Tag: African American
-
Sawyer and The AME’s Christian Recorder
This blog is a continuation of my previous post on Joseph Sawyer and his articles within The Christian Recorder. I will continue to share bulletins which referenced Sawyer’s work in Florida. This is my first time reading these pieces; therefore, I highlighted information that caught my attention. Also I am in Panama this week and will…
-
An Unexpected Surprise: New Findings on Rev. J.J. Sawyer
Still searching for a living descendant. I spent the majority of my research this month on compiling primary sources about Reverend Joseph J. Sawyer. Sawyer is a recent addition to my research; therefore, I need to ensure there is a good amount of information for his biography. I wrongly assumed a lot about his life and he proved…
-
Its All In The Name
Vincent Allen Flowers 1906-2002 My thesis does not include the biography of Vincent Allen Flowers. To make my research more practical in two semesters, I focus on the biographies and more specifically the educational activism of Reverend Joseph J. Sawyer, Rachel Helen Flowers, and Geraldine Louise Wilson. Nonetheless, I continue to research all of the…
-
Geraldine Wilson’s Statement of Purpose
When she applied to graduate school at New York University, Geraldine resided in Jackson, Mississippi where she worked with the state’s Head Start Program. As I researched Geraldine’s biography, I connected with her story, her resilience, and her passion for the education of African American children. It helps that her archival collection at the Schomburg…
-
May 2016
With three semesters of graduate school under my belt, I finished with a 4.0 GPA (look at God!). Honestly, this past school year was full of many challenges whether it was lack of motivation, regret, family, or extreme exhaustion. Nonetheless, I made it and I also passed my thesis proposal defense. I neglected this blog…
-
Look Out to Look In: The Search for a Living Descendant
Henry Sams (1915-1975) b. Jacksonville, Florida d. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Half-brother of the Flowers children Born to Henry Sams and Nancy Sawyer Sams, Henry Sams Jr. spent his childhood in Jacksonville, Florida before his family’s migration to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Throughout his lifetime, he excelled in sports since his time at Overbrook High School. He also participated in pre-Olympic meets…
-
Thesis Woes
(A rare glimpse of me on the blog) As I entered my (second) first semester of graduate school, my goal was to meet with my adviser as soon as possible. I firmly believe that we are an academic “match made in heaven”. We discussed my background, interests, and most importantly my thesis. Since my senior…
-
Winter 2015: A Gift to Remember
The latter portion of this year has been interesting and full of changes. My great-grandmother, the glue of my family, passed two days after Thanksgiving, it was difficult completely my final assignments for courses, and I was tired of life particularly work. As a Scrooge, I have an extreme dislike about Christmas. I do not…
-
A Birth Certificate, A Research First in the Flowers Family History
I have researched the Flowers family for the past three years and never found a birth certificate for any member of this family. Was I surprised? It was not a required document to be recorded at a black child’s birth. For most African Americans born in the seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth century, birth…
-
A Letter To Her Friend: Dear Johnnie
When I find a note one of the members of this family wrote, I always crack a smile. I smile because these letters reveal more than any census record, birth certificate, or newspaper article could ever show–their personality, their humor, and their love and at times hate for people. In this featured letter, Geraldine Wilson…
Diary of a Historian 