No. 2, June 1998
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Vol. 26:2 ISSN 0160-8460 June 1998 First Lady Announces $1 Million Award to Five Founding Fathers Projects First Lady Hilary Rodham Clinton has announced that a grant of $1 million has been contributed by television producer Norman Lear for the editing and publishing of five Founding Fathers projects—the Papers of Thomas Jefferson, the Adams Family Papers, the Papers of James Madison, the Papers of George Washington, and the Papers of Benjamin Franklin. On July 9, 1998, with the south portico of the White House as a backdrop, Mrs. Clinton unveiled the logo for the White House Millennium Council and its “Save America’s Treasures” program as she launched a tour of several historic locations. The following day, standing in front of Montpelier, James Madison’s home in Orange County, Virginia, she said that the gift from Mr. Lear and his family “will help ensure that the ideas and ideals which built our nation survive forever.” These five projects receive major Federal support from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Mrs. Clinton said that the NEH, in administering the grant, “will work along with the National Archives to collect and safeguard the writings of those Americans from whom we continue to look for inspiration.” Mr. Lear has produced some of the most critically acclaimed serials in the history of television, including All in the Family and The Jeffersons. The Television Hall of Fame honored him as one of its very first inductees. Mr. Lear has also been a staunch advocate of First Amendment rights; he was founder of People for the American Way. In offering the award to these five Founding Fathers projects, Mr. Lear recalled the powerful patriotic influence of his grandfather, a Russian immigrant, on his own life and said that we must continue to build on the gifts of our forbearers: “A nation, after all, exists mostly as a shared figment of our collective imagination, a constellation of cultural and political ideals. A people can only become and remain a Continued on page 8 Ann Newhall Appointed Executive Director Ms. Ann Clifford Newhall has accepted the position of Executive Director of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. She will join the NHPRC in August. Ms. Newhall comes to the Commission with more than 20 years of experience in archival administration. She is currently the archivist of the Records and Communications Unit, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva, Switzerland. She is responsible for the administration of archives, records management, internal communications, and reproduction services operations for the UNHCR headquarters and all field office and special operations. From 1993 to 1995, Ms. Newhall was the chief of the Records and Archives Unit, Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations, in Rome, Italy. Ms. Newhall has also held positions as Archivist of the Ford Foundation in New York, and as an archivist at Yale University Library in New Haven, CT. While at Yale, Ms. Newhall indexed and assisted in the editing of the Diary of Colonel Edward M. House. She holds Master of Arts degrees in American Studies from Yale University and in American History from Southern Connecticut State University. She is currently Vice Chair of the Section on International Organizations, International Council on Archives. 1 From the Editor ANNOTATION In addition to our regular coverage of current Commission events, this issue is devoted to the NHPRC’s efforts to preserve ISSN 0160-8460 and make available to the public the records of African-American institutions and organizations and the papers of prominent African- Annotation is the quarterly newsletter of the National American individuals. In the past, much of the historical voice of Historical Publications and Records Commission African-American individuals and institutions was not heard (NHPRC), a Federal agency within the National Archives because the primary research materials, so essential for scholars and Records Administration in Washington, DC. and researchers, had not been collected and made available. Recipients are encouraged to republish, with appropriate credit, any materials appearing in Annotation. Inquiries Through its grants for archival preservation and publication, about receiving Annotation, submitting material for it, or the Commission has helped save, preserve, and make accessible anything else related to it may be directed to the Editor, valuable documentary collections important for understanding Annotation, NHPRC, National Archives and Records African Americans and the important issues surrounding their lives. Administration, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Room It has supported a number of projects at institutions around the 106, Washington, DC 20408-0001, (202) 501-5610 (voice); country to rescue records in deteriorating condition and to arrange, (202) 501-5601 (fax); [email protected] (e-mail); describe, and produce finding aids to make the records available to <http://www.nara.gov/nara/nhprc/> (World Wide Web). researchers. It has also supported projects to collect, edit, and publish Material accepted for publication will be edited to microform and book editions of documents relating to African- conform to style and space limitations of Annotation, American history. In revealing significant new information and but authors will be consulted should substantive insights in numerous areas of our past, these collections of papers questions arise. The editor is final arbiter in matters regarding length and grammar. Published material does and edited publications are changing the way we look at our history not necessarily represent the views of the Commission and how that history is taught in our schools. or of the National Archives and Records Administration; We begin this issue with the White House’s announcement indeed, some material may challenge policies and of a million-dollar award to five Founding Fathers papers projects practices of those institutions. as part of its Millennium Council’s “Save America’s Treasures” program. We also welcome our new executive director, Ann NHPRC Members Newhall. Loren Schweninger then explains the purpose and the John W. Carlin, Archivist of the United States, accomplishments of the Race and Slavery Petitions Project. His Chairperson; Roy D. Blunt, representing the U.S. House article is followed by Carter B. Cue’s story of efforts to preserve of Representatives; Nicholas C. Burkel and Marvin F. the records of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or “Bud” Moss, representing the President of the United HBCUs. Our next article covers the publication of the Papers of States; William H. Chafe, representing the Organization Martin Luther King, Jr. of American Historians; Charles T. Cullen, representing We then come to a report on the Commission’s June meeting, the Association for Documentary Editing; Mary Maples and welcome our newest Commission member, Peggy Grafeld, Dunn, representing the American Historical Association; who succeeds William Z. Slany as the representative of the State Alfred Goldberg, representing the Department of Department. Next, Geoffrey P. Williams presents an account of Defense; Margaret P. Grafeld, representing the Department of State; David H. Hoober, representing the the work of the Capital District Black History Project, which resulted American Association for State and Local History; James in the preservation of the records of numerous area African- M. Jeffords, representing the U.S. Senate; Anne R. American organizations by the archives of the University at Albany, Kenney, representing the Society of American Archivists; SUNY. We then explore the publication of the papers of Frederick Howard Lowell, representing the National Association Douglass, arguably the most prominent African American of the of Government Archives and Records Administrators; mid-19th century. We also note the receipt of the American Library David H. Souter, representing the U.S. Supreme Court; Association’s Dewey Award by Winston Tabb, who represents and Winston Tabb, representing the Librarian of the Librarian of Congress on the Commission. Congress. E. Murell Dawson then provides an account of the efforts of Florida A & M University’s Black Archives to preserve the records NHPRC Staff of Florida’s all-Black elementary and secondary schools from the Laurie A. Baty, Program Officer; Roger A. Bruns, segregation era, many of which were virtually abandoned after Acting Executive Director; Richard A. Cameron, Director integration and rescued by concerned members of the African- for State Programs; Timothy D.W. Connelly, Director for American community. We next present articles on the Freedom Publications; Nancy Taylor Copp, Management and and Southern Society Project and the Howard Thurman Papers Project. Program Analyst; Mary A. Giunta, Coordinator for Fundraising, Outreach, and Education; J. Dane It is then our sad duty to euloge a great historian and documentary Hartgrove, Editor and Historian; Michael T. Meier, editor, Arthur S. Link. Research Archivist; Laurette O’Connor, Grant Program We note the publication of Documents of the Emerging Nation: Assistant; Cassandra Scott, Staff Assistant; Daniel A. U.S. Foreign Relations, 1775-1789, a college-level reader derived Stokes, Program Officer. from the Commission’s award-winning three-volume documentary Continued on page 23 2 Race, Slavery and Free Blacks: Petitions to Southern Legislatures and County Courts, 1776-1867 A Documentary