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28 Feb 2023 T. DeWayne Moore
Black Digital Humanities ArcGIS, Black Digital Humanities, Digital PV Panther Project, Digital Storytelling, GIS Mapping, pvamu, PVAMU History Program

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 working on his computer
22 Feb 2023 Caleb Brookins
About the project Alta Vista, Archival Assistants, Digital PV Panther Project, Ground Penetrating Radar, Jared Ellison Kirby, Special Collections & Archives Department

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.

Lucinda Slave
21 Feb 2023 T. DeWayne Moore
Alta Vista Alta Vista, Ancestry.com, Digital PV Panther Project, Jared Ellison Kirby, Marco Robinson, President Ruth Simmons, Slave labor camp, Slave Schedules, Slave Ships, Special Collections & Archives Department, T. DeWayne Moore

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.

IMG_1698-scaled-e1660936496929 (2)
14 Feb 2023 Malachi McMahon
Alta Vista, Black Digital Humanities 1970s, 1971 PVAMU Student Uprising, Civil Disobedience, Civil Rights, Civil Unrest, Digital PV Panther Project, Expulsion, Geneva Chapman, Historical Silences, Lawrence Tureaud (Mr. T), Rock Island Place, Rock Island Place (TX)

“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.

DPPP Social Media
9 Dec 2022 T. DeWayne Moore
About the project Black Digital Humanities, Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection, Digital Preservation, Digital PV Panther Project, Digitization, Special Collections & Archives Department

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!

The student workers on the Digital PV Panther Project
4 Dec 2022 T. DeWayne Moore
About the project Archival Assistants, Black Digital Humanities, Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection, Digital PV Panther Project, National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), Special Collections & Archives Department, T. DeWayne Moore

Grant Accomplishments – November 19, 2022

This blog posts lists our accomplishments on the NEH grant as of November 19, 2022.

The temporary marker of Jeremiah Awino
12 Nov 2022 T. DeWayne Moore
Historic Preservation ArcGIS, archives, Cemetery, Dr. Jessica Ward, GIS Mapping, Prairie View Memorial Park Cemetery, Texas Cemetery Restoration

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. 

A newspaper picture of the Amistad II Bookstore
12 Nov 2022 T. DeWayne Moore
Editorials Amistad II Bookstore, Black-Owned Businesses, City of Prairie View, Earnestine Carreathers, Prairie View (TX) Panther, Raymond Carreathers

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.

The Negro 4-H Club girls who received the State Fair of Texas Honor Awards at the Dallas Fair, October 13, 1947, are (reading from left to right) Willie Mae McDaniel, Jefferson County; Maxine Harris, Caldwell County; and Gladys Harrison, Smith County.; 7X9
25 Oct 2022 D'Asia Johnson
About the project Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection, Digital Preservation, Digital PV Panther Project, Henry Seward Estelle, processing, Social Media, Special Collections & Archives Department, Texas State Library & Archives Commission (TSLAC)

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.

PF41 4-H Cllubs
16 Oct 2022 Kasedi Eason
About the project Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection, Digital PV Panther Project, Dr. Musa Olaka, Dr. Myeshia Babers, Interviews, processing, Special Collections & Archives Department, T. DeWayne Moore, Texas State Library & Archives Commission (TSLAC), TikTok

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.

Hannah Harden
14 Oct 2022 Hannah Harden
About the project Digital Preservation, Digitization, HBCU, Loomly, pvamu, Social Media, Special Collections & Archives Department, Texas State Library & Archives Commission (TSLAC), TikTok

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!

3-2
9 Oct 2022 Caleb Brookins
About the project Frank Jackson, Prairie View Panther, PV 19, pvamu, Symm v. United States, voting rights, Waller County

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.

Nov 19, 1960- Prairie View A&M vs Tennessee State
8 Oct 2022 T. DeWayne Moore
Editorials Football, homecoming, Prairie View (TX) Panther, pvamu, spirit

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.

The DPPP logo
1 Oct 2022 T. DeWayne Moore
About the project Special Collections & Archives Department, Student Hourly Assistant

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

garrett33
29 Sep 2022 Lindsay Boknight
Archival Processing Myrtle Garrett, Oscar John Thomas, Special Collections & Archives Department, Texas State Library & Archives Commission (TSLAC), TexTreasures

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!

Lindsay Boknight & Zynitra Durham in front of the EB Evans building
11 Sep 2022 Zynitra Durham
Historic Preservation Animal Industries, Assault Rifles, E. B. Evans, Horseback Riding, pvamu

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.

Webp.net-compress-image-2-1-2000x1200
10 Sep 2022 T. DeWayne Moore
Black Digital Humanities African American History, African Diaspora, Afro-Asian, Amistad, ArcGIS, Black Archives, Black Digital Humanities, Black Power, BlackPast, Civil Rights Movement, Memory, Slavery, StoryMaps

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.

The Abner Davis Memorial
16 Aug 2022 Malachi McMahon
Historic Preservation Abner A. Davis, Alta Vista, City of Tyler, Football, fountain, George Ruble Woolfolk, Jared Ellison Kirby, Kirby Hall, Martin Luther King, memorial, pvamu, Slavery, T. DeWayne Moore, Texas College

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.

Illidge
15 Aug 2022 Zynitra Durham
Archival Processing Cassandra Illidge, Epson 12000XL, Finding Aids, Getty Images, Jackson State University, Jordan Johnson, Matt Kinkaid, North Carolina Central University, Oscar John Thomas, Phyllis Earles, Sheena Wilson, Tom Goodwin

“We have built a program [that] will support our student’s futures.”

Zynitra Durham discusses our meeting with Getty Images. “We have built a program to not only honor the legacy and history of HBCUs and their contribution to American History, but a program which will support our students’ futures. For Getty Images to move the world, we must ensure that all content creators, their work, and their stories can be preserved.   We are committed to making content accessible and to ensure a more authentic representation of history.”

Campus scenery
8 Aug 2022 Lindsay Boknight
Editorials Alta Vista, Don K. Clark, Edward L. Blackshear, George Ruble Woolfolk, HBCU, Huston-Tillotson University, Jarvis Christian College, National Register of Historic Places, Paul Quinn College, pvamu, Southwestern Christian College, Texas Southern University, Wiley College

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 College now PVAMU's campus in the 1880s.
3 Aug 2022 T. DeWayne Moore
Alta Vista Alta Vista, Enslaved Names, Helen Marr Kirby, Jared Ellison Kirby, pvamu, Slave labor camp

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.

IMG_2105-edited-360x1024
3 Aug 2022 Kalayah Jammer
Archival Processing a capella, Bellville, Brenham, Carrie B. Coss, Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection, Department of Music, Edison Anderson, Miguell Caesar, Prairie View A Cappella Concert Choir, PV Singers, Sheena Wilson, Texas State Library & Archives Commission (TSLAC), TexTreasures

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.

Painting of Wilhelmina R. Delco, located 4th floor John B. Coleman Library.
28 Jul 2022 Lindsay Boknight
Alta Vista, Archival Processing Alta Vista, archives, audio tapes, Cemetery, Dr. A.I. Thomas, Exhibit, Jared Ellison Kirby, Jesse Jackson, John B. Coleman Library, pvamu, Rosa Parks, Slave labor camp, Special Collections & Archives Department, Whitlowe R. Green College of Education, Wilhelmina R. Delco, Wyatt Chapel

New Beginnings

Here’s to New Beginnings! Come along with archival assistant Lindsay Boknight for a change of pace and a change of mindset in uncovering the deep rooted history of Prairie View A&M University for the Digital PV Panther Project! Read along to discover more about our “on campus” cemetery, lost tape files, and the unstoppable work of Wilhelmina R. Delco!

Men in the Belgian Congo canning tropical fruit
13 Jul 2022 Zynitra Durham
Archival Processing agriculture, annex, Calvin Hoffman Waller, canning, Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection, George Ruble Woolfolk, Special Collections & Archives Department, Tom Goodwin

“They Can Tropical Fruits”

In my first weeks as an archival assistant for the Digital PV Panther Project, I helped process the manuscript collections of former professors and administrators involved in building the Prairie View community. On my first day, Dr. Moore gave me a tour of Room 109 in the library, the Archival Annex, which contains collections that […]

IMG_5542
13 Jul 2022 DeZhane Johnson
Archival Processing Cooperative Agricultural Research Center (CARC), Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection, Digital PV Panther Project, Myrtle Garrett, pvamu, Texas State Library & Archives Commission (TSLAC)

The First Few Collections

Over the course of my first few weeks of being an assistant in the archives and making my way through the various collections, I have learned a lot more about the history of my HBCU. My first job on campus in 2020 was in the Cooperative Agricultural Research Center (CARC), but it was not until last week while going through the manuscript collection of a female extension agent who worked at PVAMU and TAMU named Myrtle Garrett that I learned the history of the CARC.

IMG_5545
13 Jul 2022 Malachi McMahon
Archival Processing Carrie B. Coss, Ivory Nelson, Myrtle Garrett, Texas State Library & Archives Commission (TSLAC), TexTreasures Grant

Rehousing Manuscript Collections

In his first month as an archival assistant on the Digital PV Panther Project, Malachi McMahon examined the contents of numerous boxes of archival media on the fifth floor of John B. Coleman Library.

Sarah-Kirby-Probate-1
11 Jul 2022 Kalayah Jammer
Alta Vista Alta Vista, Carrie B. Coss, Cemetery, Enslaved Names, Jared Ellison Kirby, Probate Records, pvamu, Slave labor camp, Texas State Library & Archives Commission (TSLAC), Wyatt Chapel

Uncovering the Roots of Alta Vista

My experience working on the Digital PV Panther Project started off on a high note. In my first week, I uncovered some long-lost elements of university history that stretch back almost two centuries on a field trip to the Austin County Courthouse archives in the town of Bellville, TX. I also tried the chicken tenders at Dairy Queen for the first time! Most importantly, however, I sparked an intense curiosity within myself about the rich history and campus geography at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU).

Wyatt Chapel marker in 1994
2 Jul 2022 T. DeWayne Moore
Alta Vista Alta Vista, Carrie B. Coss, Cemetery, Frank Jackson, Ida Lou Wells Owens Pierce, Jared Ellison Kirby, Mildred Abshier, Slave labor camp, Wyatt Chapel

The 1989 Texas Historical Marker Proposal for Wyatt Chapel Community Cemetery

In the summer of 1989, Dr. Mildred W. Abshier and a research team consisting of Bessie Thomas, Frank Jackson, and Carrie B. Coss visited the cemetery with 82 year-old descendant Ida Lou Wells Owens Pierce, a longtime resident of the Wyatt Chapel community. Using the field research, local scholarship, and the information gleaned from several interviews, Dr. Abshier prepared the following report to accompany the historical marker application submitted to the Texas Historical Commission. Their efforts resulted in the dedication of a historical marker near the cemetery behind Prairie View A&M University in 1992. We located this report while preparing the grant proposal to the Summerlee Foundation in 2021, and we decided to publish it below in advance of the ground penetrating radar survey in September 2022.

Historic Marker at Wyatt Chapel
2 Jul 2022 T. DeWayne Moore
Alta Vista, Uncategorized Alta Vista, Cemetery, enslaved, Jared Ellison Kirby, pvamu, Slave labor camp, Wyatt Chapel

Using Science to Uncover History: A Geophysical Investigation of Wyatt Chapel Cemetery

Alison T. Henning, Ginger Burns, Richard Hoffman, and Brian Jacoby published this article about Wyatt Chapel Community Cemetery in a 2009 issue of the Journal of History and Culture.

Manifest
30 Jun 2022 T. DeWayne Moore
Alta Vista Alta Vista, enslaved, Enslaved Names, Jared Ellison Kirby, Lucinda, pvamu, Slave labor camp, Slave Ships

Slave Ship Galveston – 1858

In December 2021, we searched Ancestry.com for information about Jared Ellison Kirby, and we located the name of another person who lived at Kirby’s enslaved labor camp, Alta Vista. According to the manifest of the ship Galveston, Kirby had a 15 year-old girl named Lucinda transported from New Orleans to Galveston in May 1858.

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