Viewing search results for "North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University"
View All Posts
Vicki Coleman, Dean of Library Services at the F. D. Bluford Library, at North Carolina A&T State University
This year marks the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center’s 10th anniversary, and to celebrate we’ll be posting 10 stories from 10 stakeholders about how NCDHC has impacted their organizations.
Today’s 10 for 10 post is from Vicki Coleman, Dean of Library Services at the F. D. Bluford Library, at North Carolina A&T State University. We’ve partnered with NC A&T (Library home page | NCDHC contributor page) to digitize yearbooks, catalogs, and student newspapers. The Library also has their own extensive digital collections online, where you can find faculty research, agricultural history, and history about NC A&T. Read below for more about our partnership with NC A&T.
___
Happy 10th anniversary to the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center!
Over the past decade, the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center (NCDHC) has played a vital role in helping the F.D. Bluford Library at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T) ensure the success of its digital conversion projects. More specifically, the NCDHC’s digitization services have aided Bluford Library by providing the infrastructure to create thousands of preservation-quality digital images and other historical materials that are now accessible by students, faculty and researchers world-wide.
Working collaboratively with the NCDHC has opened opportunities for Bluford Library to give visibility to the wealth of history stored in its archive and to the many resources accessible from the DigitalNC website. Listed below are examples of how some digitized collections are used:
- The university’s digitized yearbooks (1939-2013), catalogs and bulletins (1895-2013) and student newspaper (1915-2010) serve as indexes, directing researchers to names, places, photos and historical events that helped shape the university, the surrounding Greensboro community, and the history of African-Americans with regards to higher education and the civil rights movement.
- In 2015, I oversaw the publication of NC A&T’s pictorial history book commemorating the university’s 125th anniversary. When it came to the digitization of some of our most brittle materials for inclusion in the book (e.g., minutes from an 1891 Board of Trustees meeting) it was the NCDHC that got it done.
- Over the past three years, James Stewart, the Archives and Special Collections librarian at Bluford Library, has taught more than 300 students how to access community histories about NC A&T and African-American history via the DigitalNC website.
- This past summer, Mr. Stewart and I conducted research pertaining to the naming of all the buildings and streets on the NC A&T campus. We were able to locate much of the historical information in the A&T Register, the NCA&T student newspaper that was digitized by the NCDHC and by searching the Newspapers collection on the DigitalNC website.
The NCDHC has advanced Bluford Library’s efforts to make historical materials accessible online by providing visionary guidance, high-level expertise and access to state of the art scanning equipment. I appreciate the great skills of the many individuals that make up the NCDHC and look forward to continuing a productive partnership with them. Congratulations to the NCDHC on its tenth anniversary and I await with pleasure another 10 years of remarkable achievements in increasing open access to the state’s cultural heritage.
Thanks to our partner, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a new batch of catalogs and bulletins from Chowan University, Fayetteville State University, Johnson C. Smith University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and Shaw University are now available on our website. This batch fills in previously missing issues from 1898 to 1970. All 5 schools are historically Black college and universities and this helps fill in gaps on DigitalNC from HBCUs in North Carolina.
- Chowan University
- Fayetteville State University
- Johnson C. Smith University
- North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
- Shaw University
Picture of Biddle University, now Johnson C. Smith University, College of Arts and Sciences graduates.
For more information about the universities, please visit their websites below.
Here are our picks for the 7 cleverest North Carolina yearbook titles in our collection.
#7 “Hickory Log” Hickory High School
A clever play on words for this “log” of the year’s activities. View all Hickory High School yearbooks, courtesy the Hickory Public Library.
#6 “The Si Si” University of North Carolina at Charlotte
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte was formerly known as Charlotte College. View all University of North Carolina at Charlotte yearbooks.
#5 “Gray Matter” Wake Forest School of Medicine
There are all kinds of clever covers for this intellectually themed, physiologically fitting title. View all Wake Forest School of Medicine yearbooks.
#4 “Hacawa” Lenoir-Rhyne University
“Hacawa” is a one-word abbreviation of Halls, Campus, Walls. In and around these centers the whole student life here. The Hacawa is an emanation from the work, play, joys, trials, and triumphs of the entire college for the year.” (1909 Hacawa, p. 8) View all Lenoir-Rhyne University yearbooks.
#3 “Quips and Cranks” Davidson College
“Haste thee nymph, and bring with thee
Jest and youthful Jollity,
Quips and cranks, and wanton wiles,
Nods, and becks, and wreathed smiles…” – L’Allegro, by John Milton
View all Davidson College yearbooks
#2 “Wagrub” Burgaw High School
We like this title because the students capitalized on the school name they were dealt. View all Burgaw High School yearbooks, courtesy the Pender County Public Library.
#1 “Ayantee” North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
You may need to say our the title out loud before it sinks in. This one has stumped staff in the past, making it our #1 pick. View all North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University yearbooks.
Disagree with our picks? Let us know.
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), founded in 1912, is celebrating its centennial as basketball teams from twelve member institutions and fans gather today in Charlotte to kick off the annual tournament.
This article from today’s News & Observer tells the story of the CIAA basketball conference.
Earl “The Pearl” Monroe and others. The Winston-Salem State College Rams brought home the CIAA trophy in 1967. Image from the 1967 volume of “Red and White,” the Winston-Salem State University student yearbook.
Page from the 1958 edition of “The Ayantee,” North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University’s student yearbook, depicting that year’s CIAA championship team.
In 1992, Elizabeth City State University basketball coach Bobby Vaughan was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. Under Vaughan’s leadership, the basketball team won five CIAA Divisional Championships and two CIAA tournaments. Image from the 1992 volume of “The Viking,” the Elizabeth City State University student yearbook.
Astronaut Ronald McNair, who died 25 years ago today in the space shuttle Challenger explosion, was a graduate of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. McNair was a member of the class of 1971, and appears a couple of times in the 1971 edition of the The Ayantee, the student yearbook. His senior photo is at left, and a photo from the school karate club is below.
Many of the stories marking the 25th anniversary of the Challenger explosion mention McNair, who was only the second African American to enter space. The piece that ran this morning on NPR has an especially good story about an early act of courage at a public library in South Carolina.
Sixty-two yearbooks from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University are now available online at DigitalNC. The yearbooks span the years 1949-2009, and the 1964 volume features pictures of Jesse Jackson serving as the student body president.
Forty-five additional issues of The AC Phoenix are now available thanks to our partner, N.C. A&T University. These additions, from 1990 to 2006, share more news from North Carolina’s Triad region and beyond for readers. Based in Winston-Salem, The AC Phoenix provides an invaluable resource for Triad African American communities and has been an institution in the region since Rodney Sumler founded the paper in 1983.
These issues feature local, regional, and national content with an undercurrent of local priority. They feature photo spreads from local events, news about local schools, churches, and groups, and share information about the state of the community.
Some issues include special features, or additions in honor of a specific holiday or occasion. For example, the December 2004 issue was published with a special holiday songbook, shown below:
“National Black History Museum Approved,” from the January 2004 issue
Despite The AC Phoenix‘s local emphasis, the paper covers a significant amount of national news as well. When Congress approved the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, The AC Phoenix announced the plans to its readers.
DigitalNC is glad to provide increased access to The AC Phoenix. To view these issues of the paper and more, visit its DigitalNC page here. To learn more about N.C. A&T University, visit their website here or their partner page here. To view The AC Phoenix‘s website, go here.
The AC Phoenix serves the African American communities in and around North Carolina’s Triad region. Based in Winston-Salem, this paper has decades of experience sharing local and national news with its readers. There’s more to come, but this first batch includes issues from 1987 to 1989, and from 2007 to 2015.
Rodney Sumler started The AC Phoenix in 1983, and intended to use it to support African American individuals and businesses in the Triad. The paper bloomed in the following years, becoming a staple in the Triad region.
Most issues include local and national news, emphasizing the local. They include articles about individuals and groups including churches, businesses, schools, and others. Editors encourage their readers to contribute, opening their advertisement space to congratulatory notes and including their version of a “Dear Abby” column. Many include a photo spread at the center of the issue, featuring photos from a recent community event or to fit with a certain theme.
The AC Phoenix has been a great resource for the Triad community for decades, and DigitalNC is proud to increase access to the paper through our website, thanks to our partners at N.C. A&T University. Check out these new issues on DigitalNC here, and visit N.C. A&T here for more information. To view The AC Phoenix’s website, go here.
The Future Outlook, July 14, 1967, page 1
The Future Outlook, a community newspaper from Greensboro, NC, is now available on DigitalNC. Thanks to our partner, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, nearly 25 years of the paper are now online and full-text searchable. The nearly 450 editions range from 1941-1947, 1949, 1952, and 1958-1972.
The Future Outlook served an African American community in Greensboro and documents major events from their perspective. Like community newspapers throughout North Carolina, the paper documented births, deaths, and events of its readership. Economic and business activities received a lot ink over the years, highlighting prominent Black leaders in Guilford County, as well as, members of clubs and professional organizations. Elections and voting related activities are also well documented. Before each election, including smaller city and county elections, the paper published extensive district maps and voting information.
The Future Outlook, June 13, 1942, page 6
Another area that might be of interest for researchers is the paper’s coverage of local educational institutions. Greensboro is home to several historically Black colleges and universities, including North Carolina A&T and Bennett College. Scholars and students at these universities are heavily covered, especially in during the 1960’s. Students on the Dean’s List, scholars who received grants (like the image above), fraternities and sororities, and university conferences cover many front pages and serve as a record of university activities.
Also included in this batch are issues dating from 1941-1947, documenting the entirety of World War II and community reactions to it. Stories, advertisements, and political messages cover the pages during this period. The paper featured stories about locals who were working for the war effort, like Margaret Lanier. Lanier was a secretary in the Press Division of the Office of Facts and Figures. The Future Outlook published the photo on the left of her posing with seven new poster designs to be distributed for Flag Day in June 1942. In addition, there are many of the iconic war advertisements, posters and cartoons, featuring African American men and women.
The Future Outlook, September 12, 1942, page 4
The Future Outlook, September 26, 1942, page 4
To view all of the issues of the Future Outlook, please visit the following link. To view more community newspapers like this one, please visit the North Carolina Newspapers Collection and limit by “Community Papers.” You can also learn more about this partner, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, by visiting the contributor page or visiting the website.
The quote in this post’s title comes from a student who participated in a 1989 protest at UNC-Chapel Hill, pictured below.
One of the most historic student protests in the United States happened on this day in 1960 right here in North Carolina. NC A&T students protested segregation by sitting down at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro. The first images in this post were taken at that event and come from the 1960 Ayantee yearbook. Other images come from schools in all parts of the state, and date from 1960 through 2012.
North Carolina college students have passionately protested a variety of issues and events over the years. Looking back through yearbooks and student newspapers, you’ll find editorials with strong opinions and photographs of students standing up and speaking out in this most public of ways. Today we’re sharing the tradition of protest by students over the years, as reported in their own media.
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College, 1960, Segregation (Woolworth’s Lunch Counter, Greensboro)
North Carolina Central University, 1960, Segregation (Woolworth’s Lunch Counter, Durham)
Livingstone College, 1961-1962, Segregation (Capitol Theater, Salisbury)
Wake Forest University, 1969, Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Saint Augustine’s, 1970, Vietnam War
UNC-Chapel Hill, 1977, B-1 Bomber and Nuclear Armament
UNC-Chapel Hill, 1989, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Mitchell Community College, 1990-1991, Hazardous Waste and Environmental Pollution
UNC-Chapel Hill, 1993, Racism
UNC-Asheville, 2012, Hate Crimes
