Rep. Robert G. Clark served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1968 to 2004. Rep. Clark talks about his legislative career and the racism he faced. He also talks about the impact the Civil Rights Movement had on him winning the election and his introduction of bills to create holidays for Martin Luther King, Jr., and Medgar Evers.
Rep. Robert G. Clark served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1968 to 2004. In this interview, Rep. Clark fills in some holes from the previous interviews, including: the difficulty in starting a family and maintaining a business while being involved in politics and some pushback his campaign and election received.
Rep. Robert G. Clark served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1968 to 2004. In the final interview of the series, Rep. Clark talks about isolated incidents and experiences he had as a legislator, including being appointed to the commission to handle the aftermath of Hurricane Camille and his decision to run for re-election in 1971.
Collection of materials leading up to Robert Clark speaking on campus at Jackson State University for the 1983 Afro-American History Month Celebration. There are letters of invitation from Dr. Alferdteen Harrison as well as a biography of Robert Clark and the event program.
Robert Hoskins was a long time community activist, working with the NAACP and other organizations. He tells the story of working with the Harrison County Community Action Agency to help bring Harrison County its first Head Start program in 1965. Later, he became Area Administrator for Harrison County Head Start. Incomplete. Side B missing.
In this interview, Texas Southern art alumnus Robert Pruitt discusses his time as an art student (1993-2000) and as an artist later on. During Pruitt’s time at TSU, he learned from Dr. Alvia J. Wardlaw and Professor Harvey Johnson, the latter of whom’s drawing classes were particularly influential on Pruitt and his practice. The artist also discusses his hopes for the future and his desire to create a body of work that speaks to the vitality of African Americans.
A somewhat colored image of Robert R. Taylor with his second wife Nellie Chestnut Taylor in the early twentieth century. Also in the picture are his children Helen, Edward, Beatrice, Robert, and Helen.
Robert Rhodes III was born in Jackson and was a well known carpenter from doing work in the Farish Street District. He worked with his father, who owned a business in the district, until taking the business over for himself. He discusses his work during the Jim Crow Era and the difference in pay between white and Black carpenters.
Rochelle Carter, a student at Jackson State University at the time, talks about her experiences attending the Head Start program in Champaign, Illinois, in 1972.
Scott’s sculpture depicts a large rooster crowing. The artist uses multiple colors of clay in his piece. Like other sculptures created for classes that Professor Simms taught, “Rooster” features numerous embellishments throughout the work, including various nodules and swirls. Creating sculptures of this style requires multiple firings in the kiln.
This button was one of three designs in a VisitGainesville bag from the Rosewood Museum. It depicts a downtrodden man looking down at the burned remains of what could be his home or business. The community is also looking onward at the rubble in the background.
This button was one of three designs in a VisitGainesville bag from the Rosewood Museum. It depicts a map of Florida (except for the uppermost part of the panhandle and the lowermost tip of the southern region), pointing out where the town of Rosewood used to stand before it was subjected to racial violence.
A collection of Rosewood Claims Bill checklists, affidavits, and claims used to verify descendant ties. These documents capture the meticulous process of proving lineage through stories of approved and denied claims, altered narratives, and the struggles faced by families seeking justice and compensation.
This image was taken at the burial site of Martin Goins in Rosewood, FL. Goins, a part of a family subjected to the racial attack at Rosewood by white townsfolk, was born on June 15, 1842, and died on December 16, 1905.
Property affidavits from the Rosewood Massacre, documenting both approved and denied claims, personal testimonies, and harrowing accounts of the tragedy. These affidavits also capture the strong community ties of the all-Black town before its devastating destruction.
A photograph of Rosie Holden of the National Council of Negro Women and Woman Power Unlimited at the Smith Robertson Neighborhood Folklife Festival, April 9-11, 1983. The festival was a one-time grant sponsored event held on the grounds of the Smith Robertson Museum to celebrate the rich history and culture of the Farish Street Historic District.
John Woodrow Wilson, a sculptor, painter, and printmaker from Roxbury, MA, was known for his creative portraits and stylistic approach to social justice. Roxbury Landscape shows a gated park under a blue, white, and yellow sky. Behind other buildings, there is a tall church and a courtyard with bare trees, depicting Autumn in Wilson’s hometown.
John Woodrow Wilson was a sculptor, painter, printmaker, and educator from Roxbury, MA. Roxbury Rooftops depicts an urbanscape from the perspective of the rooftops. The buildings closest to the viewer are shown in hues of red, orange, and yellow. Buildings further away are more brown, green, and gray.
This is a brochure for Williams’ senior art exhibition. The culmination of the Texas Southern art curriculum is a senior exhibition where students showcase artwork created over the course of their undergraduate studies. The brochure features a portrait of Williams, a brief biography, a catalog of the artwork featured in the exhibition, and several photos of his paintings, designs, weavings, and sculptures.
Ruby Dawson was born in Jackson in 1904 and attended Smith Robertson School until the 4th grade before attending Tougaloo College in Jackson. In 1928 she returned to Smith Robertson as a teacher. In the interview, she talks about her time as both a student and teacher. The transcript is edited with handwritten notes.
Actress Ruby Dee’s correspondence with President W. H. Gray revealed frustration over delayed payment after her FAMC appearance. Five letters over three months highlighted the issue, with Mr. Wiggins' absence causing delays. Miss Dee expressed disappointment but still hoped to serve FAMC in the future.
In this photograph obtained from the Rattler 1975, the official Florida A&M University yearbook, the star is “Rudy the Rattler.” Rudy the Rattler was FAMU’s official mascot, a taxidermy rattlesnake sculpture, possibly modeled after a real-life one.
A photograph of Rufus Lounge on N. Farish Street in the Farish Street Historic District. At the time of the photograph, the business was closed and the building was in disrepair.
Perkins’ landscape painting displays a rural scene featuring barns, farmhouses, and a sleeping cow. The landscape is divided with lush greenery and dry, brown land. The fence shows its age in its bent and leaning posts. Dr. John Biggers encouraged Texas Southern student artists to create art based on what they saw – perhaps this instruction inspired Perkins, who may have grown up in a rural environment similar to this one.
Ruth Fitts became a teacher with Head Start in Tupelo, Mississippi, in 1966 after being alerted by her husband to a job opening in an advertisement. She talks about her experiences being a White teacher in the Head Start Program and discusses a number of colleagues she worked with.
Leon Lank Leonard, Sr. was a painter, sculptor, and educator from Waco, TX. Sad Jester combines gestural line art, expressive brushwork, and abstract forms. These techniques are layered to create a face that is centered in the composition. There are mixes and hues of blue, red, green, yellow, orange, and black.
Sam Whisterton was a teacher in Madison County, Mississippi in 1965. He talks about how students coming to his classes were prepared by Head Start. He also talks about the connection between the Freedom Schools of Freedom Summer and the Head Start program and some of the support and push back Head Start experienced when it started.
Mr. Cole worked all over the nation as a voting rights activist. In this interview, he talks about voting, especially through the lens of his memories of voter registration drives during the Civil Rights Movement and up to the present day. He gives a nuanced interpretation of voting rights and voting activities in several parts of Mississippi.
