The Latest Learn To Read Old Property Surveys With The Latest From Graham Historical Museum! →
Viewing entries tagged "underrepresented"
Remove Filter

Over 150 African American High School Yearbooks from NC Schools, and Counting

Posted on by

underrepresented yearbooks

Recently, the Wayne County Public Library contributed a 1950 yearbook from Goldsboro’s Central High School. We’re always excited to see yearbooks from African American schools digitized and added to the Yearbooks collection; there seem to be fewer of these pre-integration yearbooks in existence and yet they represent such valuable information for those researching family members from that time period. This is one of only three yearbooks on our site to date from Central High School.

Highlights of Central, page 7, 1950

Highlights of Central, page 7, 1950

We now have over 150 African American high school yearbooks contributed by institutions across the state and shared on DigitalNC. The earliest of these is “The Planet,” published in 1915 by West Street Graded School in New Bern, NC and contributed by the New Bern-Craven County Public Library. “The Planet” differs from a yearbook as we might think of it today. We’ve found that schools of the early 20th century often published documents that included pictures of faculty and students, but that these also often served as the school course catalog or even the newspaper.

Class of 1914, West Street Graded School, New Bern, NC

Class of 1914, West Street Graded School, New Bern, NC

The latest African American High School yearbooks on our site come from 1970. “The Panther,” 1970, from Henderson Institute, was the last published by the school before integration.

Henderson Institute Campus Snapshots, 1970

Henderson Institute Campus Snapshots, 1970

We’re always happy to assist cultural heritage institutions who may have yearbooks they’d like to share online. If you have questions about our yearbook digitization project, take a look at our partners page.

Early African American Schools in Winston-Salem

Posted on by

memorabilia photos underrepresented

Forsyth County Public Library recently contributed two collections of materials relating to African-American schools in the Winston-Salem area.

Atkins High School basketball team, 1951-1952. It was the first of the school's three consecutive state championship wins (1951-1952, 1952-1953, and 1953-1954).

Atkins High School basketball team, 1951-1952. It was the first of the school’s three consecutive state championship wins (1951-1952, 1952-1953, and 1953-1954).

These photographs provide a rare view of early African American high schools in Winston-Salem. The first school, Columbia Heights (also known as Columbian Heights) Colored Grade School, began as a three-room building in Winston-Salem around 1905. In 1913 it was enlarged, and in 1917 Columbia Heights Grade and High School became the second high school for Black students in Winston-Salem. In 1922 and again in 1929, the booming school was renovated and expanded. Still it was too small, and in 1931 the high school students moved to the brand-new Atkins High School (so named for the principal of Columbia Heights, Simon Atkins). The Digital Heritage Center has digitized the last two class portraits from Columbia Heights High School before students moved to Atkins High School, as well as photographs from Atkins High School, 1932-1965.

For more African-American school history in Winston-Salem (including more on the historic context of Black education in the South), see the National Register of Historic Places document for Atkins High School.

Memorial Industrial School PosterThe Memorial Industrial School was one of only two Black orphanages in North Carolina.  The Colored Baptist Orphanage Home, as it was known, opened in 1906 to serve homeless children in the Belview area of Winston-Salem, though it moved eight miles north in 1928. It operated until 1971, providing students with academic as well as agricultural and domestic education.

DigitalNC now hosts materials dating from 1926-1964 that document the history of the school and its pupils, including commencement programs and annual reports. Some of the richest information comes from the applications to the Orphan Section of the Duke Endowment. These requests include lists of boards of directors, demographic information of the children living at the orphanage, facility and library information, education, and other information. The school’s campus, situated on 425 acres, was also funded by The Duke Endowment as well as by the local Reynolds and Gray families. Also useful are the floor plans and blueprints of parts of the school, mostly dating from an auction sale.

The Forsyth Historic County Resources Commission has more information on the history of the Memorial Industrial School.

To browse all materials from Forsyth County Public Library, including newly digitized materials from Winston-Salem Women’s clubs, please click here.

The Tribunal Aid Newspaper, New Addition to DigitalNC

Posted on by

newspapers underrepresented

The Tribunal Aid, July 16, 1975

The Tribunal Aid, July 16, 1975

  1. Simply be a newspaper: report, inform, and editorialize
  2. Serve all people
  3. Remain neutral

These are the goals and aspirations of The Tribunal Aid, stated above the masthead in its very first issue. In partnership with the High Point Museum and the paper’s publisher, the entire run of this newspaper, which documented the African American community from 1973-1976, is now available on DigitalNC.

The Tribunal Aid really ranges from the very local to the broad in scope. The paper solicited submissions from High Point and surrounding areas, and is a rich source of local information about events as well as personal milestones (marriages and births, for example). There’s quite a bit of information from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (Livingstone, North Carolina A&T University, and Winston-Salem State University). On a national and state level you’ll find coverage of well-known news items of the 1970s, like the Nixon impeachment, America’s Bicentennial, and North Carolina’s Eugenics Commission.

One of the hallmarks of this paper is its ongoing and rigorous efforts at getting its readership engaged. There are a number of recurring editorials like “The Point Is…” and “To Be Equal,” which argue for free expression as well as active participation in political and community affairs; editorials are shared under the tagline “You’re a part of the solution, or you’re a part of the problem.”  Another regular feature throughout 1975-1976 is “The Better We Know Us…” biographies of local African Americans that appear above the masthead and which helped describe African American citizens having an impact on local life. Some issues of the paper have Pro / Con polls, asking readers to weigh in on topics that are still weighty today, like legalization of marijuana (see right) and capital punishment.

This paper joins a growing collection of items related to the history of High Point, shared by the High Point Museum as well as other institutions in that city. You can view them all here.

Images, a Rare Newspaper, and More now Online from the Round House Museum in Wilson, NC

Posted on by

memorabilia newspapers photos underrepresented

Statue of a Seated Man, Oliver Nestus Freeman

Statue of a Seated Man, Oliver Nestus Freeman

We’ve recently partnered with the Oliver Nestus Freeman Round House Museum to add items from their collection to DigitalNC. We visited the Museum back in June, and learned about Mr. Freeman and the impact he had on Wilson, NC. Freeman, a local builder and stonemason, incorporated found materials into many of the objects and structures he created. A number of these still exist around town. Among them is the Round House, which is now a museum dedicated to local African American history and culture.

A photographer in Wilson Library’s Digital Production Center shot a number of tools and objects from the Museum. We also scanned photographs of Freeman, his family (including one of Freeman’s bears, Topsy), and his creations.

Another interesting item included in this batch was an 1907 recommendation for Freeman based on his work as a stonemason at The Presidio in San Francisco. In it, Freeman is described as “Reliable and a strictly temperate man who [the recommender, J. K. Dalmas] would employ in Preference to nine tenths of the Mechanics who have worked here.”

The Museum holds a photocopy of a rare issue of an African American newspaper from 1897 – The Wilson Blade. Our friends in Wilson Library’s North Carolina Collection helped us try to find out more details about this paper. We believe it was only published for a few years (perhaps 1897-1900), by S. A. Smith. We also believe this was the same S. A. Smith who was elected principal of the Wilson Colored Graded School in 1896 (The Daily Times, Wilson, NC, 1896-05-29). The issue contains items typical of papers from this time period: state, local, and personal news; advertisements; a train schedule. There’s also an article on a meeting of the Freedman’s Aid Society and Southern Education Society.

Special thanks goes to Wilson County Public Library, whose staff helped facilitate getting these items online. You can view all of the items digitized for the Museum on DigitalNC.

146 Johnston County high school yearbooks now online

Posted on by

underrepresented yearbooks

Students at Richard B. Harrison High School on their way to class in 1966.

Students at Richard B. Harrison High School on their way to class in 1966.

Thanks to our new partner, the Johnston County Heritage Center, 146 Johnston County yearbooks from 16 different high schools are now on DigitalNC.  Many of the high schools were closed when Johnston County consolidated and integrated the school system in the 1960s, including three African American schools.

Planning the cover of Smithfield High School's newspaper, 1964

Planning the cover of Smithfield High School’s newspaper, 1964

The high schools include:

1925 Selma High School girls basketball team

1925 Selma High School girls basketball team

To view more high school yearbooks from across North Carolina, visit the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center’s North Carolina Yearbooks collection.

Visiting the Oliver Nestus Freeman Round House Museum in Wilson, NC

Posted on by

news underrepresented

Yesterday the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center staff visited the Oliver Nestus Freeman Round House Museum in Wilson, N.C. The museum celebrates African American history in Wilson County and honors the memory of Oliver Nestus Freeman, a local stonemason and builder who had a fascinating life and career.

Stone dinosaur created by Oliver Nestus Freeman; Round House Museum in the background. Photo by Kristen Merryman.

Stone dinosaur created by Oliver Nestus Freeman; Round House Museum in the background. Photo by Kristen Merryman.

Freeman was a Wilson County native, born in 1882. He attended the Tuskegee Normal School where he gained experience in construction and masonry. He returned to Wilson in the 1910s and worked as a mason for decades. He worked on many projects, incorporating a distinctive style using a variety of stones of different shapes and sizes. Many of his projects are still standing in Wilson today.

In addition to his masonry work, Freeman was also known for the animals he kept at his house. The yard was filled with wild birds, rabbits, a goldfish pond, and several small bears. It became a sort of a tourist attraction with residents and visitors stopping by to give peanuts to the bears.

One of Freeman’s most distinctive buildings was the round house he built in the 1940s to rent to veterans returning from World War II. The house had fallen into disrepair by the 1990s when it was chosen by local citizens to serve as a new African American history museum. The house was moved in 2001 to its current location at the intersection of Nash and Hines streets near downtown Wilson. The museum contains photos and documents commemorating African American pioneers and leaders in Wilson and includes a nice display of photos and artifacts from Freeman’s life.

The museum is open for visitors and is well worth a visit next time you’re in or passing through Wilson. There is more information on the their website.

Learn more about Freeman’s work on the North Carolina Architects & Builders site from the North Carolina State University Libraries.

The Rudolph Jones Scrapbook Collection from Fayetteville State University

Posted on by

memorabilia scrapbooks underrepresented

Rudolph Jones crowns Homecoming Queen Helen Moore, 1965

Rudolph Jones crowns Homecoming Queen Helen Moore, 1965

We’ve just posted 13 scrapbooks that describe the life and career of Dr. Rudolph Jones, North Carolina native, life-long educator, and sixth president of Fayetteville State University. These scrapbooks were published on behalf of our partners at FSU’s Chesnutt Library.

A World War II veteran and graduate of Shaw University, Dr. Jones served as college president from 1956-1969, during which time Fayetteville State Teachers College (FSTC) became Fayetteville State College. Jones had a long and distinguished career as an educator, beginning as a high school teacher, moving on to school principal and college dean before becoming FSTC’s President. During his tenure as president, the College saw increased enrollment and robust campus growth. In 1969, Dr. Jones went on to teach in and chair the Business Department at Elizabeth City State University, where he received the Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award. He retired in 1975.

Poet Langston Hughes and Rudolph Jones, 1960

Poet Langston Hughes and Rudolph Jones, 1960

Spanning 1930-1978, these scrapbooks are full of photos, clippings, and documentation related to Dr. Jones’ career, Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville area high schools and churches, as well as organizations like the North Carolina Teachers Association, now the North Carolina Association of Educators. Dr. Jones also kept greeting cards from birthdays and holidays. In addition to Jones’ career highlights, there are documents relating to segregation at educational institutions during the 1960s, including a position paper from the “five state-supported negro colleges of North Carolina” entitled “Dilemmas in the Higher Education of Negroes: A Challenge to North Carolina.”

The Rudolph Jones Scrapbook Collection can be viewed on DigitalNC. Yearbooks, newspapers and catalogs from Fayetteville State University are also available.

“The Trojan” yearbooks from Charles H. Darden High School now on DigitalNC

Posted on by

underrepresented yearbooks

1969editorialstaff_TheTrojan
1969 Editorial Staff of The Trojan

Ten years of yearbooks from Charles H. Darden High School in Wilson, NC are now available on DigitalNC.  Covering the time period between 1948 and 1969, the yearbooks show life at the African-American high school. The class of 1970 was Darden High School’s last class. In the years following through 1978 it was a 10th grade only school.

The yearbooks are available courtesy of Wilson County Public Library.  To view more yearbooks on DigitalNC, visit our North Carolina Yearbooks collection.

* Details about Darden’s last class and subsequent years corrected July 2023.

Houses for Rent in Hayti

Posted on by

newspapers photos underrepresented

Monday Matchup

Here on our blog, we occasionally feature “matchups” that showcase relationships between different items in our collection. Today’s matchup? An advertisement from The Carolina Times and some photographs from the Durham Urban Renewal Records of the Durham County Library.

Rental Advertisement, The Carolina Times, November 16, 1940The Durham Urban Renewal Records collection on DigitalNC, from the Durham County Library, contains thousands of photographs and appraisal records documenting efforts in the 1960s and 1970s to combat what was seen as “urban blight” in several downtown neighborhoods. Recently, while browsing The Carolina Times, a Durham newspaper, one of our staff members noticed an advertisement for Houses for Rent on page 3 of the November 16, 1940 issue. It turns out several of these properties are pictured among the Records collection.

While we think these photos were taken over 20 years after the advertisement, the property appraisals in the Records collection let us know that the houses were old enough to have been the ones advertised for rent in 1940. The appraisal for 1109 Fayetteville Street even has the note: “House well located to rent.” The advertisement gives us the opportunity to compare the rental prices in 1940 with those in 1962 when the appraisals took place. Here’s a comparison of the rental prices:

Property Weekly Rent, 1940 Weekly Rent, 1962
1109 Fayetteville Street $1.50 $8.00
508 Ramsey Street $3.50  $13.00
211 Umstead Street $3.00 or $3.50  $9.50 to $12.50
711 Willard Street $3.00  $5.00 to $9.00

After the federal Housing Act of 1954, the North Carolina Division of Community Planning set about examining and appraising many urban communities in North Carolina. Although this sort of scrutiny was common through the 70s, there are few areas that acted on perceived “urban blight” as drastically as Durham did. The 1940 advertisement is interesting for what small bit it tells us about the community but also bittersweet as these houses were all demolished when local government chose to repurpose the land occupied by the African American community known as Hayti. You can read more about Hayti on LearnNC. In addition, the Endangered Durham website has some supplemental information on 1109 Fayetteville Street, as well as additional photos of the area in more recent times.

More Issues of The Carolina Times Now Available on DigitalNC

Posted on by

news newspapers underrepresented

The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.), February 6, 1960

Issues of The Carolina Times from 1965 to 1972 are now available in the North Carolina Newspapers collection on DigitalNC. These join issues from 1937 to 1964 that were already accessible on DigitalNC.

The Carolina Times, a weekly paper based in Durham, was edited and published throughout this period by Louis Austin. The paper covered and addressed the African American community in Durham and throughout the state. Austin was a tireless crusader for racial equality and The Carolina Times was a forceful advocate for civil rights. The paper was an important voice for African Americans who were too often either misrepresented or ignored in other media outlets.

These issues were digitized and published at the suggestion of the Durham County Library.

DigitalNC Blog Header Image

About

This blog is maintained by the staff of the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center and features the latest news and highlights from the collections at DigitalNC, an online library of primary sources from organizations across North Carolina.

Social Media Policy

Search the Blog

Tags

10 for 10 12daysofncdhc audio behind the scenes campuspublications directories howto maps memorabilia moving images NCDHC East NCDHC Impact news newspapers onsite oral histories photos primary source set scrapbooks teacher resources underrepresented use yearbooks

Archives

Subscribe

Email subscribers can choose to receive a daily, weekly, or monthly email digest of news and features from the blog.

Newsletter Frequency
RSS Feed