Seeing the World from a Different Perspective

July is Disability Pride Month. This post is contributed by Ellen Welch, Manuscripts and Archives processor. Ellen recently processed a letter, MSS 16844, typed and signed by Helen Keller.

MSS 16844, Letter written by Helen Keller. November 25, 1944.

Helen Keller (1880-1968) was an influential twentieth century author, activist, educator, and humanitarian.  Born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, she lost the ability to see and hear due to an illness that she contracted before she was two years old. Throughout her life, Keller advocated for people with disabilities, labor rights, and women’s suffrage, and co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in 1920.

The letter written by Keller that Special Collections holds is dated November 25, 1944, and contains an appeal for funds for the American Foundation for the Blind, where she worked for twenty years. The letter is intriguing–particularly when you consider that Keller had to develop the skills to type without the ability to see the keys on the typewriter. The bottom of the typed letter also bears Keller’s handwritten signature.

Helen Keller using a typewriter at Radcliffe College, 1900.

My curiosity about how Keller would have been able to type the letter led me to research how that was possible. In 1892, Frank H. Hall, superintendent of the Illinois School for the Blind, invented the Hall Braille Writer. According to Erik Larson in his 2004 book A Devil in the White City, during the 1893 Chicago World Fair Keller approached Hall, hugged, and kissed him, thanking him for his invention. Keller would have been about twelve or thirteen at the time. She was taught to use the Hall Braille Writer by her teacher, Anne Sullivan (1866-1936). Sullivan held Keller’s finger to every key and hand spelled the letter of the alphabet that the braille key represented. This was slow work and required a great deal of memorization. With practice, Keller was able to type. No one typed for her. Through assistive technology, Keller had the ability to type independently.

As seen on MSS 16844, Keller could also write by hand. Her handwriting is legible and consistently upright like the writing in calligraphy. The neat handwriting of someone who could not see what they were writing seemed unusual to me. Upon viewing Keller’s letter, my first thought was that someone else typed it for her and she signed her name at the bottom. As a person without a visual disability, I assumed it would be impossible for a person who is blind to use a typewriter. I was previously unaware of the challenges that a blind person must overcome in typing and writing. Processing this letter allowed me to confront a bias I was unaware of and revealed the challenges a person with disabilities might encounter and overcome.  

I learned that it bears this specific style because of the use of an assistive writing board and a method called square-hand. People with visual disabilities would place a piece of paper on the writing board, which had horizontal grooves on it. The paper would press into the grooves, creating lines that could be felt as a person’s hand moved across the page, keeping their writing straight. As they wrote along the grooves, with their left index finger they would cover the letter they had written with their right hand, preventing the letters from overlapping. They would often use a finger’s width to create spaces between the words they wrote. Writing within the grooves gave letters a square appearance, which is where the term square-hand comes from.

A nineteenth century writing board used at the Perkins School for the Blind. (2)

A letter that Keller wrote when she was nine years old. Notice the tiny wiggle at the beginning of the drops of the letters “y,” “g” and “p,” showing the indent of the writing board. (1)

In the nineteenth century, there were many different tactile reading and writing systems for people with visual disabilities, including Embossed Roman letters, Boston line letter, New York Point, and French, English, and American braille. The origin of braille came about during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) when, in 1815, a French artillery captain named Charles Barbier de la Serre (1767-1841) developed a tactile code using raised dots for soldiers to use to silently communicate in the dark. This system came to be known as night writing. The National Institute for Blind Youth in Paris (est. 1785) adopted night writing to teach their students. In 1824, a fifteen-year-old student at the school named Louis Braille (1809-1852) modified Barbier’s night writing code, making it more legible for people with visual disabilities. Barbier’s code adapted phonetic sounds, whereas Braille’s interpreted letters of the alphabet, included numbers and punctuation, and was more compact and easier to quickly interpret. Braille’s improved method bears his name, braille. By 1916, it was the dominant tactile reading method. At present, there are over one hundred and thirty-three braille codes for different languages.

The title page of a book printed in Boston line letter, published in 1836 by what is now the Perkins School for the Blind. (2)

Sample page from Procedure for Writing Words, Music, and Plainsong in Dots, by Louis Braille, 1829. (2)

While braille has prevailed as the tactile reading method, other methods were also being developed in the nineteenth century. There was inconsistency and controversy among the various schools for the blind between maintaining the use of New York Point or moving to braille. This became known as “The War of the Dots,” which lasted in the United States for nearly eighty years. Caught in the middle of the debate, people with visual disabilities had to learn as many as five or six different tactile reading methods. When they gained literacy in one, it wasn’t unusual for them to discover that the books they wanted access to were exclusively printed in another format. (3) New York Point was often recommended by instructors without visual disabilities because it was more accessible for them. However, by 1854 braille prevailed with the help of educators and advocates with visual disabilities.

Keller was distraught that she had to learn multiple tactile codes to access reading material. In 1909, she advocated for the adoption of braille. By 1932, all English-speaking countries used it because of its improved accessibility. Almost two-hundred years after Braille proposed his method, braille is used worldwide in over one hundred and thirty languages. While people with deaf blindness, like Keller, still rely on methods like braille for access to materials, in the late-twentieth and now into the twenty-first century, people with visual disabilities also have access to audio text, voice-recognition software, artificial intelligence, and other technologies. (3) From writing boards, line types, and braille to assistive developments for the typewriter, audio text and artificial intelligence, technology over the past two-hundred years has increased inclusion, equity, and access for people with disabilities.

Through processing this letter typed and signed by Helen Keller, I have become aware of the many ways that people with disabilities have had to interact with the world around them throughout history. The determination and strength they have shown in developing, learning, and advocating for inclusive technologies is incredible. In a world that often overlooks or takes for granted the challenges they face; it is important to recognize them and their accomplishments. The presence of Keller’s letter in our collection serves as a reminder of her achievements and is an inspiration for us all.

For more information about Helen Keller:

Sources:

  1. Riener, Mimzy, “How Did Helen Keller Navigate her World,” Late Night Writing Advice Blog. https://mimzy-writing-online.tumblr.com/post/683836657798152192/how-did-helen-keller-navigate-her-world.
  2. McGinnity, B.L., Seymour-Ford, J. and Andries, K.J. (2004) Reading and Writing. Perkins History Museum, Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, MA. https://www.perkins.org/archives/historic-curriculum/reading-and-writing/
  3. Letizia, Nelle, “History of tactile print systems explored in new Vancouver exhibit”, Washington State University Library, 29 May 2024. https://news.wsu.edu/news/2024/05/29/history-of-tactile-print-systems-explored-in-new-vancouver-exhibit/

“Theatre for All the People: Meet Ernie McClintock, award-winning theatre director and teacher”

This post is contributed by Ellen Welch, Manuscripts and Archives processor about a recent acquisition: the Ernie McClintock Papers (1937-2003) (MSS 16810). It has been wonderful and transformative to see the world of theatre through the eyes of Ernie McClintock. Curator Krystal Appiah described the acquisition in this way,

“From the moment I saw the collection description, I knew that I wanted to add Ernie McClintock’s papers to the library so that others could learn about his unique contributions to Black theater and acting in Richmond, Harlem, and beyond. I’m also grateful to his family for understanding the importance of these papers by preserving them for so many years and now trusting the Small Special Collections Library to continue that stewardship.”

Special Collections thanks Geno Brantley, Donna Pendarvis, Elizabeth Cizmar, Derome Scott Smith, Mary Hodges, and Iman Shabazz for helping with the identification of photographs, and sharing their stories and love for Ernie McClintock and Ronn Walker. 

Born on the southside of Chicago, Ernie McClintock (1937-2003) was an American director, producer, actor, writer, teacher, theatre artist, and major force behind the scenes of the Black Arts Movement (1965-1975). He taught acting to hundreds of students across the country and directed award-winning plays in Harlem, New York (1966-1989), and Richmond, Virginia (1991-2003). The papers are a rich resource for drama students, researchers, and communities interested in theatre and Black theatre, specifically. The collection represents the works and dreams of a Black and gay theatre director who supported the voices of Black men and women—and multicultural communities—by directing their performances and teaching them acting in local and national theatres. With minimal financial support and years of hard work and determination, McClintock directed over two hundred productions. 

Ernie McClintcok

Actor headshot of Ernie McClintock from (1960-1965)

McClintock’s life was the theatre, and the actors and set/stage workers were like his family. They worked, ate, and sometimes lived together. McClintock received seven AUDELCO (Audience Development Committee) awards and won the Living Legend Award from the National Black Theatre in 1997. He also won the Billy Graham artistic excellence award in 2002—two scripts by Billy Graham about Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis are included in the collection. Too expansive to put in one category, anyone studying Black Theatre Arts will repeatedly come across the exemplary and inclusive work of Ernie McClintock.  

New York

Ernie McClintock met his long-time partner, Ronald “Ronn” Tyrone Walker, (1936?-1999) in Chicago in 1962. Then they moved to New York. Walker, who was born in St. Louis, Missouri, was an artist and theatre set designer. He and Ernie worked as a team on theatre productions. Walker received three AUDELCO Awards for his work with set designs and lighting. He was recognized for creating stunning visual images for the stage. He also painted collages of icons like Magic Johnson, Nelson Mandela, Billie Holiday, Josephine Baker, and others. 

Ronn Walker

Ronald “Ronn” Tyrone Walker

Ernie McClintock and partner Ronn Walker

Caption: Ernie McClintock and long-term partner and artist, set designer, Ronn Walker. They lived and worked together for 38 years.

Ernie attended acting classes on a scholarship at the Gossett Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan, New York, in 1965-1966. Oscar award winner and founder of the academy, Lou Gossett, Jr. was impressed by McClintock’s intuition and asked him to teach acting classes alongside him and acting legend James Earl Jones. After six months of teaching at Gossett’s academy which was attended by white and Black students, McClintock wanted to create a Black theatre school centered on Black self-expression, storytelling, and community healing. McClintock, Walker and their friend, historian and artist Marcus Primus, opened the Afro-American Studio for Acting and Speech in Harlem on March 28, 1966.  

Afro-American Studio for Acting and Speech

Afro-American Studio for Acting and Speech, Harlem, New York

The school was unique in that it was inclusive of gay people, Black women, and Afro-Caribbeans at a time when they were not getting cast in roles in other theatres. In her book, Ernie McClintock and the Jazz Actors Family, Elizabeth Cizmar writes, “McClintock stood as an outlier in the movement”—he was left out of the mainstream of the Black Arts Movement “because he insisted on including a multitude of voices in his theatres.” The movement discriminated against gay people and Black women, particularly dark-skinned women. In addition, McClintock directed plays that made powerful statements about social justice and depicted struggles of African American people. His productions included Dream on Monkey Mountain (Afro-Caribbean people), Equus (masculine gay men), Spell #7 (Black women), A Raisin in the Sun, El Hajj Malik, Lord Do Remember Me, Rainbow on a Moon Shawl, and The River Niger. McClintock’s work was recognized for excellence in Black theater and created more visibility and inclusion for marginalized groups.

Actors who were part of the Afro-American Studio (1966-1972)

Actors in the Afro-American Studio (1966-1972), the 127th Street Repertory Ensemble (1973-1986), and the Jazz Theatre of Harlem (1986)

While in New York, Ernie crossed paths with many famous actors, directors, and playwrights, who had enormous respect for his work. He worked with Tupac Shakur, Ossie Davis, James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Morgan Freeman, Lou Gossett, Jr., Sammy Davis, Jr., Marcus Primus, Woody King, Jr., Ntozake Shange, Amiri Bakara, and many more. Tupac Shakur enrolled in the Afro-American Studio in 1983. 

Ernie and Tupac Shakur

Tupac Shakur and McClintock; Tupac enrolled in the Afro-American Studio in 1983 at the age of twelve.

Tupac was the understudy for Travis Younger in A Raisin in the Sun in 1984 and successfully took over the part when the actor could not continue. Throughout Tupac’s successful career, he kept in touch with Ernie McClintock. Many of the lyrics in his songs focused on healing for the community. Co-actors Hazel Smith, Lee Levy Simon and McClintock were close to him, and the play based on Tupac’s poem, The Rose That Grew Out of Concrete was a homage to Shakur.

Tupac Shakur in the cast of El Hajj Malik

Tupac Shakur in the cast of El Hajj Malik. He was mentored by McClintock.

Sammy Davis, Jr.

Sammy Davis, Jr. (towards back in the center) worked with the Boys Choir of Harlem. McClintock (not pictured) was the stage director.

James Walker

James “Jimmy” Walker, from the 1970’s television show, “Good Times.”

Richmond:

In 1986 Ernie McClintock and his partner Ronn Walker, along with other theatre directors in New York, felt the financial strains of the 1980’s and closed their theatres. In addition, fifty-seven of McClintock’s’ friends and company members were dying from illnesses related to HIV and AIDS.  McClintock and Walker decided to leave New York and, after searching several cities, they settled in Richmond, Virginia. In 1991 McClintock created the Jazz Actors Theatre, where he focused on training young actors.

McClintock also worked for the City of Richmond’s Parks and Recreation to create Black productions at the Dogwood Dell. There were many African Americans living in Richmond, but the city itself was conservative and did not have many Black theatre productions (Cizmar). McClintock was tenacious and fought for three or four productions per year. He also brought the National Black Theatre to Richmond.

Performances included Before It Hits Home, From the Mississippi Delta, Miss Ever’s Boys, and Ndangered. He also directed new plays written by young playwrights and actors like Derome Scott Smith (R.I.O.T), and Jerome Hairston.

Jazz Actors

Jazz Actors Theatre: Top row: Mia Burdie, Cheryl Sullivan, dl Hopkins, Linwood Jones, Ed Broaddus, Jakotora Tjoutuku, Mary Hodges. Bottom row: J. Ron Fleming, Toni McDade-Williams, and Derome Scott Smith. Richmond, Virginia.

Awards:

Audelco Award recipients

Ernie McClintock’s production of Equus won six AUDELCO Awards in 1982. From left to right: Jerome Preston Bates won for best supporting actor, Greg Wallace won for lead actor, McClintock won Dramatic Production of the Year, and Ronn Walker and Geno Brantley won for their lighting design.

Teaching:

McClintock developed his own “Jazz Style Acting Technique,” or “The Commonsense Approach to Acting.” He believed that for actors to play a part, they must know their authentic self and bring that into their acting using their personal life experiences and imagination of the character. Much like a jazz ensemble, the individual characters play a role with improvisations and create a story together. He saw theatre as a temple of healing, particularly for African Americans who were mistreated throughout American history. He created lesson plans and voice exercises that required the actors to understand their identity as a person and an actor.

Breathing

Bolanyle Edwards who portrayed Maxine in Spell #7 said that McClintock’s voice exercises “helped actors get in touch with who they are.” (Cizmar)

Jazz Actors Theatre

Ernie McClintock with actors from the Jazz Actors Theatre, Richmond, Virginia. Ernie McClintock is in the back row, top left.

The McClintock papers contain personal notebooks, scripts, theatre programs, reviews, working files from performances, photographs, and audiocassettes from interviews and productions.

The journals reveal Ernie’s driving passion to create a first-rate theatre and his commitment to teaching African American actors. They contain passionate peptalks that he wrote to inspire himself to keep working toward his goals and daily to-do lists to keep him on track. He also wrote about his loneliness, and his ongoing struggles to find financial support for his life-long dream of sharing Black Theatre as an integral part of society’s culture.

Ernie pep talk

Ernie McClintock pep talk to himself from his diary.

A page from Ernie McClintock's diary

A page from Ernie McClintock’s diary about teaching young actors.

One can still hear Ernie McClintock’s voice on the audiocassette tapes from interviews and performances and follow the lesson plans from the Afro-American Studio for Acting and Speech. Current actors and researchers can benefit from this great teacher and theatre artist who cared as much about the actors as he did about the quality of the performance—and the healing for marginalized communities. His legacy lives on in this collection.

Sources:

Cizmar, Elizabeth M. Ernie McClintock, and the Jazz Actors Family: Reviving the Legacy. New York. Routledge. 2023.

Brantley, Geno. Conversations during his visit to Small Special Collections. October 26, 2023.

Ernie McClintock papers, MSS 16810. Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library.

Analyzing Civil War-Era Correspondence and Portrait Photographs: Lesson Plans for the John L. Nau III Civil War History Collection

This post is by Elizabeth Nosari, Project Processing Archivist at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, who is currently working with the William Faulkner Collection. In her previous role, she served as the Nau Project Archivist for the John L. Nau III Civil War History Collection.

Black and white tintype portrait of two Black soldiers in uniform seated; American flag in background. Tintype portrait is encased in ornate gold frame.

Tintype double portrait of two unknown soldiers, ca. 1861–1865. John L. Nau III Civil War History Collection, MSS 16459, box 166, tray 1, PT0321, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.

Lesson plans for the John L. Nau III Civil War History Collection are now available to view and download directly from the collection’s finding aid, under the “External Documents” heading at the bottom of the page. The two lesson plans—Analyzing Civil War-Era Correspondence and Analyzing Civil War-Era Portrait Photographs—engage students with the two most significant record types in the Nau collection in terms of scope. These two mediums also speak to one of the greatest strengths of Mr. Nau’s collection: the documentation of personal, lived experiences during the United States Civil War, 1861–1865.

Yellow envelope with red stamp on upper left corner. Addressed to Miss Sarah A. Platt, Naugatuck, Conn.

Goodyear, Robert B., February 14, 1863. John L. Nau III Civil War History Collection, MSS 16459, box 43, folder 31, DL0006, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.

The Nau collection letters, found in Series 1 and written by white men as well as white women, connected men away fighting to loved ones and business associates at the home front; letters reflect their role as wartime lifeline and contain exchanges of everyday news about families, friends, and finances. Letters also offer firsthand accounts of camp life, hospital conditions, battlefield experiences, and political views. The portrait photographs in Series 2—in early photograph formats, including daguerreotype, ambrotype, tintype, and carte de visite—visually capture and document their mid-nineteenth-century subjects, including their wartime roles as evidenced in uniforms, insignia, and weaponry. Digital facsimiles pulled from Series 1 and 2 of the collection are an important part of the lesson plans and encompass a selection of letters written by white men and women as well as portraits of soldiers, including white men, Black men, a Native American man, and a white woman.

Tintype portrait of Frederick L. Rainbow, ca. 1861–1865. John L. Nau III Civil War History Collection, MSS 16459, box 157, tray 2, PT0424.0001, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.

The lesson plans engage with letters and photographs from the Nau collection as artifacts of history and material culture that served real and practical functions in the context of war. The reading materials and activities are designed for students to learn about the technologies that made letter writing and portrait photography possible on a mass scale in the mid-nineteenth century as well as their democratizing influences. As both practices increased in popularity over the course of the Civil War, literacy rates rose and a new, larger swath of American society was able to read and write. Portrait photography, which proliferated in part due to its convenience and affordability, allowed Americans across the social strata of the country to participate in portraiture for the first time. Mid-nineteenth century people could readily and self-consciously construct, capture, and memorialize their identities. They could also share their likenesses with friends and loved ones and mail these mementos back to the home front.

The Nau collection lesson plans invite students to read about Civil War-era letter writing and photographic portrait making, look at and analyze real-world examples, and create their own letters and portraits. Designed for grades 9 and up as well as grades K–8, they allow instructors to pick and choose which materials and activities best suit their students’ learning objectives.

Access the lesson plans and explore the John L. Nau III Civil War History Collection here.

We’re Hiring! Informational Webinar for Open Positions

We're hiring! graphicJoin us for a virtual information session on Monday, December 4, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. to share details of three open positions in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library: Exhibitions Coordinator, Reference and Instruction Librarian/Archivist, and Digital Archivist.

Register for full details—or, to receive a recording of the webinar if you can’t join at the scheduled time: https://virginia.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4E-mssAKRj2pY0Ij0zSyZw

Exhibitions Coordinator
Status: Apply online in Workday; application review began December 6, 2023
Reporting to the Curator of Exhibitions, the Exhibitions Coordinator will assist in the planning, production, promotion, and management of physical and online exhibitions. This role also supports the Library’s Registrar functions to track, document, and prepare materials requested for loan by internal and external organizations, and is a key member of the Small Special Collections Library’s outreach effort, assisting in programming, events, tours, social media, and other activities that promote exhibitions and the accessibility of our collections.

Digital Archivist
Status: Apply online in Workday 
Reporting to the Head of Technical Services, the Digital Archivist facilitates acquisition, processing, discoverability, and access for the rare and unique holdings of Small Special Collections. This position will primarily be responsible for processing digital archival materials, utilizing ArchivesSpace to create finding aids and digital objects for online publication to full national standards. Primary duties will also include leading and managing the Special Collections web archiving program.

Reference & Instruction Librarian/Archivist
Status: Apply online in Workday; application review began January 8, 2024
The Reference and Instruction Librarian/Archivist will join the reference team in Special Collections and will report to the Head of Operations. This position will be responsible for providing excellent research support for students, faculty, scholars, and community members in addition to providing instruction support for students. Duties include managing reference desk, responding to remote reference requests, and reading and interpreting library catalog records and finding aids.

About the Small Special Collections Library:

Staff in the Small Special Collections Library steward an extraordinary collection documenting American history, particularly early American; American and English literature; bibliography, book history, and book arts; African American studies; the built environment; history of the state of Virginia and the University of Virginia; and material culture. As significant as our collections are, we recognize that there are silences and gaps in the documentary record.  The ideal candidates for these positions are intellectually curious and eager to learn the stories revealed in our collections, to build upon them, and to share them widely.

Thank you for your interest in our job openings!

If You Did It, Show It: A Confessory Manuscript for Deaf People

This post, by Ellen Welch, Manuscript and Archives Processor, is about the recent acquisition: Illustrated Manuscript Confessory for Deaf People (MSS 16803).

a single leather-bound illustrated manuscript for Deaf persons to confess their sins. They could identify their sins by the illustrations and ask to be absolved. Called a Confessory, it was made in Flanders or the Netherlands roughly between 1770 and 1790.

A single leather-bound illustrated manuscript for Deaf persons to confess their sins. They could identify their sins by the illustrations and ask to be absolved. Called a Confessory, it was made in Flanders or the Netherlands roughly between 1770 and 1790.

This leather-bound manuscript serves as a confessional aid, containing illustrations depicting a variety of sins from which a Deaf individual could show a picture of their sin to the priest and ask for absolution. The simple drawings depict sins such as being distracted in or late for church, missing confession, gluttony, gossip, theft, gambling, drunkenness, fighting, wishing another person dead, and lust, or “inappropriate libido”! This illustrated confessory was made in either Flanders or the Netherlands, between 1770 and 1790, and was probably created at a school for Deaf people.

Throughout history, societies have misunderstood and mistreated Deaf people because they could not communicate in the same way others could. As long ago as antiquity, influential figures like the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC) falsely believed that Deaf people were incapable of reason (1). Legal tradition across Europe barred Deaf people from inheriting property, purchasing land, and getting married.  Within Christian communities, Deaf people were often excluded because it was wrongly believed that they were not able to receive the word of God and the sacraments, especially confession, which would absolve them of their sins. In the Bible, Paul reveals in Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.” (New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Romans, Chapter 10, Verse 17). This type of message alienated Deaf people from collective worship and their religious community and insinuated that without the ability to hear or speak, they could not receive salvation in this life or the next (2).

Illustrated Confessory Manuscript: A Way to Confession and Absolution

The manuscript is composed of ninety-two leaves, with ten leaves left blank (possibly to leave room for sins yet to be illustrated). It contains two sets of drawings composed by different hands: the first set illustrated in black and white featuring a man and Latin captions, and the second in color picturing women with captions in Dutch.

The first set includes thirty-six drawings of sins with a man as the subject, completed in pen and ink with pale washes of black and gray.

Graphite sketch of figure reclining but reaching for a pitcher and cup.

Illustration of a man drinking with the Latin caption “Ebrius” meaning drunk.

Sketch of two figures sitting at a table playing cards.

Illustration of the sin gambling. The Latin word for game is “Ludiem.”

Sketch of two figures sitting and holding hands.

The illustration for too much libido or lust. “Lubido” in Latin.

The second series includes forty-six drawings of similar sins with women as the subjects, done in iron-gall ink and colored with gouache and watercolor.

Sketch of two figures sitting at table playing cards.

Illustration of women playing cards and possibly gambling.

Illustration of three people sitting at table, eating.

Illustration of the sin gluttony.

Illustration of two groups of figures, one talking to the other; the other two pointing at the first group.

Illustration of the sin of gossiping.

 

Priests and Deaf Educators

In 1519, Protestant reformer Martin Luther (1483–1546) addressed the theological question of how Deaf people could hear God by turning to the teachings of Saint Jerome (347–420 BC), the patron saint of translators and librarians. Saint Jerome recognized Deaf people as God’s children. He said, “…to the word of God nothing is ‘deaf’ if only the inward ‘ears’ are willing to hear.” The answer for Jerome (and later, Martin Luther) lay in the figurative ears of the soul: “Whosoever has these,” Jerome wrote, “will not need physical ears to apprehend the Gospel of Christ.” In one of his sermons on Galatians, Martin Luther expanded upon Jerome’s reasoning: “…the word of God is not heard even among adults and those who hear, unless the Spirit promotes growth inwardly.” (2)

In the 1670s, the French Franciscan friar Christophe Leutbrewer created a confessory manual that featured definitions of sins that were printed on pre-cut paper. This allowed Christians who were Deaf to pull the slips up individually so that they extended over the paper margin, thereby serving as topical reminders for reflection and confession, which could be tucked under the margin again after the confession (3) (4)

Christophe Leutbrewer’s confessory book, with sins defined and printed on pre-cut paper, Leutbrewer, Christophe, “BRB1072,” https://bridwell.omeka.net/items/show/1693.

Hand Gestures and Sign Language (vs. Oralism)

French abbot Charles-Michel de L’Épée (1712-–1789), was the founder of the first free public school for deaf children in the world, the National Institute for Deaf Children of Paris (5). In 1755, he demonstrated that Deaf people could communicate among themselves and with the hearing world through a system of conventional gestures, hand signs, and finger spelling, much like modern French Sign Language. Following  L’Épée’s work, there were other educators and theologians, including Roch Ambroise Cucurron Sicard, principal of  L’Épée’s school after his death (6), Roch Ambrose Auguste Bébian, who was fluent in sign language (7), Laurent Clerc, a French man who was the first Deaf teacher of Deaf students and taught in America (8), Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, who started the first Deaf school in America (9), and Jean Massieu, a Deaf person who taught Deaf children and formalized French Sign language (10). These educators fought for Deaf people to have their own language of hand signs and were opposed to the teaching method of Oralism, which banned sign language and tried to force Deaf people to conform by making them use lipreading or oral speech. Oralism was an oppressive method, as it infringed on deaf peoples’ ability to use their own language—sign language. Instead of bringing hearing and non-hearing people together, Oralism hindered Deaf people and stripped them of their identity, culture, and community (11).

In 1817, Roch Ambrose Auguste Bébian (1789–1839), the author of an important book of sign language titled Mimographie, wrote, “We do not speak, it is true; but still do you think us unable to express ourselves as well with our eyes, our hands, our smiles, our lips? Our most beautiful discourse is at the tips of our fingers, and our language is rich in secret beauties that you who speak will never know. And have we not our own art of Phoenicia to paint the words that speak into our eyes?” Bébian points out that Deaf people and their use of sign language are resilient. They can see the world more visually and have a sharper focus on communication and listening which gives them a unique and valuable perspective.

In 1850, French author and political activist Victor Hugo (1882–1885) wrote to his close friend, Deaf educator Ferdinand Berthier, who was a student of Bébian and a recipient of the French Legion of Honor for his activism of Deaf peoples’ linguistic rights. Hugo wrote, “You, Sir, who have the rare talent of being at once [Deaf] and eloquent, please tell your friends . . . that in my eyes the accession of the [Deaf] to civic and intellectual life must be counted among the most magnificent and decisive accomplishments in the history of the progress of humanity.” Hugo added, “What matters deafness of the ear, when the mind hears? The only deafness, the true deafness, the incurable deafness, is that of the mind.” Hugo’s message embraces the concept that Deaf people and those with hearing loss can see the world more visually, and have a sharper focus on communication and listening. They can thrive in a hearing-centric world by using other means of communication, embracing new ideas, and accepting different approaches, which can lead to more inclusive engagement with the world (12).

Honor and Awareness of Deaf persons and their Culture

Today, Deaf culture is a vibrant and diverse community that spans the globe. Deaf people have their own unique language, customs, and traditions and are proud of their identity and heritage. From Deaf artists and musicians to Deaf athletes and entrepreneurs, people who are Deaf continue to make important contributions to society and to shape the world around them (13).

Despite these gains, however, there is still much work to be done to fully recognize and honor the contributions of the Deaf community (13). Collections like this manuscript mark a beginning in sharing more materials that include Deaf people. Similar to this acquisition is a manuscript titled Emblems on Christian Doctrine for use by Deaf People (MSS 16804)  [Emblemi sulla Dottrina Cristiana ad uso de’ Sordo-Muti  Ottavio Giovanni Battista Assarotti (1753–1829), which is another recent addition that represents the identity of Deaf persons in our collections and community.

Deaf Awareness Month, which is celebrated in September, provides an important opportunity to learn more about the history, culture, and achievements of the Deaf community. The Community Services for the Deaf (CSD) website states, “Deaf history is a testament to the strength and resilience of the human spirit. Despite centuries of discrimination and marginalization, Deaf people have persevered and created a culture that is vibrant, unique, and enduring. By celebrating Deaf history and culture, we can honor the contributions of Deaf people and promote a more inclusive and compassionate world for all” (13).

Ways to support Deaf Awareness

  • Watch Deaf films and documentaries, such as 2021 film CODA by Sean Hader, 2009 film See What I’m Saying by Kaycee Choi, and 2023 film The Hammer about wrestler Matt Hammil
  • Read books by Deaf authors or that accurately depict Deaf character
  • Support Deaf-owned businesses in your area
  • Learn Sign Languages
  • Donate to organizations that advocate for the deaf community
  • Advocate for improved accessibility, education, and workplace protections for deaf people
  • Listen to and share the stories of Deaf creators

Sources:

  1. Gannon, Jack, R. “Deaf Heritage: A Narrative History of Deaf America.” Gallaudet Classics in Deaf Studies Series, Volume 7, June 30, 2012
  2. Oates, Rosamund. “Speaking in Hands: Early Modern Preaching and Signed Languages for the Deaf.” Past and Present. Oxford Academic. Volume 256, Issue 1, August 2022, Pages 49–85 Accessed 7/24/23
  3. Smyth, Adam. “Slicing the Page: Christophe Leutbrewer and Raymond Queneau” Text! April 22, 2022.
  4. Leutbrewer, Christoph.  “BRB1072,” Bridwell Library Special Collections Exhibitions, Southern Methodist University. accessed September 19, 2023,
  5. “Charles-Michel de l’Épée.” Wikipedia. Accessed 9/19/23
  6. “Roch Ambrose Cucurron Sicard.” Wikipedia. Accessed 9/19/23
  7. “Roch-Ambroise Auguste Bébian.” Wikipedia. Accessed 9/19/23
  8. “Louis Laurent Marie Clerc.” Wikipedia. Accessed 9/19/23
  9. “Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet” Wikipedia. Accessed 9/19/23
  10. “Jean Massieu.” Wikipedia. Accessed 9/19/23
  11. “Oralism.” Wikipedia. Accessed 9/19/23
  12. The Mind Hears Mission Statement, a blog by and for deaf and hard of hearing academics. The Mind Hears website. Accessed 9/19/23
  13. Community Services for the Deaf (CSD) website. “Exploring the Rich Heritage of Deaf People.” Accessed 7/24/23

Call for Artists: As Big as We Make It! Contemporary Artists in Conversation with the Harlem Renaissance

Logo for Call for ArtistsThe Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia is excited to announce a call for artists to submit proposals for large-scale artwork to be created in conversation with poems highlighted in a forthcoming exhibition, Their World As Big As They Made It: Looking Back at the Harlem Renaissance. This exhibition celebrates the centennial of the Harlem Renaissance and the collection strengths of the Small Special Collections Library—which chronicles the inspiring work and lives of several prominent Harlem Renaissance literary creatives—through contemporary visual art that will be featured in our central exhibition space on Grounds. Selected art will be prominently featured in the exhibition gallery from September 13, 2023 to June 22, 2024.

The prompt for this proposal revolves around the selection of one poem from the following list:

Artists should articulate a brief, broad vision (approximately 150-200 words) for a work that would explore, connect to, or respond to their poem of choice. The final commissioned work should be an original work of visual art (such as a painting, drawing, photograph, sculpture, or film/video) created specifically for this project. Ideal dimensions for visual art are between 24”x30” and 70”x90”.

Submissions should also include a brief artist biography and a link to a portfolio (e.g. artist website, etc). There is no application fee to submit proposals for this project. Financial support for framing and printing works, if needed, will be available for the selected proposals.

Submit your proposal here: https://at.virginia.edu/Form-AsBig

Timeline

  • The deadline to submit a proposal is July 12, 2023.
  • Proposals will be reviewed by a jury organized by New City Arts Initiative, and five artists will be selected to receive a $2,000 award and notified by July 19, 2023.
  • Final commissioned pieces will be due August 31, 2023.
  • The artworks will be featured in the main exhibition gallery of the Small Special Collections Library from September 13, 2023 to June 22, 2024.

Specifications

  • The artist should be located in central Virginia and currently living and/or working in Charlottesville or one of the following counties: Albemarle, Nelson, Greene, Fluvanna, Louisa, Orange, Madison, or Culpeper.
  • University of Virginia students, staff, faculty, and alumni located anywhere are welcome to apply.
  • Artists at any stage of their careers (including students, amateurs, and professionals) are welcome to submit a proposal for this project.
  • Individuals whose lived experiences are reflected in the poems by Black Harlem Renaissance creatives to be highlighted in this exhibition are especially encouraged to submit proposals.

Our Selection Committee:

Tamika L. Carey is an award-winning interdisciplinary scholar and teacher. Through her research on rhetoric, literacy, and writing, she examines methods and uncovers assumptions about emotional wellness, social belonging, and activism within Black communities. She is the author of Rhetorical Healing: The Reeducation of Contemporary Black Womanhood (SUNY 2016), a suite of scholarly essays on Black women’s activism and media, and an inspirational memoir about her life. She is currently an Associate Professor of English and a Faculty Affiliate in the Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at the University of Virginia.

 

Head shot of MaKshyaTolbertMaKshya Tolbert is a poet, cook, and artist who just found her way back to Virginia. Her poems and essays have been published in Interim, Narrative Magazine, Emergence Magazine, Tupelo Quarterly, Art Papers, The Night Heron Barks, Ran Off with the Star Bassoon, For the Culture, Earth in Color, Odd Apples, Queer Poem-a-Day, RHINO Poetry, and Earth in Color. MaKshya is currently based on unceded Monacan and Manahoac land in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she is a third-year MFA student at the University of Virginia. MaKshya serves on the Charlottesville Tree Commission and is a 2022-23 Lead to Life Curatorial Fellow. In her free time, she is elsewhere— what Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. calls ‘that physical or metaphorical place that affords the space to breathe.’

Maurice Wallace is a professor of English at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. He is co-editor with Shawn Michelle Smith of Pictures and Progress: Early Photography and the Making of African American Identity and, most recently, author of King’s Vibrato: Blackness, Modernism and the Sonic Life of Martin Luther King Jr.

 


Logo for UVA Arts Council

We are grateful to the Arts Council at the University of Virginia for a grant in support of
As Big As We Make It! Contemporary Artists in Conversation with the Harlem Renaissance.”

 

 

 

Dakota Goes Digital: Dakota Linguistics Live on from Oral Tradition to App

Simple side-sewn binding with title, "Dakota language Roman Catholic Catechism / Circa 1920"

A newly acquired Roman Catholic catechism in Dakota preserves the Dakota language (MSS 16778)

Logo for the app

A new online dictionary teaches the next generation to speak Dakota.

This post is by Ellen Welch, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Manuscript and Archives processor, about a recent acquisition of a Roman Catholic Catechism (MSS 16778), translated in the Dakota language around 1920. It is not known who translated this document, but earlier Christian documents like this one were often translated by missionaries attempting to use the Dakota language to convert Indigenous people to Christianity. They soon learned that the Dakota beliefs would not translate easily to English and Christianity. Instead, these translations have helped to preserve the Dakota language.

The Dakota peoples tribal/rightful lands cover area from present day Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and parts of Canada. They form the Oceti Ŝakowiŋ, the Seven Council Fires which are divisions of the Sioux. Unfortunately, most missionaries and Christian Indigenous residential schools forbade the Dakota people from speaking their language, to the extent of trying to erase their culture and almost making the Dakota language extinct. These translations give us an opportunity to explore the Dakota language and celebrate the culture of the Dakota people.

In addition to these documents, there is now a digital app “Dakhód Iápi Wičhóie Wówapi” from researchers at the University of Minnesota that teaches the Dakota language to online users, particularly the next generation. It is ironic that the missionaries translated the oral Dakota language for the purpose of promoting Christianity—but in the end, it is the beauty of the Dakota language that survives in this archival object. Today, having these historic documents written in the Dakota language—and modern-day online tools to read and speak the Dakota language—gives new life to an important Indigenous community and promotes acceptance and respect for diverse cultures.

Catechism open to page 19 to show example text

Translations of Christian documents into the Dakota language were used to convert people to Christianity. Today they keep the Dakota language alive.

Early missionaries, interpreters, and linguists lived with the Dakota people and studied their oral language (1). In 1834, they began recording and deciphering the Dakota words phonetically and created an alphabet (2). After printing the Holy Bible in Dakota, called Dakota Wowapi Wakan, they produced several reading books, a catechism, a monthly Dakota newspaper, the Book of Genesis, the Gospel of Mark, and by 1865, the New Testament. Their Christian work included studying the Dakota language to identify the meanings of God, religion, and power. The linguists found that these words might seem to have the same meaning on a superficial level, but on closer study, it became clear that the meanings of these words in Dakota were more complex and had different meanings (1).

The Dakota alphabet

Harvard postdoctoral College Fellow Gili L. Kliger agrees that the missionaries encountered a range of Indigenous concepts that resisted translation into English. She writes, “It was not just that Wakantanka [great spirit] did not mean “God,” but that the translations exposed the limits of the English language. Wakan has a general meaning of “holy” or “spirit” with no straightforward equivalent in English.” (3) Stephen Riggs, a nineteenth century Christian missionary, also wrote, “The words for “salvation” and “life,” and even “death” and “sin,” did not mean what they did in English.” (4)

Missionaries forced Christianity on Indigenous people while the American government silenced their language, and removed their culture, land, and homes. Yet they were the people whose religions showed respect for other life forms. “Respect and humility are the building blocks of Indigenous lifeways, since they not only lead to minimal exploitation of other living creatures but also preclude the arrogance of aggressive missionary activity and secular imperialism, as well as the arrogance of patriarchy” (5).

Americans have learned so much from Indigenous people. Their languages are sophisticated, and they have deeply spiritual cultures. They have influenced many aspects of American life through agriculture, a federal system of government, over 2,000 words of their language, women’s rights and matriarchal power structures, bravery, and heroic prowess, to name a few. The framework of government in the Iroquois Confederacy is said to have inspired Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and other founders as they wrote the United States Constitution (6).

Moving forward to present day influences, Joe Bendickson, named Šišókadúta (meaning robin red), is a linguistics director (and “keeper of language”) at the University of Minnesota and is teaching Dakota to the students. He agrees that English is unable to fully express meanings of certain Dakota words, especially words describing the spiritual plane. For example, “Wakháŋ Tháŋka’ means something inexplicable and mysterious, and it refers to spiritual concepts such as God.” (7) Šišókadúta grew up without the Dakota language and culture because in the 1950’s, Christian Indigenous residential schools punished and shamed people for speaking it. Three of his grandparents spoke the language fluently. Šišókadúta has been heartened to see more Dakota students interested in learning the language.

Joe Bendickson, named Šišókadúta, is a linguistics director (and “keeper of language”) at the University of Minnesota.

In 2017, Šišókadúta—with help from the nonprofit Dakhóta Iápi Okhódakičhiye (Dakota language for the home, community, and classroom), the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, and The Language Conservancy—has created the first comprehensive Dakota-language dictionary app. The free app, Dakhód Iápi Wičhóie Wówapi, is meant to bridge the gap between the handful of Dakota speakers left (80- and 90-year-olds) and the younger generation. Wil Meya, of The Language Conservancy said, “We sometimes hear young people say the apps are like having grandma or grandpa in their pocket. And often it is their grandma or grandpa on the app, providing the voice.”

Šišókadúta adds, “The dictionary app itself is just a tool for learning the language, but it’s part of a larger effort to revitalize the language and even create future generations of first language speakers.” (8)

Advertisement for the app

Digital app for the Dakota language

Ava Hartwell, named Oglala Lakota, is one of Šišókadúta’s students. The sixteen-year-old says, “Learning the Dakota language comes with learning the Dakota mindset and ways of our people.” It’s much easier than using the outdated dictionaries that already exist. The last substantive dictionary was published by missionaries in 1852. For Šišókadúta, “it was to learn this language and help bring it back. Revitalize it, grow it. It’s a way to reverse history.” The Dakota language and culture is expressed beautifully. For example, the word trust is wowinape, which means “put one’s hand in another.” The worldview of the Dakota language can be expressed in “mitákuye owás’iŋ,” which means “all are related.” (7) Dakota means “ally” or “friend.” Today, Dakota, which started out as an oral language, goes digital for future generations.

For the atrocities committed by the United States Government against Indigenous people and inspired by the government’s decision to build a pipeline through their land in 2016, veterans came together at Standing Rock Reservation, to ask forgiveness from the Sioux. In gratitude for their language and the positive influences on American culture, organizer Wesley Clark Jr. and other veterans apologized to Leonard Crow Dog and other Sioux leaders:

“We came. We fought you. We took your land. We signed treaties that we broke. We stole minerals from your sacred hills. We blasted the faces of our presidents on your sacred mountain. And then we took still more land. And then we took your children. And then we tried to take your language. We tried to eliminate your language that God gave you and the Creator gave you. We didn’t respect you. We polluted your earth. We’ve hurt you in so many ways. And we have come to say that we are sorry. We are at your service, and we beg for your forgiveness.” (9)

As Amy Gantt, Assistant Professor of Art and Native Studies, at Southeastern Oklahoma State University writes, “Revitalizing the languages is a step toward healing the historical trauma and ensuring survival as a people.” (10) James Mackenzie, University of Arizona Department of Teaching, Learning & Sociocultural Studies, adds, “By having connection to their Indigenous languages, people better understand who they are, which can promote better health. This only affirms an understanding long shared by our elders and ceremonial practitioners: language is medicine. In this sense our languages can literally heal us.” (11)

Sources:

1. Missionaries and linguists mentioned are Gideon Pond (1810-1878) (Matohota-grizzly bear), his brother, Samuel Pond (1808-1891), (Wanmdiduta-the red eagle), Dr. Thomas S. Williamson (1800-1879), Stephen Return Riggs (1812-1883), Joseph Renville (1779-1846-a son of a Dakota woman), and Samuel Dutton Himnan (1839-1890). The Manga Writer. Dakota Love. “The History of the Dakota Bible (Dakota Wowapi Wakan).” The ForwardsBackwards Blog. June 26, 2019. 

2. Riggs, Stephen. “The Minnesota Constitution in the Language of the Dakota.” Translated by Steven Riggs. (1858)

3. Kliger, Gili. “Translating God on the Borders of Sovereignty.American Historical Review. Volume 127. Issue 3. September 2022.

4. Riggs, Steven, R. “Mary and I: Forty Years with the Sioux.” Chicago. W. G. Holmes. March 1889.

5. Forbes, Jack, D. “Indigenous Americans: Spirituality and Ecos.” Daedulus. Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Fall 2001.

6. Cavallari, Dan. “How Has American Culture Been Influenced by Native American Culture?” United States Now. April 23, 2023.

7. Forgrave, Reid. “Joe Bendickson Šišókadúta.” Star Tribune February 25, 2023.

8. “New Dakota Language App Helps Bridge GapMinnesota Reformer. March 12, 2023.

9. Veterans Ask for Forgiveness at Standing Rock

10. Gantt, Amy M. “Native Language Revitalization: Keeping the
Languages Alive and Thriving” Southeastern Oklahoma State University

11. Mackenzie, James. “Addressing Historical Trauma and Healing in Indigenous Language Cultivation and Revitalization.” Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 1–7. doi:10.1017/S0267190521000167 Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2022.

Anne Spencer’s Creative Spark

This post is contributed by Carlyn Ferrari, a William A. Elwood fellow in Civil Rights and African American Studies at the University of Virginia. She is an Assistant Professor of English at Seattle University and holds a PhD in Afro-American Studies. She specializes in twentieth-century African American literature and culture with a particular interest in Black women’s literary studies. In her research, she is interested in how Black women theorize the natural world and explores the relationship between Black feminist thought and literary ecocriticism. Her recent monograph about poet and civil rights activist Anne Spencer is entitled Do Not Separate Her from Her Garden and was published by the University of Virginia Press. After studying the Anne Spencer collection which is housed at the Small Special Collections Library, Ferrari writes about how she discovered more about the internal life of Anne Spencer, and her close association with the natural world.

I thought I knew who Anne Spencer (1882-1975) was before I visited the Papers of Anne Spencer and the Spencer Family. I knew she kept a literary salon during the New Negro Renaissance, and I wanted to write a cultural history about it. Like her fellow salon-keepers Georgia Douglas Johnson and A’Lelia Walker in Washington D.C. and Harlem, New York, respectively, Spencer’s salon-keeping is a form of Black women’s unrecognized, “invisible” labor, and I wanted to highlight this work. I approached her archival materials with a specific set of questions in mind: Who attended this salon? What took place during these gatherings? How often did people meet? What did people talk about?

I expected to find the answers to my questions, and I had tunnel vision.

Once I started working with Spencer’s papers, everything I thought I knew, I quickly had to abandon. I did not find details about the innerworkings of her salon. (Although, thank-you letters from grateful houseguests confirmed that Spencer regularly entertained.) What I encountered were what I initially described as “scribblings”— drafted letters, notes, and poems written on scraps of paper and other surfaces, most of which were undated.

Handwritten letter in a white shoebox.

Spencer was quite innovative and found “homes” for her writings in the unlikeliest of spaces. This shoebox top is one of many examples of her creativity. (Personal photo taken at The Anne Spencer House & Garden Museum.)

And, initially, I was disappointed that I did not find what I was looking for.

I called my mother after a particularly frustrating day. OK, but what is there? She asked. Focus on that instead.

When I began to focus on what was present in her archival materials, I was immediately reminded of the questions that Alice Walker poses in In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens: “What did it mean for a Black woman to be an artist in our grandmothers’ time? In our great-grandmothers’ day?”[i]

I came to understand that what I initially dismissed as meaningless “scribblings” were a part of Spencer’s artistry. Her writing on ephemera and other objects is her deliberate world-making, and I overlooked its significance. Afterall, she was a Black woman living in the Jim Crow South only one generation removed from slavery. Her unconventional writing practice is part of how she maintained what Alice Walker calls a “creative spark.”[ii] She wrote for herself, and publication was not the goal, which is understandable because critics often criticized her poetry for being raceless and apolitical because she often wrote about the natural world. But she did not change.

Snippet of handwritten letter from Anne Spencer to James Weldon Johnson

In this drafted letter to her friend, James Weldon Johnson, Spencer acknowledges her unique writing process, noting she has “‘leventy leven bits stuck in as many different places.” (Anne Spencer to James Weldon Johnson, October 20, 1921, on the back of a Johnson letter dated September 24, box 4, folder 7, Papers of Anne Spencer and the Spencer Family, 1829, 1864–2007, #14204, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville.)

In retrospect, I realize that I was treating Spencer’s archival materials like a phonebook directory: I expected to simply look up the information that I wanted and move on. But I am glad that they didn’t give me what I wanted because I learned more about Spencer than I anticipated, and I confronted the limitations of my narrow thinking. More importantly, I am glad that Spencer didn’t change and instead cultivated her artistry—her “creative spark”—in her own way.

[i] Alice Walker, In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens, 233.

[ii] Walker, 240. Walker describes Black women’s creative spark as, “the seed of the flower they themselves never hoped to see: or like the sealed letter they could not plainly read.”

Cited Works

Walker, Alice. In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens. Orlando: Harcourt, 1983.

 

 

Carr Family on River View Farm 1870-1978: African American History at Ivy Creek Natural Area

Link

Welcome to another story about one of the many interesting collections in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia. I am Ellen Welch, an Archives processor and an Albemarle County local who enjoys sharing knowledge about historical collections, particularly those from Charlottesville and Albemarle County. This is a post about Hugh Carr (1843-1914) and his family who were African American owners of the land where Ivy Creek Natural Area in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia sits today. Part of my work is responding to suggestions for improvements in describing our collections. My colleague, Katrina Spencer, Librarian for African American and African Studies, recently sent me a request to add more description to the Ivy Creek Natural Area collections MSS 10770,  and MSS 10176.The description was so minimal that the African American history of the Carr family was invisible to anyone searching our collections. With the suggestion from Katrina, I was able to bring the Carr family history into the description so that patrons can know more about this important family in Albemarle County during the nineteenth century.

Hugh Carr (1843-1914) Hugh Carr and Ivy Creek Natural Area papers MSS 10770-a Box 1, Folder 11

The Ivy Creek Natural Area—which is well known for its beautiful views of the Blue Ridge mountains, and its numerous hiking trails, and nature programs—was created in 1978 from the sale of the Carr land. Hugh Carr, born into enslavement, purchased the River View Farm after emancipation in 1870. He doubled the acreage of the farm and built a farmhouse where he raised his family through four generations. The local government, the Nature Conservancy, and the Ivy Creek Foundation preserved this property, making it a National Historic Landmark, and recovered a treasure of local history that memorializes the lives of the Carr family. As a longtime local resident, I had known about the Ivy Creek Natural Area but had no knowledge of Hugh Carr. Similarly, the description in the collection title made no mention of Hugh Carr or River View Farm. This is what makes reparative work so essential in libraries and historical repositories. It is exciting to shine a light on their remarkable lives, making them well known to our patrons today and in the future.

The collections, Papers of the Ivy Creek Foundation and its history of Hugh Carr’s River View Farm, MSS 10770-a , MSS 10176 introduce Hugh Carr (1843-1914), an African American born in enslavement, who bought a 58-acre tract of land for $100, which became River View Farm (Martin Tract from John Shackelford) in Albemarle County in 1870 after emancipation. Hugh Carr continued to purchase land for the farm, and, by 1890, it was over 200 acres, making Carr among the largest African American landowners in Albemarle County. (Brickhouse)

Aerial view of Hugh Carr’s “River View Farm.” Hugh Carr and Ivy Creek Natural Area papers MSS 10770-a Box 1, Folder 11

Receipt for Hugh Carr’s purchase of the land for his farm. Hugh Carr and Ivy Creek Natural Area papers, MSS 10176-a Box 1, Folder 1

The Carr family and their descendants were excellent farmers, modeling the best agricultural practices for other farmers. According to Hugh Carr’s grandson, Dr. Benjamin Whitten, the farm had “horses, milk, and beef cattle, a flock of sheep, pigs, chickens, and crops.  They also worked other jobs, while farming their land, waking at 3 a.m. to begin their work every day. (Brickhouse)

Barn at River View Farm, which can still be visited today at Ivy Creek Natural Area, which is located 6 miles from the City of Charlottesville going west on Hydraulic Road toward the South Rivanna Reservoir, off a left turn before the Reservoir bridge. Hugh Carr and Ivy Creek Natural Area papers, MSS 10770-a Box 1, Folder 11

Carr family home. Hugh Carr and Ivy Creek Natural Area papers, MSS 10770-a Box 1, Folder 11

Hugh Carr married his first wife, Florence Lee in 1865 when they were still enslaved by Richard H. Wingfield of Woodlands Plantation. After two years, she left Carr, and they were eventually divorced. Hugh Carr married Texie Mae Hawkins (1865-1899) in 1883. They had six daughters, Mary Carr Greer (1884-1973), Fannie Carr Washington (1887-?), Peachie Carr Jackson (1889-1977), Emma Clorinda Carr (1892-1974), Virginia Carr Brown (1893-1935), and Ann Hazel Carr (1895-1975), and one son Marshall Hubert Carr (1886-1916).

Hugh Carr, who did not know how to read and write, highly valued education for his daughters and son. He raised them by himself after Texie Mae died in 1899. Most of his children earned college degrees and post graduate degrees, becoming teachers and community leaders. Six of the Carrs’ seven grandchildren, ten of thirteen great grandchildren, and nine of twelve great-great grandchildren graduated from college. (National Register of Historic Places Registration Form)

Hugh Carr, (1843-1914) Hugh Carr and Ivy Creek Natural Area papers, MSS 10770-a Box 1, Folder 11

Texie Mae Hawkins Carr, (1865-1899) Ivy Creek Natural Area papers, MSS 10770-a Box 1, Folder 11

Mary Carr Greer , daughter (1884-1973). Teacher and Principle who invited students to stay at her house, which was near the Albemarle Training School, during bad weather. Hugh Carr and Ivy Creek Natural Area papers, MSS 10770-a Box 1, Folder 11

Fannie Carr Washington, sister. Hugh Carr and Ivy Creek Natural Area papers, MSS 10770-a Box 1, Folder 11

Peachie Carr Jackson (1889-1977) daughter. Hugh Carr and Ivy Creek Natural Area papers, MSS 10770-a Box 1, Folder 11

Marshall Hubert Carr (1886-1916) son. Hugh Carr and Ivy Creek Natural Area papers, MSS 10770-a Box 1, Folder 11

When Carr died in 1914, he bequeathed parts of the farm to each of his children. Their eldest daughter, Mary Louise Carr Greer became principal of the Albemarle Training School and was an influential educator in the local community.  Her husband, Conly Greer, was the first African American extension agent for Albemarle County and the last family member to farm at River View Farm.  After his death in 1956, Mary Carr Greer continued to live there but the land was rented to local farmers.  When Mary Greer died in 1973, she left the estate to her only child, Evangeline Greer Jones, who in turn sold it. (Brickhouse)

Following its sale, the farm was slated to become a subdivision with 200 homes, but with strong support from University professors, the Nature Conservancy, and the Ivy Creek Foundation, the land was purchased jointly by the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County in creation of the Ivy Creek Natural Area in 1978. (National Register of Historic Places Registration Form)

The history of the Carr family, their River View Farm, and the Ivy Creek Area are not only preserved but are a living memory that is thriving today. The cultural heritage of the Carr farm remains in evidence on this site. The property serves as the first stop on the Union Ridge Heritage Trail tour of African Americans, a program administered by the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center. (National Register of Historic Places)

Ivy Creek Natural Area. Hugh Carr and Ivy Creek Natural Area papers, MSS 10770-a Box 1, Folder 11

Ivy Creek Natural Area with 400 species of wildlife. Hugh Carr and Ivy Creek Natural Area papers, MSS 10770-a Box 1, Foder 11

Evangeline Greer Jones, granddaughter of Hugh Carr, wrote that she “is glad to see the farm as a home for a wide variety of wildlife, flowers and trees.” She thinks her family would be glad to see how it has turned out. A sign at the Ivy Creek Natural Area reads, “Take only pictures, leave only footprints. However, it is permissible to pick fruit from the trees in the orchard if eaten on the spot.” Jones wrote that she “is very much pleased to know that people can come and visit.” (Brickhouse)

(If you ever need to request a correction or suggest a change to a description of one of our collections, you can find the Suggestion description forms here.) 

Sources:

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (contains many details about the Carr and Greer family and the River View Farm)

Brickhouse, Robert. “Nature Preserve Ex-Slave’s Legacy” The Daily Progress. September 12, 1982 (collection material)

Grohskopf, Bernice. “Legacies Nature and History at Ivy Creek: How Hugh Carr rose out of Slavery to Create the Farm that became Our Secret Garden” Albemarle Magazine. 1988 June-August.

For more information:

Flowers, Charles V. “The Creation of Ivy Creek Natural Area” Adapted from interview with Paul Saunier, Jr. The Sun, Baltimore, Maryland. April 15, 1984. (collection material)

Flowers, Charles V. “Ivy Creek is an Oasis of the Unspoiled” Interview with Dr. Benjamin Whitten. The Sun, Baltimore, Maryland. April 1984 (collection material)

Ivy Creek Foundation, Accessed 1/27/2023

 

Discoveries in The Transformation: An American Tale

Charles Brockden Brown’s Wieland, a novel in the Sadlier-Black Collection of Gothic Fiction, gives a tantalizing glimpse into the development of the modern American view of the afterlife. This post was contributed by Emily Pierson, a recipient of the Lillian Gary Taylor Fellowship in American Literature. This fellowship supported her research for her dissertation on the cultural context and impacts of garden cemeteries in nineteenth-century America.

When I proposed a dissertation about cemeteries, I think the last thing my advisors expected was for me to spend several weeks reading novels. The early drafts of that last chapter contained a handful of attempts to link the two subjects, most of which got cut from the final version. Among those works, though, was a particularly interesting Gothic novel called Wieland, or, the Transformation: An American Tale, a remarkably unpromising title when searching for tales of the dead. Wieland, however, presents the reader with a world in which the possibility of the living and the dead interacting with one another is a real one, even if there is a perfectly natural explanation for the tale’s seemingly supernatural events.

Photo of page 88 from Wieland di

Clara supposes the voice to be that of a heavenly influence. (PS1134.W5 1811, Sadlier Black

Photograph of cemetery

Family Plot at Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, MO. Photo by Emily Pierson.

The story is that of Clara and her brother, the eponymous Wieland. Following the death of their father, the two encounter a series of mysterious events including phantom voices. Clara presents several possibilities for the origins of these voices: angles, demons, spirits of the dead, even the voice of God. Though ultimately proven to be the voice of a man named Carwin who had briefly made their acquaintance, it was the attempted explanations that were far more interesting to me than the ultimate reveal.

Published in 1811, Charles Brockden Brown presented in his novel possibilities that were outside of the bounds of orthodox interactions between the living and the dead. He begins by calling attention to the family’s adherence to nontraditional theological positions, which are further emphasized in the subsequent chapters as the siblings and their companions muse on the possibilities of interactions between the spiritual and the physical. Before the Fox sisters heard their rappings or the Banner of Light published its first edition, Clara and her brother were pondering whether the mysterious lights and voices they saw and heard might be the spirit of their father. Later on, Wieland proclaims that he will stand as a witness before the bar of Heaven to condemn Carwin. A few lines later, he cries out to his dead wife and children, “I have sent you to repose, and ought not to linger behind.”[1] Two lines of dialogue tease at the possibility that Brown was already viewing the afterlife as an extension of this one, a phenomenon usually discussed in the same breath as the rise of Spiritualism nearly 30 years later.

Brown is not the only author hinting at or explicitly describing an afterlife in which the deceased continue to have remarkably life-like interactions. Walt Whitman seems to speak to the dead, while Harriet Beecher Stowe’s little Eva tells those around her that she hopes to see them in Heaven.[2] Most famously and explicitly, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps’s The Gates Ajar presents a cosmology in which the dead are keen to watch over the living, hope for their reunion, and even play piano. Wieland’s commentary on the bar of his Maker, followed so quickly by commentary about rejoining his dead wife and children, reads as an early participation in this same popular theology of the afterlife.

What, then, does any of this have to do with cemeteries? I was, admittedly, disappointed that Clara is denied the opportunity to attend the burial of her sister-in-law and her children. There are, in fact, no visits to cemeteries in the book. However, those proposals that the afterlife is connected to this one rather than totally distinct from it are precisely the driving force behind cemetery design in the nineteenth century. Family plots gave the opportunity for the living to visit their dead relatives and presented a visual map onto which the living could imagine their own heavenly reunions. Though I found no ghosts or graveyards, Wieland offered a tantalizing look at the development of the mentality that pervaded the nineteenth century and has still left its mark on the way we talk about the living and the dead.

[1] Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Toms Cabin., 2013. 274; Walt Whitman, “Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night,” Leaves of Grass, 1891-1892. See also Whitman’s “Come Up from the Fields, Father.”

[2] Charles Brockden Brown, Wieland, or, The Transformation: An American Tale, 1811. 211; 218.