History Homecoming Day: Digitizing the Gaps in the Diverse History of a Small College Town

FAIN: PY-234492-16

Davidson College (Davidson, NC 28036-9405)
Jan J. Blodgett (Project Director: June 2015 to September 2017)

A digitization event designed to document community history in Davidson, North Carolina, particularly that related to the African American community which is underrepresented in local area archives. During the digitization event, screenings of the documentary short film Always Part of the Fabric, illustrating the role African Americans played at Davidson College from its inception, would be offered, followed by community discussion with Davidson faculty. In addition, walking tours of community neighborhoods, an interactive online map, and presentations at programs sponsored by the Davidson Historical Society and Davidson Parks & Recreations would explore local African American history.

The small college town of Davidson, North Carolina, grew around Davidson College, which was established in 1837 as an all-male, all-white institution. The town was, from its inception, racially mixed, and has had a long history of civic cooperation juxtaposed with divisions between social groups. The publication of a recent town history has raised awareness that the history of the African-American community is underrepresented in organized artifact collections and narratives.  In collaboration with town government and civic organizations the Davidson College Archives will leverage existing expertise in public history projects to implement History Homecoming Day, an event to capture data about Davidson’s African-American Community through the digitization of cultural artifacts, the capture of oral history narratives, and educational presentations regarding this history as part of a planned Davidson Neighborhoods program.

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