It’s amazing what twisting paths spiders can lead us on if we let them. Several months ago I started checking out the biographies of the women captured with Louise in a 1935 Chicago Defender photo with the headline “They Are …
Who’s Got a Brown Paper Bag?
On Sunday, May 23, 2021 NPR published a piece on Shuffle Along, the 1921 production by an all-Black creative team, including Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle, and performed by an all-Black company, that took Broadway by storm. By bringing …
The American Dream
Most of the women were immigrants. The stories in the news were about them leaving their countries in search of better opportunities for their children. The classic immigrant story.
Their children talked about mothers who spent all their time working, …
Research Revelations Episode 12.0 – Caring for Community While Telling The Story of Now – Part 2
In the second half of my conversation with Caitlin Quigley from Bread & Roses Community Fund, we discuss what research subjects are relevant to right now and the continued importance of documenting the stories of the most marginalized, unheard people. …
Our New Home at the Free Library of Philadelphia
“We did not foresee opening this fellowship during any of the present circumstances. COVID-19 has forced most archival research online. More importantly, the virus is disproportionately killing Black and Brown people, just as police violence does. At the same time, …
Research Revelations Episode 11.0 – Caring for Community while Telling the Story of Now – Part 1
Back in April, the coronavirus was the stop story because of how it was affecting folks far from the White House, and I was thinking about how the pandemic might be affecting organizers and their priorities. Would documenting the current …
Research Revelations Episode 7.0 – Online Research and Revelatory Rabbit Holes
The project director’s research has been curtailed by the pandemic, too, and this week, you can really hear her struggles in dealing with quarantine and how it compares to the …