Report from Chick History Digitization Event in Nashville – Collection Reaches 100

Patricia Jenkins-Armstrong, center, was a Nashville Freedom Rider who gave an oral history at the Chick History Nashville Digitization Event.

Chick History Digital Collection of African American Women’s Political History Reaches 100

On May 18-20, 2018, at the Nashville Public Library – Downtown, Chick History held its second Digitization Event as part of the Protecting the Legacy project. This project is Phase II of March to the 19th, a statewide, multi-year initiative in partnership with Humanities Tennessee to uncover and preserve women’s history in our state as we near the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment.

Thanks to the generosity of our participants and their commitment to sharing and preserving local history, we were able to digitize 33 items and conduct 6 oral histories. This brings the total number of collected histories to date to 100. We are thankful to the passion and generosity of our participants, and the rich histories they shared.

c. 1912 Funeral Ledger from the Patton Brothers Funeral Home in Franklin, TN. This ledger is particularly important as it pre-dates state vital records registration in Tennessee

A special thank you to the following committee members and advisors who lent expertise and support to the work in the Middle Tennessee area:

Committee Members

• Andrea Blackman, Nashville Public Library
• Tasneem Tewogbola, Nashville Public Library
• Kathleen Feduccia, Nashville Public Library
• Linda Barnickel, Nashville Public Library
• Dr. Susan Knowles, Center for Historic Preservation, MTSU
• Patricia Mitchell, Tennessee State Library and Archives
• Leslie Boone, Vanderbilt University
• Dr. Ashley Bouknight, Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage

Community Advisors
Thank you to the following community advisors for support and outreach:

• Linda T. Wynn, M.S., M. P. A., Tennessee Historical Commission
• Dr. Learotha Williams, Tennessee State University
• Dr. Theodora Pinnock, Meharry Medical College
• Gary Burke, Friends of Fort Negley

Project Moving to East Tennessee Next

Work has already begun in East Tennessee, and Chick History is proud to work with the Beck Cultural Exchange Center and the East Tennessee Historical Society as our host partners for work in the East Tennessee area. Over the coming months, we will have more Community Meetings in the Knoxville area  for the public to learn more. You can visit the project’s website to learn more and keep up to date on events: protect.chickhistory.org

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Protecting the Legacy is organized by Chick History and a coalition of partners across Tennessee. We are digitizing family and local history related to African American women’s political history in Tennessee before 1930. This is an effort to expand the narrative of suffrage, voting, and political activity; and to preserve the contributions and experiences of African American women during this time period.