Meg Singleton

16th Street Baptist Church

 

I chose to create a video on the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. My favorite part about the video is the song that accompanies the images. What most people might not know is that the song was composed by John Coltrane in 1963 specifically in response to the bombings; it was meant commemorate the lives lost in the tragedy in Birmingham, Alabama – hence the name of the song. This shows that the misfortune that occurred in Birmingham that day in September of 1963 was not an isolated issue. People across the country and the world heard about the bombing; multiple songs have been written about the incident, and serve as an eternal memorial for those who died. The images of the bombing were taken from the archives of the Birmingham Public Library, and depict the aftermath of the incident. The poems that accompany the song and images were written by me in order to try and explain the history of the landmark in a more creative way. The poems also serve as an image in their own sense – the imagery, diction, and rhyme schemes that I chose to use within the poems are meant to show how the Civil Rights movement was an extremely emotionally-driven time period in our country’s history.

Description of the Location:

            The description of this Nationally Historic Landmark and its significance to African American communities is embedded in the video via the poems. Professor Strmic-Pawl and I agreed that I would not need to write a full 200-word description of the location and the incidents surround it as it would be redundant. Watch the video for a more entertaining description!

Brittany Hill

Avery Research Center

The location I chose was the Avery Normal School, which is currently the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture. “Normal” refers to a school for training teachers ofering classical education along with college prep classes. The school has provided services for about 100 years to several African American students. Studies have included music, science, philosophy, foreign language, grammar, math, etc. This school was the first secondary school for African American students in South Carolina that was formed by the American Missionary Association of New York City. Since the beginning of the institution in 1865 the name has been changed several times, as various people have been honored due to their contributions. The school was unfortunately closed in 1954 but Averyites, Alumni of Avery, kept the institution alive by working as a team to preserve the site and create an educational center for the public. Today the Avery Research Center offers five thousand printed documents, four thousand photos, and about two hundred manuscript collections. They also provide VHS tapes, artifacts, clipping files, and digital media. The center is open to anyone who would like to roam the historical site with plenty of African American art throughout the hallways and rooms, to learn about African roots, or to even rummage through archives in the reading room.

 

clark

Septima P. Clark Papers, Avery Research Center, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA

Upon entering the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture is a breathtaking image of Septima Poinsette Clark. Ms. Clark is a Charlestonian who attended Avery Normal Institute and graduated in 1916 with her teacher’s certificate.  She then received her Bachelor’s from Benedict College and her Master’s from Hampton Institute.  As Clark entered the workforce she found it difficult to find jobs that paid equally to her Caucasian counterparts. Also laws stated that African Americans could not teach in the City of Charleston, so she taught on Johns Island for three years. Although she taught at several schools in South Carolina, the difficulty of finding a job encouraged her to become heavily involved in not only the civil rights movement but the feminist movement as well.  In 1956 it was documented that she lost her job teaching because she was involved with the NAACP. Throughout her lifetime she was involved in several women’s groups such as Coming Street Young Women’s Christian Association, SC Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, National Council of Negro Women, etc.  Ms. Clark passed away in Charleston on December 15, 1987 and has had an auditorium, day care, and highway named in honor of her contributions within South Carolina. (the crosstown—DT Chas.)

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Lea Armstrong

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The East End of Asheville was described by a past resident as “a community, a neighborhood, self contained…It had hair-dressers. There were grocery stores, funeral parlors, cab stands. Eagle Street had doctors’ and lawyers’ offices, dentists’ offices, churches.  You had theaters. We had swimming pools. you had barbershops and the Dew Drop Inn. Miss McQueen’s restaurant was across from YMI. Rolands Jewelry and Chisholm’s sold everything.” What past East End resident, Ralph Bowen, is describing is a bustling African American community situated on the edge or what may now be considered central downtown Asheville. This is a historic community whose origins come out of slavery. The East End had been a vibrant black community dating back to the 1880’s “although African American presence dates back to the earliest times of slavery in Western North Carolina.” Asheville’s East End was likely the site of the homes of James Patton’s family’s slaves prior to the civil war. After the Civil War it is here that newly freed African Americans gathered to build their community which strove to provide social, commercial, religious, and educational opportunities in a time of segregation.  The East End was composed of a multitude of black owned businesses and countless homes covered over four hundred acres. It was a cultural center, a neighborhood, a community that shared a cohesive identity. This area encompasses a vibrant and rich piece of the history of Asheville. Sadly the process of Urban Renewal that took place in the 60’s and various other factors have left this once thriving community hardly recognizable.  Not much is left – a few churches, a handful of businesses, and boarded up buildings remain.  Fortunately there is a renewed interest in paying respect and revitalizing this important part of Asheville’s past.  These efforts can be seen in a collaborative effort to create a mural in Triangle Park, which stands in the East End down off Eagle Street. The mural is a work in progress but is nearly complete. It pays respect to the rich heritage of the East End and the countless contributions made by its residents.  While there is not much left to be seen down in the East End many who lived there remember the sense of community and they help to keep the spirit alive through their accounts and efforts to revitalize this once thriving landscape.

Fred Quick

POEM OF REFLECTION

Is the Right way,
The White way,
During reconstruction the south opposed black education
It seems today we’ve intertwined relations

While holding preference to PWI’s over HBCU’s
We remember the historical significance but consider the present need an idea miscued.
Gotta know where you come from to get where you’re going low or high
Hence the tribute to old Wilson High

From a humble beginning with a beautiful past.
We move towards a brighter future, with each incoming class.
Father like son, Mother like Daughter
Hand in hand we sing thy alma mater

Lift happy voices praises unfold, hail the Purple and the Gold.
Let songs of gladness rise to the sky, for Dear Old Wilson High.
And strive to show, as on we go, ability and power
To do the right, with all of our might through every changing hour.
With loyalty, courage and hope our lives shall e’er be blest,
And ever for our Alma Mater, we work and do our best.
As on we go, our aims shall grow, our cheers will ever cry,
To do the right with all our might For Dear ol’ Wilson High.

 

Poem Description

I have written a poem and included the Wilson Alma Mater. The purpose of the poem is to highlight the frequently discussed debate concerning the necessity of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Those arguing against the implement of Executive Order 13532 “Promoting Excellence, Innovation, and Sustainability at Historically Black Colleges and Universities” (Owens) argue that HBCU’s served their purpose during segregation, but have long lived their beneficial years. Although there are over six thousand 4 year institutions in America the 105 HBCU’s in America are competitive in most aspects. The following portion of the poem touches on the history of Wilson High School with children of the Florence area having the privilege to attend the same school as their ancestors. Wilson High is growing vigorously, and is incorporating programs beneficial to students and producing leading members of society. I included the alma mater because it eloquently inspires reflection on the pioneers of Wilson High School. The Alma Mater also leaves me anticipating the growth of Wilson High School.

Travis Snyder

Rosenwald Schools

I basically looked at one example of the school program that happened to be in South Carolina and then looked into the program as a whole.  The school that I researched about was the Carroll School in Rock Hill, SC.  The school was an African American public school that was funded by the Rosenwald program.  The aim of the school was to bring education to African Americans living in the South during the early 1920’s all the way till the school closed in 1954.  The Carroll School was exceptionally small and was staffed by only three teachers.  Since its days as a school it has been used for community events including church services and is currently being restored.  I also looked at the Rosenwald Program to learn how schools like the Carroll School were started.  The Rosenwald program aimed to bring schools to African Americans in the south that could not afford to attend other schools.  Julius Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington built public schools for African Americans across the South.  Over 4 thousand schools were eventually built housing over 600,000 students.  This program is in my opinion an important piece of history that we should study, particularly since this program was aimed at the South.

 

travis

 

The photos that I chose are all of Rosenwald Schools around the country.  I felt that just having pictures of buidlings however wouldn’t do the story justice so I also looked for pictures that involved some of the students that attended the schools.  Inlcuded in my collage is a photo of one of the signs that is planted outside on the these Rosenwald Schools.  The sign is for the Mt Zion school and goes into a brief overview of the school and what it stood for.  I feel as though this sign can give some first hand type look into what people in the area saw these schools as and what they stood for.  The picture that I found to be most interesting and enlightening is the photo of the map that outlines where the schools that were funded by the Rosenwald Program were.  As we can see on the map they were built in the South and we can see the numbers that they were built in.  Saying how many were built in writing is one thing but actually being able to see on a map how many schools were built is entirely something else and I find this picture to fairly powerful in getting the message across about how successful this program ended up being.

 

Images for collage were collected through Google images.

  1. http://www.abhmuseum.org/2012/07/the-rosenwald-schools-an-impressive-legacy-of-black-jewish-collaboration-for-negro-education

 

  1. http://southernmemoriesandupdates.com/2011/beyond-the-south/sears-president-to-build-schools-for-southern-black-children/

 

  1. http://www.preservationnation.org/travel-and-sites/sites/southern-region/rosenwald-schools/schools/other-case-studies/carroll-school.html#.UT_dYKV9nww

Christy Harrison

The Beck Center

Christy

The picture above is one that I took upon arrival of the Beck Center, which is located in Knoxville, TN.  This picture to me really represents what the entire museum is about, which is preservation of artifacts and documents that have grown in the Knoxville area over the last few decades.  The Beck Center was formally the home of James and Ethel Beck, who were two very strong activists in the Knoxville area. In their time, they were involved with many social events in the area and eventually opened the first orphanage for people of color in Knoxville, Tennessee. After the death of Ethel Beck, the state bought her home and preserved it and began to use it as a museum for audio, books, papers, and future plans for the strong and brave African Americans who made a difference in the Knoxville area over the past few decades. This photo shows the original house, with the additional building on to the right. One of my favorite parts about this museum is that this was the original home of the Becks, and what they did to represent African Americans as well as citizens to the state of Tennessee is so crucial to the progress of where the state is today.

Roysean Philson

roysean.collageRosenwald Schools Summary and Collage Description
During the early progressive era Booker T. Washington and other influential blacks persuaded Julius Rosenwald, a former owner and president of the famous sears department store, to help better the conditions of African American Schools and education .In 1917 the Rosenwald fund was established by Julius Rosenwald and his family. It donated just around seventy million dollars to black institutions museums, colleges, public schools and charities. Rural school building programs were some of the most beneficial sectors of the Rosenwald fund. More than four million dollars were contributed to the construction of schools in the south by the Rosenwald fund. These schools were known as the Rosenwald Schools. Over five thousand schools, shops, and teachers’ housing buildings were built by the Rosenwald fund in the early 20th century mainly for African-Americans. Rosenwald donated money to help out construction and maintenance of these schools. He also required the communities in which these schools belonged to contribute public funds to the schools. This fund allowed the building of 217 teachers’ houses, 163 shop buildings, and 4,977 schools in 15 states and 883 counties. In South Carolina around 500 buildings were constructed for use in rural counties throughout the state. The Rosenwald Schools played a critical role in providing education to African-American children in South Carolina. Today, South Carolina has allowed many Rosenwald Schools to become abandoned, run down, and on the verge of being destroyed. Out of the 500 schools that existed in South Carolina only 30-35 Rosanwald Schools are still standing in reasonable condition. Many were replaced by better school.
I have constructed a collage mixed with some refurbished and old Rosenwald schools that are still standing. All of the schools are in the South Eastern region of the United States. Most of them are in South Carolina, but three of them are in Alabama, North Carolina and Georgia. You can observe how small and inferior these schools were in comparison to ones attended by whites. They would house 6-7 different classes with only one to three small rooms. Imaging how it might have been to attend one of these schools as a child? Although the buildings were inferior to those attended by whites, African-American children and their families must have been enthused just to have the opportunity to receive education a decent education. Although there are few people still alive today, if you ever come across anyone who might have attended one of these schools take the time to sit down and talk to them about what is was like to attend one of these schools. It was a very different atmosphere in the early 20th century as you will be sure to learn a lot. Also take the time to look at how some of the buildings have been refurbished and kept in good condition.  Some of these buildings have been turned into community centers, social service agencies, and reintroduced into school districts as buildings in the school system.