Community History in South Alabama: Preserving and Sharing Stories of Minoritized Alabamians

FAIN: ZPA-283853-22

University of South Alabama (Mobile, AL 36688-3053)
Kathy J Cooke (Project Director: May 2021 to August 2023)
Philip James Carr (Project Director: August 2023 to November 2024)
Deborah Gurt (Co Project Director: October 2021 to November 2024)

The retention and hiring of staff at both the McCall Library and the USA Archeology Museum to facilitate the processing and digitizing of community-oriented oral history collections at the library and to produce educational materials, an exhibit, and programming at the museum.  

We propose to fund two projects at the University of South Alabama to support the preservation and dissemination of community history of minoritized citizens in our area. Funding from the American Rescue Plan will help to resume work on projects affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding for positions at the McCall Rare Book & Manuscript Library will facilitate progress on the History, Humanities, Community, & Justice in Alabama project, coordinated by the University Honors College. Ongoing efforts by a number of faculty on community oral histories have resulted in a backlog of transcription and archival work on topics including: Africatown and descendants of enslaved Africans brought to the area on the Clotilda; Mardi Gras and the LGBTQ community; Mobile’s Jewish community; and several others. The USA Archaeology Museum will fund an exhibition on artifacts, oral histories, and music recordings from historic African American communities, and includes traveling and education components.