Research Rundown: Birmingham Public Library Archives
Join us TODAY at NOON CT for Research Rundown.
We are kicking off American Archives Month in October with the return of our popular online series Research Rundown: History & Genealogy How-To on Monday, October 3.
In celebration of Archives Month, this program will spotlight the Birmingham Public Library Department of Archives and Manuscripts. Join us online as Assistant Archivist Catherine Champion shares more about their collections, and how the public can access their research resources.
The program will livestream on our page and YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/alabamaarchives). It will also be recorded and made available on YouTube.
Alabama Radio Moments: Alabama Radio Pioneers
Join us Tuesday, September 20th, at noon CT for the launch of Alabama Radio Moments, a new series of special presentations to coincide with the ADAH's temporary exhibit of the same name. These lectures will explore additional facets of how radio changed Alabama.
To kick off this new series, exhibits curator Sam Christensen will present “Alabama Radio Pioneers.” He will discuss the contributions to radio technology and programing of three Alabamians: Broadcaster H. L. Ansley, who launched a popular Birmingham station from his home in the Fountain Heights neighborhood; Lee DeForest, whose invention of the triode vacuum tube made practical radio broadcasting a possibility; and Ernest W. House, founder of the Radio Products Corporation, which produced a number of radios in Birmingham in the mid-1920s, including the revolutionary Superflex model. The exhibit features one of the only Superflex radios known to still exist.
The program will be held in person at the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) in Montgomery. It will also be livestreamed through the ADAH’s page and YouTube channel. Admission is FREE.
"The Wickedest Place in Alabama": Prohibition in Birmingham, 1907-1933
Join us this Thursday, September 15, at 12:00 p.m. CT as Matthew Downs presents "The Wickedest Place in Alabama": Prohibition in Birmingham, 1907-1933.
In 1907, the citizens of Jefferson County voted to “go dry,” prohibiting the sale or consumption of alcohol. This decision preceded Alabama’s prohibition law by a year and the national ban by more than a decade. During his presentation, historian Matthew Downs will discuss how Birmingham’s early experiment with prohibition highlighted the political divisions that shaped the Progressive-Era South. He will explore the city’s efforts to enforce the ban on alcohol and how the issues that arose foreshadowed those the nation would face during federal prohibition in the 1920s.
The program will be held in person at the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) in Montgomery. It will also be livestreamed through the ADAH’s page and YouTube channel. Admission is FREE.
The Montgomery Motor Corps: Serving on the Home Front in WWI
Join us TODAY at noon for Food for Thought.
The Montgomery Motor Corps was a World War I-era women’s service organization formed to support home front activities. In 1918, more than one hundred women from some of Montgomery's most prominent families volunteered their time and automobiles to provide transportation to the troops stationed at Camp Sheridan. This presentation by the Encyclopedia of Alabama's Communications Editor Laura Newland Hill, will explore the lives and work of the women who volunteered.
The program will be held in person at the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) in Montgomery. It will also be livestreamed through the ADAH’s page and YouTube channel.
Hosea Williams: A Lifetime of Defiance & Protest
Join us TODAY at 12:00 PM. for our monthly Food For Thought lunchtime lecture. Rolundus Rice will present "Hosea Williams: A Lifetime of Defiance & Protest." Admission is FREE. The presentation will also be livestreamed through the ADAH’s page and YouTube channel.
Hosea Williams was once described by Ambassador Andrew Young as a "mad man" of the civil rights movement. Known for his tenacious demeanor and his skill at organizing demonstrations and protests, the Attapulgus, Georgia, native became an invaluable member of Martin Luther King Jr.'s brain trust during pivotal Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) campaigns during the 1960s. Williams was a key organizer of the Selma to Montgomery March and, along with Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee leader John Lewis, led protesters across Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday in 1965. Williams eventually became the executive director of SCLC after King’s death. He led the SCLC’s initiatives until 1979 and continued agitating for civil and voting rights through mainstream politics and community organizing until his death in 2000.
Rolundus R. Rice is a native of Atlanta, Georgia. He holds an M.A. in History from Alabama State University and a Ph.D. in History from Auburn University. Rice served as special assistant to Dr. Bernice A. King at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, where he supervised Research, Communications, and Archives. His research is focused squarely on the Modern Civil Rights Movement. Rice is currently the Vice President for Academic Affairs at Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi.
Food for Thought: Invisible Histories Project
Join us at the Archives or online TODAY at noon for our June Food For Thought lunchtime lecture. Joshua Burford will present "The Invisible Histories Project."
Co-founded in 2015 by Joshua Burford and Maigen Sullivan, the Invisible Histories Project (iHP) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to locate, preserve, research, and make accessible materials that document the rich and diverse history of LGBTQ life in the South. Currently working in Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida, iHP serves as an intermediary between the queer community and universities, museums, archives, and libraries to preserve collections that document the lives of LGBTQ southerners. The ADAH is one of three iHP repository partners in Alabama and has acquired several donations to its permanent collections through the collaboration. During his presentation, Burford will share some of the materials collected in Alabama and how the work of iHP is helping the public gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of LGBTQ Alabamians.
A native of Anniston, Burford is an award-winning historian, archivist, and educator with over twenty years of experience in creating stronger communities for queer and transgender people across the U.S. He is a nationally recognized educator and trainer who has worked with K-12 schools, colleges and universities, corporations, and non-profits to examine the ways in which each can be more inclusive of diverse identities, engage in self-evaluation about best practices, and create pathways for increased retention of minority individuals. Burford holds bachelor’s degrees in English and history from University of Alabama and master’s degrees in American studies and library and information studies. A historian and archivist by training, Burford currently serves as iHP’s director of outreach and lead archivist.
The program will be held in person at the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) in Montgomery. Admission is FREE. It will also be livestreamed
Alabama Women's History Series: Lurleen Burns Wallace
Join us online for the final installment of our Alabama Women's History Series, "Lurleen Burns Wallace: Making Her Way in Wallace Country." Historian Susan Youngblood Ashmore will discuss Lurleen Wallace's 1966 gubernatorial campaign and the many ways her unconventional run for office provides insight into the changing politics of the late 1960s.
"The Education of Julia Tutwiler: Training for Leadership" presented by Paul Pruitt
Join us TODAY, May 19 at 12:00 pm CT in person at the Archives or online for our May Food For Thought presentation. Historian Paul M. Pruitt Jr. will present "The Education of Julia Tutwiler: Training for Leadership."
Alabamian Julia Strudwick Tutwiler (1841-1916) was an educator, prison reformer, writer, and outspoken proponent of education for women. During this presentation, historian Paul M. Pruitt Jr. will explore Tutwiler’s early life and her experience as the pupil of her father, Henry Tutwiler, who believed that women were the intellectual equals of men and should be educated the same way. Pruitt will discuss how the experiences of her youth led to an appreciation of both the liberal arts and vocational training, setting Tutwiler on a path to transform and expand educational opportunities for Alabamians in the tumultuous years following the Civil War.
Pruitt is the Assistant Law Librarian at the Bounds Law Library at the University of Alabama, where he also serves as an adjunct professor at the School of Law. He holds a B.A. from Auburn University and a Ph.D. from the College of William and Mary. He currently serves on the Board of Directors at the Alabama Men’s Hall of Fame.
Archives/Five
Join ADAH public programs curator Alex Colvin as she examines the William McIntosh portrait. Once described as the “gem of our collection,” the portrait illustrates the complex relationship between trade and culture for the Creek people at the turn of the 19th century. Colvin explains this as well as the interesting story of the portrait itself in this Archives/Five.
Archives/Five is a short (5 minutes or less) film series highlighting the collections of the Alabama Department of Archives & History.
Research Rundown: Fire Insurance Maps
Join us TODAY, May 2 at 12:00pm CT for Research Rundown! ADAH Reference Coordinator Courtney Pinkard to explore the origins of the fire insurance mapping industry and how to use these maps in genealogical and historical research.
Alabama Women's History Series: Alabama Women & Art
Join us TODAY at 12:00 CT for our next installment of Alabama Women's History Series. Among the dozens of artifacts and objects on view in the ADAH's exhibit, "Justice Not Favor: Alabama Women & the Vote," are two contemporary paintings by south Alabama artist Soynika-Edwards Bush depicting the fight for voting rights through the perspective of a young African American female. In this special presentation of the Alabama Women’s History Series, the ADAH’s Exhibits, Publications, and Programs Coordinator Scotty E. Kirkland will discuss the two paintings and the intersection of art and history with Edwards-Bush.
Soynika Edwards-Bush is an award-winning self-taught artist born and raised in Prichard, AL. Bush has focused on bringing art into the communities of south Alabama through partnerships with groups including the Boys and Girls Club and the Alabama Contemporary Art Center. She describes her overlapping missions as an artist as “showing color where there is none, helping to cultivate young artists, and letting the art speak what the heart feels.”
"Threads of Evidence: Investigating the Origins of a Confederate Flag Remnant" presented by Ryan Blocker and Georgia Ann Hudson
Join us TODAY, Thursday, April 21, at 12:00 PM CT for our April Food For Thought presentation. ADAH staff members Ryan Blocker and Georgia Ann Hudson will present "Threads of Evidence: Investigating the Origins of a Confederate Flag Remnant."
Almost ninety years ago, a three-inch piece of blue wool fabric was presented to the State of Alabama and reported to be a remnant of the original 1861 First National Flag of the Confederacy. For decades, details about the history of the remnant were scant. During this presentation, ADAH Communications Coordinator Georgia Ann Hudson will share a complex and fascinating story of the flag’s origins that were recently revealed through new research on one of the tiniest textiles in the ADAH’s collection. Additionally, ADAH Museum Collections Coordinator Ryan Blocker will discuss the history of the Department’s extensive Confederate flag collection, the ongoing effort to conserve the most fragile flags, and what these textiles teach us about Alabama’s Civil War story.
Ryan Blocker has been with the ADAH for the past twelve years. She currently serves as the museum collections coordinator and is responsible for the care, and preservation of a diverse collection of more than 500,000 artifacts. She is a past President of the Alabama Museums Association and serves on the boards of the Alabama Agricultural Museum and the Governor's Mansion Authority. Blocker holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Auburn University at Montgomery and holds a certification in collections care focusing on textile conservation from the International Preservation Studies Center.
Georgia Ann Hudson has been the communications coordinator at the ADAH for the past nine years. Her primary responsibilities at the ADAH include coordinating agency public communications, marketing, and managing the ADAH’s development program. She is a native of Baldwin County and holds a bachelor’s degree in both history and studio art from Furman University in Gre
Alabama Women's History Series: Helen Keller, Advocate & Writer
Join us online TODAY at 12:00 CT for our next Alabama Women's History Series program!. Jeanie Thompson will present Helen Keller: Advocate & Writer.
Thompson, the author of "The Myth of Water: Poems from the Life of Helen Keller,"will explore Keller's work as a political and social advocate. In addition to her life's work as a champion of the deaf and blind community, Keller voiced her strong views on many important issues of the early twentieth century. Thompson will share some of Keller's writing and her own discoveries about Keller's beliefs and political passions in this presentation.
Research Rundown: Civil War Online Resources
Join us TODAY at 12:00 CT for our April Research Rundown presented by ADAH Reference Archivist Kayla Scott Gurner. In this online program, she will explore many of the online resources available for researching the Civil War including Fold3, Ancestry, and Newspapers.com. Gurner will also discuss how to find and use Civil War service records, pension applications, and muster rolls in you genealogical research.
Archives/Five: Agnes Baggett's Litterbag
Join Archival Collections Coordinator Dorothy Gidiere as she discusses Agnes Baggett’s litterbag from her 1967 campaign for State Treasurer. Gidiere examines the use of the housewife image in Baggett’s campaign and her contribution to Alabama politics. Archives/Five is a short (5 minutes or less) film series highlighting the collections of the Alabama Department of Archives & History.
"Deep South Dynasty: The Bankheads of Alabama" presented by Kari Frederickson
Join us TODAY, Tuesday, March 29 at 12:00 pm CT for an in-person and online book talk! University of Alabama professor of history Kari Frederickson will discuss her recent publication Deep South Dynasty: The Bankheads of Alabama.
From Reconstruction through the end of World War II, the Bankhead family served as architects of the political, economic, and cultural framework of Alabama and the greater South. Frederickson explores the complicated and evolving world inhabited by three generations of the Bankhead family. Deep South Dynasty traces the careers of five members of the family: John Hollis Bankhead, his sons John Hollis Bankhead Jr. and William Brockman Bankhead, his daughter Marie Bankhead Owen, and his granddaughter Tallulah Brockman Bankhead. Frederickson’s research of this powerful southern family provides a sweeping and complex story of the region and its relationship with the wider world over the course of eight decades.
"Lelia Seton Wilder Edmundson, 'Cotton Queen" & Politician' presented by John Allison
Join us TODAY, Thursday, March 17, at 12:00 PM CST IN-PERSON or online for our March Food For Thought presentation! John Allison will present "Lelia Seton Wilder Edmundson: 'Cotton Queen' and Politician."
Lelia Seton Wilder Edmundson of Morgan County was a successful businesswoman who navigated the male-dominated fields of agriculture, real estate speculation, and finance with intelligence, cunning, and skill. Born in Decatur in 1861, Edmundson gained access to wealth through her marriage to capitalist Charles Wilder. Following Wilder’s early death, she re-married Wallace Edmundson and assumed the role of managing the 1700-acre Wilder cotton plantation. Edmundson successfully created a progressive and popular farm model which earned her the moniker “Cotton Queen of Alabama.” She entered politics as a suffragist involved in Alabama’s earliest stirrings of the women’s suffrage movement. In 1922, Edmundson became the first Alabama woman to run for the U.S. House of Representatives.
Morgan County Archivist John Allison is entrusted with the care of the county’s oldest government records, some of which predate Alabama’s statehood in 1819. He has worked to index, catalog, and interpret the Archives’ collection of public and private documents, photographs, and artifacts. Since joining the Archives in 2006, he has expanded its mission to include museum exhibits and public history projects. Allison holds a B.A. from Birmingham-Southern College and an M.A. in History from the University of Maryland. He is a past president of the Society of Alabama Archivists and currently serves on the board of the Alabama Historical Association and Decatur’s Historic Preservation Commission.
Research Rundown: The 1950 Census
Join us online TODAY at 12:00pm CST for a second attempt at our March Research Rundown! (Technical difficulties interrupted the original program.)
ADAH Reference staff will present "The 1950 Census: How, When, & Where to Find it!" This month's Rundown will focus on the April 1st release of the 1950 United States Census. Learn what to expect from the release and how to access these new records, as well as best practices and methods for searching new material in the 1950 Census.
Alabama Women's History Series: Alabama Suffragists
Join us online TODAY, Wednesday, March 9, for our next Alabama Women's History Series program on at 12:00 pm CT.
"Alabama Suffragists" will focus on Alabama women who fought for the right to vote in the early 20th century.
Dr. Hayden McDaniel, ADAH education curator, will present on Wiregrass suffragist Scottie McKenzie Frasier.
Monica Tapper, instructor of history at Wallace Community College, will focus on Bossie O’Brien Hundley of Birmingham, the legislative chair of the Alabama Equal Suffrage Association.
Dr. Tara White, assistant professor of history at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, will discuss African American suffragists, including Tuskegee’s Adella Hunt Logan.
"Stories from a 'Daughter of the Boycott'" presented by Karen Gray Houston
Join us online for our February Food For Thought lunchtime lecture TODAY at 12:00 CST. Karen Gray Houston will present "Stories from a 'Daughter of the Boycott.'"
In her memoir "Daughter of the Boycott," journalist Karen Gray Houston reflects upon the many contributions of her family members in the long fight for civil rights. Her father, Thomas, protested segregation and coordinated voting rights marches in Montgomery years before the city’s famous bus boycott. Her uncle is legendary civil rights attorney Fred Gray, who represented Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. His victories in the courtroom opened doors for African Americans across the nation. In this presentation, Houston will share the stories of her family and their experiences during the tumultuous and transformative years of the civil rights movement and beyond.
Karen Gray Houston was born in Montgomery and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. She graduated from Ohio University with a degree in psychology and earned a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. Houston is an award-winning broadcast journalist, retiring after forty-one years as a news reporter at radio networks and television stations in Boston, New York City, and Washington, DC. Houston is the author of "Daughter of the Boycott: Carrying on a Montgomery Family’s Civil Rights Legacy." Copies of her book are available for purchase in the ADAH’s Museum Store and its online store www.shopalabamaoriginal.com.
Alabama Women's History Series: Women at Work
TODAY at 12:00 CT! Join us live online for the next installment of our Alabama Women's History Series. Hear about the lives of three pathbreaking women who forged successful careers outside the home during the Progressive Era.
Research Rundown: African American Military Records in Alabama
Join us online TODAY, February 7 at 12:00pm CST for February's Research Rundown! ADAH Reference Coordinator Courtney Pinkard will present "African American Military Service Records in Alabama". The Alabama Archives has documentation of African American military service beginning with the Civil War through subsequent conflicts. Learn how to use our collections to find your ancestors or study the story of the military contributions of African American Alabamians!
Alabama Women's History Series: Alabama Women in Literature
Join us TODAY at 12:00 CT for the next installment of our Alabama Women's History Series. "Alabama Women in Literature" examines the lives and work of three Alabama women who influenced American literature.
Dr. Susan Reynolds, editor of Alabama Heritage, will discuss nineteenth-century novelist Augusta Evans Wilson, among the most successful writers of her time.
Dr. Tina N. Jones of the University of West Alabama will discuss author and folklorist Ruby Pickens Tartt.
In a pre-recorded segment, Ashley Jones, Alabama's Poet Laureate, will discuss Zora Neale Hurston, an Alabama-born author, folklorist, and member of the Harlem Renaissance.
Research Rundown: Early Land Records in Alabama
Join the ADAH Reference staff live online TODAY for this month's Research Rundown! "Early Land Records in Alabama" will discuss how to find and understand land records in the early years of our state’s history. The presentation will cover records from Alabama's territorial years to early statehood. Some kinds of land records are available at the Alabama Department of Archives and History, and the presentation will also introduce them and discuss how to use them for research.
"Discoveries at the Site of Alabama's First State House" presented by Linda Derry
Join us TODAY for this month's Food for Thought presentation by Linda Derry, site director at Old Cahawba Archaeological Park. "Discoveries at the Site of Alabama's First State House" will discuss the findings of archaeological work at Old Cahawba, Alabama's first state capital. Situated near Orrville at the confluence of the Cahaba and Alabama Rivers, the once-thriving town of Cahawba served as Alabama’s state capital from 1819 to 1826.
Research Rundown: Birth & Death Certificates
Join ADAH Reference Archivist Erica Eaves live TODAY for this month's Research Rundown! She will discuss how to find and use birth and death certificates in your family history research. She will explore how and why these documents began being issued and offer guidance on where to find similar information from years prior to their use. There will also be time for Q&A.
"The Attempted Lynching of Jim Brown" presented by Jim Baggett
Join us in person and online TODAY at 12pm CT for November's #FoodForThought presentation. Jim Baggett will present "The Attempted Lynching of Jim Brown" in the ADAH's Joseph M. Farley Alabama Power Auditorium. The presentation will also be live streamed on the ADAH's Facebook and YouTube channel.
The drafters of Alabama's 1901 constitution included a provision allowing a sheriff to be impeached if a prisoner in his care was lynched. This month's presentation will explore the debate over the lynching provision and how it applied to the story of St. Clair County resident Jim Brown.
Jim Baggett is head of the Birmingham Public Library Archives and archivist for the City of Birmingham. He currently serves as Vice President of the Alabama Historical Association and has served as President of the Society of Alabama Archivists. His research and writing focus on race and racial violence, politics, and on the social history of the South.
Alabama's Nightingales: WWI Nurses at Home and Abroad
ADAH Registrar, Haley Aaron, discusses the early development of the nursing profession in Alabama and stories of Alabama nurses who served at base hospitals overseas and fought the influenza pandemic at home.
Research Rundown: Oral History
Join our reference staff online today at noon CST for another virtual Research Rundown program!
The Research Rundown series offers short tutorials on genealogy and archival research.
"Oral History: Where to Begin, with Tips for Further Research" will provide a lesson on how to conduct and document an oral history interview with a family or community member.
In addition to discussing helpful tools and tips, the presentation will focus on how oral history interviews can be used to learn more about your family's military service. The session will close with ideas for further research using information learned in your interview.
The program will livestream through the ADAH’s page and YouTube channel. No social media account is required to view the program.
Virtual Tour of the EBSCO Research Room at ADAH
We're wrapping up our celebration of #ArchivesMonth with a virtual tour of our EBSCO Research Room! The Research Room is open Tuesday-Saturday, 8:30-4:00pm, except on state holidays. Visit our site for more information, and start planning your research trip today! https://archives.alabama.gov/research.html
#AlabamaHistory #Genealogy #HistoryResearch
