The United States changed on November 22. The president’s promise was lost and the coverage of the event by television affected all who watched with immediacy and intimacy. The American people experienced the tragedy together.
Identifying authorship of anything is always a long and arduous process, but it is made increasingly difficult when the author is not a famous member of the community. Norfolk, Virginia, was a bustling town at the start of the twentieth century and had an African American population thirsty for rights and acceptance. One such person was the author of the 1902 diary I was assigned to research. While she certainly made an impact on her community, there were no books written about her and only snit bits of information that gave veiled clues to identity. What emerged through my research was the experience of a minority as it fought to find a place in the community.
Well, I have gotten pretty far behind on updating you all on the new and exciting materials that have recently come into the Special Collections Research Center. But no more! In a few quick posts, I shall updated you on all of these wonderful new materials.
George Fetterman, a western New York farmer, did something remarkable. He wrote a diary entry every day. Every day–for sixty years.