Remembering a Labor Day Hero: Dorothy Lee Bolden Thompson

Dorothy Lee Bolden Thompson, circa 1970

Although many of us enjoy celebrating the Labor Day holiday weekend with cookouts, parties, or restful leisure activities, reflection over the holiday’s purpose is often the last thing on our minds. The federal holiday was made official in the 1890s to atone for the country’s violent response to the infamous Pullman Strike. It was also a way to commemorate the hard work of American employees and the courage of labor organizations that lobbied to improve ill-working conditions, reduce work hours, increase wages, and to act as mediators between profit-driven industries and neglected employees.

There is evidence of the undeterred efforts of labor unions and the people that were instrumental in creating union branches within our very own archive. Dorothy Lee Bolden Thompson mobilized community members and organized protests with her then neighbor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the Civil Rights movement. As a community activist, she drew from her Civil Rights organizing experience and personal employment past to develop the National Domestic Workers Union of America, Inc., which successfully improved the wages and working conditions of domestic workers in Atlanta, and other U.S. cities.

With bestsellers and blockbuster hits like “The Help” reminding today’s moviegoers of the daunting task of caretaking for Southern white families in the 1960s, it is empowering to know one of Atlanta’s very own was instrumental in improving the lives of domestic workers who really did in fact endure challenges and inequalities. Let us never neglect to remember our labor champions, the reason for the holiday.

For more information on the life and achievements of Dorothy Lee Bolden Thompson and her work with the National Domestic Workers Union of America, Inc., visit AARL to view the Dorothy Lee Bolden Thompson Collection. Also have a look at a recent blog post from one of our researchers, Daniel Horowitz Garcia, which features even more additional resources.


References:

Green, James. Death In the Haymarket: A Story of Chicago, the First Labor Movement and the Bombing that Divided Gilded Age America. New York: Anchor Books, 2007.


Posted by Yewande Addie, AARL Intern

AARL home to Amelia Boynton-Robinson papers

Left to right, Dick Gregory and Amelia Boynton-Robinson, Auburn Avenue Research Library, August 2011

The Auburn Avenue Research Library is now home to the Amelia Boynton-Robinson papers. At 100 years old, Mrs. Boynton-Robinson, pictured above right, is an activist/organizer, speaker, playwright and author. Born in Savannah, Georgia, she is the oldest living graduate of Tuskegee University. Mrs. Boynton-Robinson worked closely with civil rights leaders to plan and strategize rural and regional efforts. Her home in Selma, Alabama, was a meeting place for leaders during the 1960s, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Joan Baez, John Lewis, and Andrew Young. Mrs. Boynton-Robinson along with her husband, Samuel, organized Alabama residents in voting rights campaigns and civil rights activities. Mrs. Boynton-Robinson’s collection reflects her wide range of activities and includes, newspaper clippings, awards, letters, ephemera and photographs. The collection is approximately 8 cubic feet and will be open for research once processed. 

Posted by Kerrie Cotten Williams, Archivist

The Final Touches: Opening a Collection for Use

For an archivist, one of the most satisfying moments before a collection officially opens to researchers is affixing labels to boxes. In terms of the tasks associated with processing, there is no more to do. All arrangement and description is complete. All folders are labeled. All extraneous bits and boxes have a home. Everything is in its final place.

Pictured above, AARL Intern Nicole Carmolingo attaches the last label to the Shirlene Holmes papers, which opens soon, after final revisions are made to the finding aid. Details about the collection will accompany the announcement posted here. For now, Nicole has a deserved happy moment for processing, arranging, and describing 35.19 linear feet of materials comprising 50 boxes and 5 oversize boxes.

Posted by Wesley Chenault, Library Research Associate

One Woman's Dream: The Unfolding Legacy of Evelyn J. Frazier

Just in time for Women's History Month, here is a peek at One Woman's Dream: The Unfolding Legacy of Evelyn J. Frazier, an exhibition about the business, civic, educational, and political life of an incredibly dynamic individual. From now until Sunday, May 29, 2011, the exhibit is open in the small gallery on the first floor at AARL. Curators Pennye Hicks (Frazier's niece) and Kenneth Green of Spelman College did a wonderful job of converting 200 square feet into an eye-catching, interactive user experience.

Tall panels flank the left and center walls of the space, providing viewers with biographical information, historical context, and a timeline of important dates and events related to Frazier's life, and with a subtle cue about the exhibit's left-to-right flow. "Evelyn's Journey," the tallest panel, contains a video component installed midway through the timeline. Using the headphones provided, viewers encounter a visual and audio narration of Frazier's personal and professional development.

Anchoring the center wall is a panel titled, "The Two Steeples," which includes information about Frazier's activities in the historic Big Bethel A.M.E. Church and Morris Brown College. Mounted to the wall to the right of "The Two Steeples" are a series of black hinged boxes. The face of each is covered with a reproduction photograph or document. Upon opening a box, viewers read details and descriptions about the exterior image. It’s a clever way to add depth to two-dimensional objects and to engage viewers physically.

Anchoring the right is the show-stopper, a small reproduction of the interior of Frazier's Cafe Society, a popular African American eatery, complete with booth, counter, and framed original ephemera -- a menu, matches, napkins, full page ad -- and much more. It's a visual treat.

Through this exhibit, the book The Silent Warrior: An Autobiography of Evelyn J Frazier, and the donation of Frazier's papers to AARL, Pennye Hicks is ensuring the contributions and accomplishments of her aunt are remembered. To see the collection finding aid, go here.  And plan a visit soon!

Posted by Wesley Chenault, Library Research Associate