Take a deep dive into Tuskegee University’s remarkable collections, from the notebooks of George Washington Carver to 20th century newspapers and photographs documenting the lives of ordinary Black Alabamans. In this episode, we talk with university archivist Dana Chandler, and hear excerpts from Tuskegee’s audio archives, including speeches from Myrlie Evers, Amelia Boynton Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, and Shirley Chisholm.
Sources and References (in order of appearance)
- Booker T Washington
- George Washington Carver
- The Tuskegee Airmen
- USPHS Syphilis Study
- The First Female Physician in Alabama, Halle Tanner Dillon
- Tuskegee Institute Hospital and Nurse Training School, first hospital for African Americans in Alabama
- Robert R. Taylor, first Black student at MIT, architect of many of Tuskegee’s buildings, and instructor at Tuskegee
- H. Polk, photographer
- P. Bedou, photographer
- M. Battey, photographer
- Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King kissing, photo by P.H. Polk, n.d., Tuskegee University Archives, P.H. Polk Family Collection
- John Lewis
- Ralph David Abernathy
- Jackie Robinson
- Myrlie Evers
- Medgar Evers
- Gomillion v. Lightfoot
- Monroe Work, Negro Yearbook
- Gullah community
- Roll Jordan Roll
- The Southern Courier
- Muhammad Ali
- Amelia Boynton Robinson walking with President Obama
- Amelia Boynton Robinson
- Selma to Montgomery March
- Concordia University (Selma)
- Shirley Chisholm
- Hinds Community College, incorporating Utica
Full audio of clips presented in podcast:
Jackie Robinson speaks at a Tuskegee Civic Association meeting, June 23, 1959 (audio collections record)
Myrlie Evers at Tuskegee Institute, February 4, 1973 (audio collections record)
Muhammad Ali at Logan Hall, Tuskegee Institute, November 23, 1966 (audio collections record)
Amelia Boyton Robinson, circa 1970 (audio collections record)
Shirley Chisholm at Tuskegee Institute, March 12, 1971 (audio collections record)
Behind the Mic
Sharon M. Burney
Sharon M. Burney is a program officer with CLIR, where she supports the Recordings at Risk and Digitizing Hidden Special Collections grant programs. Sharon specializes in academic, cultural heritage, community, and institutional support systems, navigating administrative policy adherence with an interpersonal connection that promotes community building. Prior to joining CLIR, she spent 15 years providing program support to the University of Florida African American Studies Program, helping it to become a premiere degree program. She is also a widely respected poet and community organizer. She loves to embrace the infinite historical contributions of the African diaspora, and blends them with contemporary civil rights, activism, and social issues in her poetry. Her passion for public service, education, and humanity is exemplified in every aspect of her life, and when in rest mode you can find her enjoying the simple moments with her daughters and pets.
Dana Chandler
Dana Chandler is an archivist and historian who received his graduate degree from Auburn University. He is the co-author of To Raise Up the Man Farthest Down: Tuskegee University’s Advancements in Human Health, 1881-1987 (University of Alabama Press, 2018). He has made more than 70 presentations at a variety of venues and teaches history in the Department of History and Political Science. He specializes in the history of Tuskegee University.