This collection showcases the rich legacies of HBCUs through ephemera and material objects, including maps, blueprints, audiovisual materials, newspaper articles, buttons, collectibles, memorabilia, clothing and accessories, scrapbooks, speeches, photographs, brochures, and posters.
Date Modified
2025-09-14
About This Record
The HCAC public history focused digital archive cataloging is an ongoing process, and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. We welcome your comments and feedback if you have more information to share about an item featured on the site, please contact us at: HCAC-DigiTeam@si.edu
Rev. George Jones moved to the Jackson area in 1945 to work as a college instructor. He discusses his first impressions of Jackson as an educator living on the Tougaloo campus while teaching home economics. He also talks about Sunday school, family, and the positive aspects and culture of the time. The transcript contains handwritten edits.
Case Data and Exhibits for Brown III, a relitigation of Brown v. Topeka Board of Education (1954) that corrected resegregation issues caused by open enrollment school choice in 1992. The legend marks roads and roadway features; public service facilities and more. The left-hand side of the map contains more detailed views of several communities.
Case Data and Exhibits for Brown III, a relitigation of Brown v. Topeka Board of Education (1954) that corrected resegregation issues caused by open enrollment school choice in 1992. The legend marks roads and roadway features; airways and airports; drainage; structures; conservation and recreation; public service facilities and more.
Gaynette Pugh participated in the Civil Rights Movement in Gulfport, Mississippi, during Freedom Summer in 1964. It was during this work that she was introduced to the Child Development Group of Mississippi (CDGM), where she and others worked to organize the first Head Start program in the area.
A newspaper article from The Black Panther that describes the calls from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Party leaders for gangs in the city to stop the violence and “get together to form a ‘People’s Army,’” This call was made during a three day conference in Philadelphia that brought together gang members and Party leaders to discuss ending violence.
Gale Foster moved to Jackson in 1912, attended Jackson State from 1912-1913, and opened City Barber, Beauty, and Tailor Shop in the Farish Street District in 1919. He talks about the current state of the district as well as offering advice to future Black business people, namely to get an education before starting a business.
Gale Foster talks about his oldest memories of visiting the Farish Street District, dating back to 1912 when Farish Street was a dirt road. Mr. Foster went on to own a tailor shop on Farish Street and he discusses his history as a tailor and his life as a business owner. The transcript is heavily edited with handwritten notes.
A white button in support of freeing the "Queens 2." Their names, Bashir Hameed and Abdul Majid, are listed on the button. The two members of the Black Liberation Army were sentenced to 33 years in prison for the 1981 murder of a New York cop. They were considered political prisoners because of discrepancies in their cases and convictions.
Fred Banks Jr. served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1976-1985 and Circuit Judge for the 7th Circuit District from 1985-1991. He details his experiences in the state legislature and his journey running for office. He also describes the early beginnings of the Mississippi Black Caucus and his mentorship under Robert Clark.
Frank Conic moved to the Farish Street District in 1919. He talks about his time growing up on Farish Street and working as a barber with his father while in high school. In 1950 he opened Conic Beauty and Barber Supply and he talks about that experience as a business owner in the district. The transcript is heavily edited with handwritten notes.
Francis Alexander did extensive Civil Rights Movement work in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, in the 1960s. In this interview, Ms. Alexander talks in detail about that work as well as her work in the greater Rolling Fork community. Later, she went on to open a Head Start school in her home after she began teaching her own children how to read and write.
A newspaper article from The Home News about the murder trial of Assata Shakur (JoAnne Chesimard) for the 1973 killing of a state trooper. She will remain in solitary confinement at least until U.S. District Court Judge George Barlow returns from vacation at the end of August to take action on the motion to move her to women's general population.
A newspaper article from The New Jersey Afro-American about Judge Theodore Appleby barring the testimony of an FBI agent and senator. Chief defense attorney William Kunstler wanted to use the testimony to establish a police conspiracy against Black militants in the trial of Assata Shakur (JoAnne Chesimard) for the 1973 killing of a state trooper.
Aurelia Norris Young was a prominent Civil Rights activist and professor of music at Jackson State College and Tougaloo College. She gave this speech on the history of the Farish Street Historic District on April 9, 1983, at the Smith Robertson Neighborhood Folklife Festival, which honored the history and legacy of the district.
A map of the Farish Street Historic District with markers for different land uses: streets, railroads, utility corridors, hydrography, residential, government/institutional, industrial, commercial, and open space.
A red and black button with a picture of Fannie Lou Hamer and her name in print. Ms. Hamer was a renowned leader in Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement. She worked with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to organize Freedom Summer in 1964 and was also vice-chair of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
Eunice Hicks began work at Head Start in 1965 as a social worker because of her degree in Sociology. She goes through her career and the different positions she held in the organization and the different centers she worked in. The interview is incomplete because Side A was recorded over.
Ethel George McCallister recalls many memories from her childhood, the plantation she lived and worked on, family, school, and her experiences in the church. She talks about her social life when she was young, and the relationships between the farmers, her marriage, and starting a family. She ends by talking about her family history.
Esther Solomon Howard was born in the Farish Street District in 1915. Ms. Howard talks about her childhood in the Farish Street District, including attending Smith Robertson School, Central Church, and the Young Women’s Christian Association (Y.W.C.A.). She also talks extensively about her husband. The transcript is edited with handwritten notes.
Ernest Luckett moved to the Farish Street District in 1922 at the age of 6 to attend Smith Robertson School. Mr. Luckett talks about his time as a student at the school and his admiration of a teacher. He discusses his relationship with P.G. Cooper, a lawyer on Farish Street who collected rent from tenants in the area for one of his clients.
Erma Sanders served on the Head Start board and worked with the first Head Start program that was established in Edwards, Mississippi, through Child Development Group of Mississippi (CDGM). She discusses the differences between the programs in Edwards and Jackson, Mississippi, and the ways that CDGM handled finding teachers for Head Start classes.
Case Data and Exhibits for Brown III, a relitigation of Brown v. Topeka Board of Education (1954) that corrected resegregation issues caused by open enrollment school choice in 1992. Charts and maps showing enrollment and attendance area breakdowns for every school in the Topeka Public School System from 1950-1985.
Ms. Wheeler worked at Head Start from 1967-1977, first as a disbursement clerk, then bookkeeper, and eventually assistant director. In the interview, she talks about some of the things the students learned as part of the program and the role parents of students played in the program.
Emma Mason began as a nurse with Head Start in 1965. She initially worked in Jackson, Mississippi, then in Edwards, Mississippi. She returned to Jackson and eventually worked in all 16 Head Start centers in the city. She talks about the health needs she saw with the students and discusses how workers were recruited for the program in Jackson.
Emma Jones talks about her experiences with early childhood education (through Head Start) when she was younger and the advantages that gave her entering into primary education. She also talks about the Head Start Program in general and how she sees it growing in the future.
Elzie Collins was one of the first Mississippi employees of the Head Start program and went on to have over 25 years of experience with the organization. In the interview, she breaks down the organizational structure of the early program.
