I have just arrived in Jackson, Mississippi after spending a week in New Orleans. I love New Orleans, but it was too much. The city that is and also knowing the situation the city is in concerning poverty, education, etc is heart-breaking. Plus, I am far from a big city girl, I like the small comfort Southern towns. The NCORE conference was unbelievable. I learned so much, took hundreds of notes, and I am ready to be VP of Diversity Affairs…well I think I am.

Okay, well tomorrow I will be at the archives from 9am to 5pm. I have three days to go through the folders. Crazy thing is, I did not realize how much research I will be doing. I have been away from the Flowers research for quite some time and on the train ride to Jackson I decided to review the details the archives had pertaining to each file. It was then that I realized I made a huge mistake. I should have reviewed what was included in each document beforehand for it provided dozens of genealogical clues and also facts I should have looked into more for Hilda was more amazing then I thought she was. What is even more amazing is that she left for Mississippi to continue the legacy left by her daughter Geraldine. Check it out.

Box 1: Head Start Records. 1966-1974

• This box contains a publication booklet possibly written by Hilda entitled, “What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black?”
• This box also contains a publication written by Hilda for Friends of Children of Mississippi entitled “Afro-American History for FCM Parents and Teachers” as well as a paper written by her daughter Geraldine, “Report to County Staff on Black Awareness.” This box also contains a report and details of a workshop led by Alice Walker. Could these women have been friends? Alice Walker and her ex-husband did live in Jackson for quite some time during the late 1960s.

Box 2: Philadelphia’s SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)

• I cannot wait to read everything in this box particularly Hilda’s notes on the SNCC office

Box 3: Poor People’s Corporation

• This box contains personal notes by Hilda while serving as a trainer in Mississippi’s Delta.

Box 4: Diaries

• Two diaries—must I say anymore.

Box 5: Printed Materials

• What interest me from this box is clippings collected by Hilda and Geraldine reflecting their interest in African American history, the Civil Rights Movement, and Black Power Movement.

Box 6: Personal Paper

• This includes notes from friends and family…POSSIBLY RACHEL!!
• Information regarding her personal real estate, I could find her home.
• It also contains information regarding her late husband’s estate, her resume, GED certificate, and church bulletins. Hopefully with my time here, I can pinpoint which church she attended. Also I want to know what happened relationship-wise with her husband because at the time of his death for they live in separate homes.

• Last, but not least, is information regarding her small business and other personal affairs.

Tomorrow is the day! Excited? So am I!

Until the next post my friends.

Christina