New research funding at PVAMU to support study of Wyatt Chapel Community Cemetery
Thanks to a $20,000 award from The Summerlee Foundation, the History Department at Prairie View A&M University has begun a comprehensive historical and archaeological study of Wyatt Chapel Community Cemetery, located behind PVAMU.
African American Museum Repository
On October 2, graduate student Evelyn Todd attended the launch of Dr. Pegram’s labor of love and curiosity–the African American Museum Repository. The event was held in the A. I. Thomas Auditorium, and it featured a handful of respected historians, professors, and student researchers as speakers.
$50,000 Grant from the Texas State Library & Archives Commission
In June 2024, the Digital PV Panther Project won a $50,000 grant award from the Texas State Library & Archives Commission, and this blog post details the potential impact of the project over the next year.
Magnetometer Study of Wyatt Chapel
On March 31, 2024, archaeologists Dr. Chet Walker and Aundrea Thompson returned to PVAMU to conduct the magnetometer study of the historic burial ground of Wyatt Chapel Community Cemetery.
Finding Unmarked Graves at PVAMU
On March 12 and 13, 2024, Legacy Cultural Resources, Inc. invited ground penetrating radar specialists Dr. Chet Walker and Aundrea Thompson to visit the campus of Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) and conduct several geophysical examinations of the historic burial ground of Wyatt Chapel Community Cemetery.
Students now, Alumni forever!
We have lost so much in the absence of the PVAMU student newspaper, and we want to amplify the voices and creative spirit of students at the oldest public HBCU in Texas. To any student interested in giving back to the university, you can start by submitting an article, short story, or poem for consideration for publication on our website.
Pedestrian Survey of Wyatt Chapel Community Cemetery
On October 21, 2023, the Digital PV Panther Project worked with archaeologists at Legacy Cultural Resources, the Wyatt Chapel Descendants Committee, and the Waller County Historical Society to conduct an Archaeological Pedestrian Survey of Wyatt Chapel Community Cemetery.
Texas Made Hip Hop: A Sonic Journey through 50 Years of Lone Star Flavor
In November, the PVAMU Department of Languages and Communication hosted the Texas Made Hip Hop Seminar on campus, and Digital PV Panther Project team member Kendall Douglass immersed himself in the symposium. Delving into the extraordinary odyssey of hip-hop, he details his experience in this blog post…
Veteran’s Day Exhibit in Coleman Library
In early November 2023, PVAMU Acquisitions Librarian Sharon Barnes and Library Associate Sabrina Francis coordinated the efforts of a host of students, staff, and, scholars to curate an exhibition for Veteran’s Day in the John B. Coleman Library. The exhibition was truly a team effort and a big hit!
Dr. George Ruble Woolfolk, “Prairie View: A Success Story” – 1981 Homecoming Convocation
On October 29, 1981, the PVAMU History program chair Dr. George Ruble Woolfolk delivered an epic address at the Golden Anniversary Homecoming Convocation titled “Prairie View: A Success Story.” Listen to his address and read the full transcription…
Accomplishments – September 30, 2023
This post contains a list of our accomplishments on the Digital PV Panther Project on September 30, 2023.
Summer RISE with the Digital PV Panther Project
In this blog post, RISE grant recipient Evelyn Kay Todd details her experience over the summer working on the Digital PV Panther Project.
“UNDER-SERVED”: The Disproportionate Impact of Food Insecurity in the TAMU System
Malachi McMahon examines the disproportionate availability of healthy food options at Prairie View A&M University in contrast to Texas A&M University at College Station.
Promotional Article on PVAMU website
The Special Collections & Archives Department at Prairie View A&M University has received a $450,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The funds helped establish the Digital PV Panther Project, which aims to eliminate the silences and erasures surrounding the history of PVAMU.
HIST 3312 – Digital Storytelling
For the Fall 2023 semester, we created a course in Digital Storytelling for the History program at PVAMU. The course will introduce students to digital storytelling as well as the emerging field of Black Digital Humanities. In addition to assigned readings, students will attend lab sessions and learn digital technologies and skills, such as digital exhibition curation, ArcGIS mapping, and digital content management.
Caleb Brookins: A Rewarding Experience
Caleb Brookins has moved on to greater things, but he will always cherish his time working to preserve the rich history of Prairie View A&M University.
Say My Name!
One of our most startling discoveries in 2021 was the fact that we did not know the name of a single person who had been enslaved on the plantation that later became PVAMU. This blog post reveals the name of the first enslaved person we know lived at Alta Vista.
“Silence is a Very Good Weapon”
In February 1971, PVAMU students destroyed over $200,000 of property on campus, burning down the campus security building, the Dean of Men’s offices, and the Office of Freshman Studies. They overturned a security patrol car and set it on fire, and they set fire to the Army ROTC building. This blog post by Malachi McMahon and Dr. T. DeWayne Moore explains how silence can be a powerful weapon in the hands of higher administration.
Progress to Date
In this blog post, we curated a digital exhibition in Wordpress to update stakeholders on our progress at the end of the Fall 2022 semester. We look forward to accomplishing even greater things in 2023!
Grant Accomplishments – November 19, 2022
This blog posts lists our accomplishments on the NEH grant as of November 19, 2022.
Prairie View Memorial Park Cemetery
This map of Prairie View Memorial Park Cemetery was provided by Texas Cemetery Restoration, LLC. We appreciate Dr. Jessica Ward, Assistant Professor of the Practice in the School of Architecture at PVAMU for sharing her research with the Digital PV Panther Project.
Amistad II Bookplace (2002)
In this 2002 article from the student newspaper, Erika K. Myers interviews the owners of one of the only Black-owned businesses in the city of Prairie View–the Amistad II Bookstore–which should be honored with a historic marker in the city.
A Student’s Perspective inside the DPPP
D’Asia Johnson has taken on numerous roles during her first two months working on the Digital PV Panther Project. This blog post highlights her multi-faceted experience, and it offers readers a glimpse of the work environment inside the DPPP.
Digital Preservation at PVAMU
Archival Assistant Kasedi Eason has developed into the role of historic preservation on campus, and her first blog post details her experiences curating social media, processing archival collections, and collaborating with a range of scholars on the Digital PV Panther Project.
The Archival Experience
Archival Assistant Hannah Harden is one of the hardest working members of the team at the Digital PV Panther Project, and this blog post details her multi-faceted workload and experience for the first month!
Historical Consciousness and the PV19
By analyzing the digital resources available about an important, yet understudied, chapter of local voting rights history, The PV19, Caleb Brookins demonstrates that historical understanding is required to make good decisions and achieve a heightened state of consciousness.
That Old PV Spirit
This editorial by Clearance Lee Turner in a 1961 edition of student newspaper explains the need for “That Old PV Spirit” during homecoming.
We’re Hiring!
The Student Hourly Assistant, under general supervision, will process and digitize collections, curate social media content, transcribe oral histories, conduct archival research, create video and audio recordings, compose blog entries about their work, and serve as public ambassadors for the Digital PV Panther Project.
Hourly Rate of Pay: $13.00
Job Posting Close Date: 10/05/2022
A Tale of Two Professors at Prairie View
The Texas State Library & Archives Commission (TSLAC) awarded Ms. Earles and Dr. Moore almost $20,000, and it gave Lindsay Boknight the opportunity to learn more about the amazing careers of Myrtle E. Garrett and Oscar John Thomas. This blog post examines the lives and legacies of two former professors and encourages researchers to visit the archives to examine the collections for themselves!
Animal Husbandry, Assault Rifles, and Best Friends
Zynitra Durham examines a historic building on the campus of PVAMU as well as celebrates her birthday with horses and assault rifles in this very personal blog post.
Black Digital Humanities Projects & Resources
Black Digital Humanities projects help to unmask the racialized systems of power at work in how we understand Digital Humanities as a field and utilize its associated techniques. This blog post contains numerous links to Black Digital Humanities projects to highlight the intersection between Black studies and digital humanities, transform the concepts into corporeal reality, and provide support to the work of the black digerati in and outside of academe.
Paying Respect at the Abner A. Davis Memorial
Malachi McMahon details the history of memorialization of Abner A. Davis on “The Hill,” and he explains how he took part in the tradition of historic preservation and campus beautification at PVAMU.
PVAMU on the National Register of Historic Places?
Lindsay Boknight explains that PVAMU is the oldest publicly funded HBCU in the state of Texas, but the entire campus is currently NOT listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Several buildings on campus are listed in the NRHP, but not the entire campus, which contains more than 20 buildings on 1,502 acres of land. If the entire campus of PVAMU were to be added to the NRHP, it would allow us to catch up and preserve older structures, such as the E.B. Evans Animal Industries Building, which has been vacant since 2009. There is nothing like the mission of an HBCU, and we need to preserve the historical spaces where our students live, learn, and grow and where our faculty and staff do their phenomenal and purpose-driven work.
Alta Vista: “Monument of Sorrow”
George Ruble Woolfolk’s chapter in 101 Historic Homes in Waller County centers on Alta Vista, the slave mansion built by Jared Ellison Kirby in 1858.
Redesigning the Past
In this post, Kalayah Jammer discusses processing the manuscript collections of former PVAMU professors and administrators who made amazing strides to the betterment and exposure of the university. She also introduces us to the amazing career of Edison Anderson, who directed the Prairie View A Capella Choir in the 1960s.