| PY-258570-18 | Preservation and Access: Common Heritage | Florida Gulf Coast University | Beyond the Blues: Discovering and Preserving Clarksdale Mississippi's History | 1/1/2018 - 6/30/2019 | $8,760.00 | Clay | | Motley | | | | Florida Gulf Coast University | Fort Myers | FL | 33965-6565 | USA | 2017 | U.S. History | Common Heritage | Preservation and Access | 8760 | 0 | 7140.58 | 0 | A week-long community digitization event and a
public program to document the history of Clarksdale, Mississippi, known as the
“birthplace of the blues.” Through the
digitization of photographs, legal documents, family recipes, maps, personal
letters, business records, visual art, and audiovisual materials, the project
would preserve Clarksdale’s history. The
proposed events aim to increase awareness especially of the “non-blues” history
of this Mississippi Delta city, including the Civil Rights Movement, regional
foodways, the Mississippi River and environment, religious practices,
agricultural heritage, literary achievements, and Chinese, Lebanese, Jewish,
and Italian immigration to the region.
The project involves collaboration with Clarksdale Carnegie Public
Library, whose staff would run the digitization event, and Coahoma County Higher
Education Center, where a community event highlighting notable items and
describing their historical and cultural context would be held. After the project, the library would make
digitized materials available via a Common Heritage website.
Clarksdale, Mississippi, is one
of the most culturally significant cities in the Mississippi Delta and is
internationally famous as the "birthplace of the blues." However,
important non-blues aspects of its history are often overlooked. The
significance of its people and events as well as the ways in which normal
citizens have contributed to the Delta's rich culture have not been documented.
This project will be the first systematic opportunity for the citizens of Clarksdale
to contribute to preserving their city's history through the digitizing and
archiving of historical materials. |