julie, this list is a good starting point for learning more about Black history and culture in the District. Remember though, you can always dig deeper on any research topic with the Reference Librarian.
Julie, let's talk book recommendations. I know you had a whole stack of potential books you were sorting through for this episode, what you end up picking.
Julie Burns 11:58
You're right that I did spend a good long while looking through some of our most recent additions to Black Studies, and I had a hard time choosing which book to highlight, because there were so many good ones. I also wasn't sure whether to focus on books that weren't available elsewhere. You know to kind of show what makes our collection unique, or share one that would also be available for checkout in the branches. I wound up coming down on the ladder for accessibility sake, but please do come browse what we've got! Okay, so my recommendation is called Buses are a Comin': Memoir of a Freedom Rider by Charles Person. As the book jacket points out, Person is one of two living Freedom Riders who remained with the original ride from its start in D.C. to New Orleans. The description says it provides a quote "Front row view of the struggle to belong in America as Charles Person accompanies his colleagues off the bus, into this station, into the mob, and into history to help defeat segregations violent grip on African American lives." It is also a challenge from a teenager of a previous era to the young people of today. "Become agents of transformation, stand firm. Create a more just and moral country where students have a voice, youth can make a difference and everyone belongs." I just thought that sounded so powerful. This book is available in Black Studies, at several branches, and as an E-audiobook through the DC Public Library's Overdrive database. I actually just started listening to it as I've been getting more into audiobooks lately.
Laura Farley 13:32
I too really enjoy audiobooks and highly recommend the Libby app available through the Library. And I really like the message of Buses are a Comin' to young people that they have a voice in their future. I think that's something that we all need to hear and be reminded of. An excellent pick, Julie! Well, I went in a rather different direction and chose a cookbook from the Black Studies Collection. As we discussed before, this collection has all kinds of books that document African American life, including cooking, health, beauty, and even pregnancy and parenting. I chose the Griot's Cookbook: Rare and Well done by Alice McGill, Mary Carter Smith, and Elmira M. Washington.
Julie Burns 14:15
What a great idea, Laura! Tell us what makes this book unique.
Laura Farley 14:19
Well, I was immediately drawn to the cover of this book. The three authors sit together on a large wicker chair in caftans, smiling at the camera surrounded by fruits and vegetables. Published in 1985, this book was created as part of a fundraiser for Morgan State University radio station, WEAA 88.6 FM, where the three women worked on the program called Griot For the Young and Young at Heart. There are many things about this cookbook that I just adore. I like that the book was written and published locally in Baltimore and Columbia, Maryland. I also liked the intentionality of the collaboration and community of the cookbook, while Alice, Mary and Elmira compiled the cookbook and contributed plenty of writing, they acknowledged the many friends and family who submitted favorite recipes. Which isn't that what a cookbook is all about anyways, bringing together family and friends? I just love that. But what really makes this cookbook special are the mix of African proverbs, original stories and commentaries about the recipes peppered, see what I did there, peppered throughout. For example, and the recipe for Fresh Plum Pie, the commentary from Alice McGill and notes that, quote, "There was a plum tree on every ditch bank at home in North Carolina, we could not cook the plums because they were all pit and juice. So we made plumb wine which was delicious. My mother bought the cooking plums from the market."
The cookbook is structured as you might imagine, with different sections broken out by types of food. However, the reader is also treated to a section on stories and storytelling. Plus, it features charming illustrations throughout. You know, I made a beeline for the sweets. I do believe I have some baking in my future.
Julie Burns 16:15
That sounds great. I may have to do the same.
Laura Farley 16:18
The Griot's Cookbook is available only in The People's Archive. Stop by and take a look.
Julie Burns 16:32
Before we say goodbye here's what's new in Dig DC.
Laura Farley 16:35
Where is My Place? Experimental Arts Community Building and Rebuilding in Washington D.C. is the newest project in the DC Oral History Collaborative Collection. This project documents the founding of Rhizome D.C., had existed as a space of multifunctional two story historic house and yard, and what it tried to change in the context of building, displacement, and rebuilding before new development replaces its historic building.
Julie Burns 17:06
Also new are three interviews that have been added to the 2020-2021 school year of the Center for Inspired Teaching Real World History Oral History Project; Dr. James E. Pierce, Marion Davis and Pastor Angeloyd Fenrick. Of particular note is Dr. Pierce's reflections on arriving in California for a job only to be turned away when the hospital realized they'd hired a Black man, and Pastor Fenrick's reflections on her civil rights activism in SNCC at Howard University. To close out this episode, let's listen to a clip of Pastor Angeloyd Fenrick describing to student Kayla Park her determination to attend the March on Washington, and the impact Dr. King had on mobilizing youth.
Angeloyd Fenrick 17:51
Days, I got married in 19... 19..., 1962, actually, met my husband in '61, and we got married at '62. And so the March on Washington, I believe was what was there in '67 or something like that. And my husband didn't want me to get in any trouble, so he said "Angeloyd you don't know if they're gonna be, uh, breakout in riots --." I said, "Look, Martin Luther King is coming to D.C. I am going to the March on Washington." And so I did. And one of the things that encouraged me to reach out and do something for the homeless men, which is like I said I'm just retiring from that now, is that I knew that Dr. Martin Luther King was 25 years old when he became the leader of the civil rights movement. And so that in itself taught a lot of us that your youth, does not prohibit you from doing something the Lord has put in your mind. Okay.
Kayla Park 19:13
Mm-hm
Laura Farley 19:15
This episode was written by Julie and me. Sound engineering was provided by Robert LaRose of The People's Archive, and Siobhan Hagen of Memory Lab Network. Music in this episode came from the Friday Morning Music Club Collection. Check our show notes for links to library copies of Busses are a Comin' and the Griot's Cookbook. And, links to all the collections mentioned during this episode.
Julie Burns 19:40
Find us on Facebook at The People's Archive at DC Public Library. Have a question? Email us at peoples.archive@dc.gov or stop by the fourth floor of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library and say hello. We're open Monday through Thursday 12 to 7, and Friday and Saturday 10 to 6. Remember to bring your mask.
Laura Farley 20:04
Until next time...
Julie Burns 20:05
See you in the stacks!