Crossing the Tracks:

The Academic Library as Social

Justice Advocate

A partnership of the Freeman Round House

Museum of African American History, the Barton

College History Department, and Hackney Library

“The mission of librarians is to

improve society through

facilitating knowledge creation

in their communities.”

R. David Lankes, The Atlas of New Librarianship.

Cambridge: MIT Press, 2011.

Freeman Round House Museum of

African American History

Mission: To highlight,

preserve, promote and

present African

American contributions

to the development of

East Wilson, Wilson,

Wilson County and the

surrounding area over

the past 150 years.

...provides leadership in the revitalization

of Wilson County’s unique architectural

heritage. As stewards of Wilson County’s

historic buildings, we actively promote

historic, architectural, and culturally

significant properties….”

from PoW Mission Statement (http://www.preservationofwilson.com/)

“Preservation of Wilson...

“The great force of history comes from the

fact that we carry it within us, are

unconsciously controlled by it in many

ways, and history is literally present in all

that we do.”

James Baldwin

...provides leadership in the revitalization

of Wilson County’s unique architectural

heritage. As stewards of Wilson County’s

historic buildings, we actively promote

historic, architectural, and culturally

significant properties….”

from PoW Mission Statement (http://www.preservationofwilson.com/)

“Preservation of Wilson...

Service Learning requires a collaboration between the college and one or more communities.

Projects meet community-defined needs. It may be integrated into the academic curriculum (course-

based, credit bearing) or may be implemented as a co-curricular activity.

Community Based Research (CBR) is a methodology that can be used in service learning. CBR is

designed to identify and solve community-defined problems through a partnership between community

members and college researchers. Unlike traditional research, which is completed at the conclusion of

the project, CBR makes a lasting contribution to the community.

Participatory Action Research (PAR) is a form of CBR that seeks to empower and emancipate

community groups which are struggling to improve their social, political, and economic situations.

Service Learning, Community Based

Research, Participatory Action Research

“Exploring and confronting the roots and

legacy of white supremacy.”

Community Forums at St. John AME Zion

Church organized by Mr. Louis Thomas

Ms. Deloris Thomas

Barton College First Year Seminar

• work 5 hours per week at the Oliver Nestus Freeman Round House Museum

of African American History in Wilson

• spend 2-3 hours per week on background reading, research, writing one-

page reports, and discussing this intellectual work with the library director

(this work will be done in the library, as part of the student’s regular duties).

The topics will be oral history techniques, AV archiving techniques, and some

general research on the socioeconomic history of East Wilson. These reports

will be posted on the project’s libguide (library-linked website)

Crossing the Tracks: Round House Museum,

Hackney Library, BC History Department

Matthew Flint: Barton College

History Student

● Which neighborhood(s) did you grow up in?

● How has the neighborhood changed over the years?

● How have the changes affected the community?

● Where did you go to school?

● What was the school like?

● Did you get a good education there?

● Did you get support from the teachers and

administrators?

● Were the parents involved with the school?

● Who was your favorite teacher? Why?

● Who was the principal? What do you remember about

him?

What we asked...the schools

● Were there a lot of stores and other businesses in the

community back then?

● Are any of them still in business today?

● When did the businesses begin to leave or close?

● Why do you think this happened?

● How did the community change when the businesses

began to leave?

● What is the business district like now, and how is it

different from when you were young?

...the businesses...

Did you grow up in a church, or did any of your family?

Which one?

How the church involved in community activities?

Did people in the churches work with the schools? How?

...the churches

Rev. Maurice Barnes on community fabric.

Mr. Derrick Creech on Darden High School.

Mrs. Mattie B. Jones on schools and

teachers.

What we heard

“If in moving through your life, you find

yourself lost, go back to the last place

where you knew who you were, and what

you were doing, and start from there.”

Bernice Johnson Reagon (Sweet

Honey in the Rock)

“It takes a whole community and there needs to be a cooperative spirit,” [Bill] Myers said. “I don’t think

you’ve done anything when you leave one section of the community out of history and not tell their

contributions. We do better when we work together.” The Wilson Times, 2/18/14, 1A.

“Knowing this history gives me a better perspective of this city. Driving through Wilson you can still see the

stark differences that remain between different areas of the city. In some places we can see how integration

has succeeded, while in others, especially East Wilson, it doesn’t seem like integration ever happened.”

Matthew Flint The Wilson Times, 7/19/14, 2A

Crossing the Tracks: The Academic Library as

Social Justice Advocatehttp://barton.libguides.com/crossingthetracks

George W. Loveland

Associate Professor of Library Science

Director of Hackney Library

gwloveland@barton.edu

252-399-6501