Elevating the Visibility of Primary Sources for Black History
The series runs throughout February 2025
Howard-Tilton Memorial Library (H-TML)
All events are open to the public. Non-Tulane affiliates should bring a school ID or government-issued ID to enter H-TML.
Sponsored by Tulane University Libraries
Contact Rachel Stein at rstein7@tulane.edu for more info
Monday, February 3
Getting Started with Ancestry for Black History Research
5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
H-TML 430
Join the Scholarly Engagement Department of Tulane University Libraries to learn more about using Ancestry.com to find records about Black Americans.
Led by Kay P Maye, Scholarly Engagement Librarian - Social Sciences and Data.
RSVP: https://tulane.libcal.com/event/13738288
Monday, February 17
Intentional Listening: Mardi Gras Indians
1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
H-TML 430
Learn about the culture, history, and music making of Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans, and listen to traditional and contemporary sounds. This session will incorporate both audio recordings and rare archival materials representing the Wild Magnolias tribe.
Co-led by:
Big Chief Bo Dollis Jr. of the Wild Magnolias
lisa Hooper, Head of Media Services, Howard-Tilton Memorial Library
Dr. Matt Sakakeeny, Associate Professor, Newcomb Department of Music
Melissa A. Weber, curator of the Hogan Archive of New Orleans Music and New Orleans Jazz, Tulane University Special Collections
RSVP: https://tulane.libcal.com/calendar/events/wildmagnolias
Wednesday, February 19
Black Life and Love in 18th Century Louisiana
4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
H-TML 430
Explore and engage with Keywords for Black Louisiana, a digital project which uses the scholarship of Black feminist scholars, historians, and public intellectuals to center Black and Black-Native life in French and Spanish colonial archives dating from 1714 to 1803. These archival materials delve into the lived experiences of Black/Black Native people in colonial Louisiana. The judicial documents reveal stories of family, culture, labor, resistance, survival, and day-to-day life in the 18th century, providing insights into how Black individuals maintained dignity, identity, and kinship ties despite the oppressive system under which they lived. The workshop will provide historical context, explore the keywords employed in the project, and dive into a few stories, combining digital humanities with history and narration to foster clarity and excitement around discovering and discussing Black life and love in early Louisiana.
Led by Chenise Calhoun, Cyntoya McCall, and Kaillee Coleman
RSVP: https://tulane.libcal.com/calendar/events/k4bl
Friday, February 21
Navio Negreiro Poetry Reading and Latin American Library Collections Display
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
H-TML 430
Join us for the annual Tulane University poetry reading of "O Navio Negreiro" ("The Slave Ship"). “O Navio Negreiro” is a classic piece by Brazilian abolitionist Castro Alves describing the middle passage. The reading will be done in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and—for the first time this year—Haitian Creole. The event will include a display of materials from the collections of The Latin American Library relating to the African experience in Latin America and the Caribbean. All attendees are welcome to sign up to read in the language of their choice.
Sponsored by: the Stone Center for Latin American Studies, Tulane University Libraries, the Latin American Library, the TU Language Learning Center, and the departments and programs of: Interdisciplinary Linguistics, Spanish and Portuguese, French & Italian, History, English, and Africana Studies.
RSVP to receive information on how to sign up to participate in the reading: https://tulane.libcal.com/calendar/events/navio_negreiro.
Tuesday, February 25
Guardian of Progress: Bernette Joshua Johnson
5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
H-TML 430
This presentation by Dr. Nghana Lewis will feature a chapter of the book project, "A Plan and a Purpose": How Black Women (Re)Defined Louisiana's Legal, Political, and Cultural Landscapes After Brown.
The chapter addresses the contributions of Retired Chief Justice Bernette Joshua Johnson and focuses on her term as an associate justice on the Louisiana Supreme Court when she also served as president of the National Bar Association, the United States' oldest network of Black attorneys and judges. Justice Johnson was "on an island" in insisting that an invitation to serve as an NBA conference keynote speaker extended to Justice Clarence Thomas, then a relatively new U.S. Supreme Court associate justice, should not be rescinded. Dr. Lewis highlights Justice Johnson's positioning, in this instance, as evidence of the consistency with which she served as a protector of progress over the course of her illustrious career as a public servant and jurist. The presentation will draw on the Bernette Joshua Johnson papers, a collection held by Amistad Research Center.
Dr. Lewis is an associate professor of English and Africana Studies, a faculty affiliate at Tulane University Law School, and an adjunct professor with the Department of Psychology.
RSVP: https://tulane.libcal.com/event/13765672
Wednesday, February 26
Finding the Forgotten: Discover Pre-20th Century Black New Orleans Through Digitized Primary Source Documents
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
H-TML 430
In this workshop, the presenter will introduce significant collections of digitized historical materials pertaining to the history and experiences of Black people in New Orleans, with a main focus on pre-20th century resources. Participants will learn how to navigate different interfaces and compose effective search queries using terminology that is most likely to return relevant search results. The first 40 minutes will allow participants to familiarize themselves with several different resources. In the remaining 20 minutes, participants will have time to conduct their own preliminary searches with support and troubleshooting guidance from the presenter. Participants will also be directed to a research guide containing additional, related resources that are not covered in the workshop. Note: Participants should bring a device (preferably a laptop or tablet) to the session.
Led by Scholarly Engagement Librarian - Humanities, Dr. Victoria Elmwood.
RSVP: https://tulane.libcal.com/event/13763327
Published 1/10/2025
