Introduction
This guide provides a selected list of publications and manuscript collections in the Special Collections Library which may be useful for you as you work on your class projects. This list is not comprehensive, and students are encouraged to explore additional material which may be available.
Books: Print and Digital
LB5 .G5 no.293
Annex
Aronson, Brittany Alexis.
A historical narrative of the changes in Nashville's school system through desegregation : African American education, 1954-1969. Thesis (M. Ed. in Curriculum and Instructional Leadership)--Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, Aug. 2007.
LB5 .G42 no.1219
Annex
Crawford, Mark Scott. Identifying means and techniques used to overcome employment barriers by African Americans employed in Nashville's music industry. Thesis (Ed. D. in Human Resource Development)--Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, Dec. 2005.
(A PDF version of this thesis is also available for free download from ProQuest’s Dissertation Abstracts database.)
Collection of historical and contemporary information pertaining to African Americans at the end of the 19th century. Short informational sketches of notable African Americans and African American institutions with essays and lectures by African Americans on a variety of subjects. It also includes a collection of African American poetry as well as statistical tables such as the county by county population of African Americans in the United States. Seeks to inform its audience on such topics as history, religion, morality, education, and civil rights.
R747 .M49 J646 2000
Southern Civilization Book Collection
Johnson, Charles W. The spirit of a place called Meharry : the strength of its past to shape the future. Franklin, Tenn. : Hillsboro Press, c2000.
Lawson, James. Oral history interview with James Lawson, October 24, 1983 [electronic resource] : interview F-0029, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
Lewis, John. Oral history interview with John Lewis, November 20, 1973 [electronic resource] : interview A-0073, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
F444 .N29 N45 1999
Southern Civilization Book Collection
Lovett, Bobby L. The African-American history of Nashville, Tennessee, 1780-1930 : elites and dilemmas. Fayetteville, AK : University of Arkansas Press, 1999.
E185.93 .T3 P76 1996
Southern Civilization Book Collection
Lovett, Bobby L. Profiles of African Americans in Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn. : Annual Local Conference on Afro-American Culture and History, 1996.
Historical profiles originally presented at the 2nd (1983) through 14th (1995) Annual Local Conference on Afro-American Culture and History.
BX 6480 .N373 O847 1997
Southern Civilization Book Collection
Overton, Sadie Whitlow. The house of the Lord : Lake Providence Missionary Baptist Church, Nashville Tennessee, 1868-1996. Franklin, TN. : Providence House Publishers, 1997.
LA369 .N2 P484 2008
Southern Civilization Book Collection - Oversize
Pethel, Mary Ellen. Athens of the South : college life in Nashville, a New South city, 1897-1917. Thesis – Georgia State University.
Seigenthaler, John. Oral history interview with John Seigenthaler, December 24 and 26, 1974 [electronic resource] : interview A-0330, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
370 P31c no.1106
Annex
Stitely, Thomas Beane. Bridging the gap : a history of the Rosenwald Fund in the development of rural Negro schools in Tennessee, 1912-1932.
Thesis (Ph. D.)--George Peabody College for Teachers, 1975.
E185.93 .T3 S866 1989
Southern Civilization Book Collection
Sumner, David E. The local press and the Nashville student movement, 1960. Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1989.
F445 .N4 T75 2002
Southern Civilization Book Collection
Trial and triumph : essays in Tennessee's African American history. Edited by Carroll Van West. Knoxville : University of Tennessee Press, c2002.
E185.93 .T3 W455 1990
Southern Civilization Book Collection
Wills, Morgan Jackson. "Walking the edge" : Vanderbilt University and the sit-in crisis of 1960. Thesis (B.A. in History)--Princeton University.
LD5597 .C65
VU-Pubs
1887 – Present
The Vanderbilt Comet/Vanderbilt Commodore. [Nashville, Tenn.: Vanderbilt University].
Annual yearbook of Vanderbilt University. Published originally as The Comet, the name was changed to The Commodore around 1911.
LH1 .V25 M376
VU-Pubs
1924 – 1967
The Masquerader. Nashville, Tenn. : Published under the supervision of the Calumet Club of the Sigma Upsilon Literary Fraternity.
LJ23 .V25 M44
VU-Pubs
1964 – 1970
Meet the Greeks. [Nashville, Tenn.] : Published by the Interfraternity Council, Vanderbilt University.
LH1 .V25 R362
VU-Pubs
1980
Rap magazine. Nashville, TN : Afro-American Association, Vanderbilt University.
LH1 .V25 S645
VU-Pubs
1962 – 1971
Spectrum magazine. Nashville, Tenn. : Student Publications Board of Vanderbilt University.
A magazine reflecting the Honors Program and other student writing at Vanderbilt.
LH1 .V25 V3475
VU-Pubs
1986 – 1989
Vanderbilt global gazetteer. Nashville, TN : The Office of International Services.
Newsletter for members and friends of Vanderbilt's international community.
LH1 .V25 V35
VU-Pubs
1891 – Present
The Vanderbilt Hustler. Nashville, Tenn. : Student Publications Board of Vanderbilt University.
Serials File
January 1997
African-American Studies Program Newsletter
One issue. Published by the Vanderbilt African-American Studies Program Department.
Serials File
1982-1983
Black Church Relations Reporter
Two issues. Published by the Vanderbilt Divinity School. This newsletter discusses political and social issues affecting the African-American students of the Divinity School.
Serials File
1970-1978
The Black Student at Vanderbilt
Published by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions for prospective students. Black students did all the writing and editing. The issues vary in format from a foldout brochure to a 2-page booklet.
Serials File
1988 – 1991
Kalangu
Newsletter published by the Johnson Black Cultural Center, its purposing being "to inform, unite, educate, and entertain students at Vanderbilt on African-American culture and life" (v. 1 no. 1). Predecessor to “News From the House.”
Serials File
2000
News From the House
Bi-monthly newsletter published by the Bishop Johnson Black Cultural Center.
KF4756 .A75 V3
VU-Pubs
1969 - 1972
Race relations law survey. Nashville, Tenn. : Vanderbilt University School of Law.
Egerton has written or edited eleven non-fiction books and contributed over two hundred articles to periodicals. He has also been a participant in and writer for many projects or conferences dealing with desegregation and civil rights. The John Egerton Papers, 1950s-2001, include correspondence, manuscripts of writings, speeches, research materials, publication materials, publicity for books, reviews, legal and financial documents, memorabilia, clippings and photographs, programs from cultural events, scrapbooks and periodicals on race relations and school desegregation, and audio and video tapes. Major topics include civil rights, desegregation, race relations, Southern history, and Southern food.
Fuson, Nelson and Mary
Nelson and Mary Fuson were involved in the civil rights movement in Nashville. This collection features slides of protests, audios, and photocopies of periodical articles and correspondence.
Edwin Hamlett was a member of the Southern Students Organizing Committee [SSOC]. This collections features material on the women’s movement, campus protests, and periodical literature produced by civil rights organizations.
History of Undergraduate Desegregation at Vanderbilt Collection
The material in this collection consists of oral history interviews conducted by students in History 295-01, The History of Undergraduate Desegregation at Vanderbilt, taught by Dr. Peter Felten Fall 2004. The collection includes digital audio files of the interviews, interview transcripts, a class syllabus, and annotated bibliographies of select resources assigned to students for research.
Interview questions focused on student experiences and perspectives on desegregation during the mid-1960s. Interview subjects were selected from a wide range of people who were on campus, including both students and administrators. Students used a variety of materials in Special Collections to prepare for the interviews, including the Chancellor’s Papers; files of the Human Relations Council; back issues of The Hustler; yearbooks; manuscript collections, including the Kelly Miller Smith Papers; and other relevant records.
Long, Everett
Everett Long was a member of the Southern Students Organizing Committee. This collections consists primarily of newsletters and publications relating to women’s rights, gay and lesbian rights, and civil rights.
Nashville as Historical Laboratory Collection
Manuscripts of 25 research papers written by students enrolled in the History 295 (Nashville and the Urban South) class at Vanderbilt University in spring semester 1977 and fall semester 1978. The papers cover cultural, social and political topics in Nashville in the period 1870-1940. Some examples of specific subjects are: the Jim Crow streetcar boycott; the Belle Meade Country Club; the growth of Nashville's first suburb, Edgefield; the civic elites of Nashville; the Nashville Police Department's enforcement of Prohibition; Black ideology in Nashville; the Black business community; and case studies of Nashville families in business. A summary of the course, with discussion of the papers, by professor Don Harrison Doyle is included and has the title: Nashville as historical laboratory for teaching undergraduates.
Paul Slentz received from Vanderbilt a Master’s degree in 1979 and a Masters of Divinity degree in 1998. He was active in the non-violent protests concerning the hosting of the Davis Cup Tennis Tournaments at Vanderbilt University in the spring of 1978 and also in the Tenn Care Health Care Funding Crisis in 2004 and 2005.
This small collection 0.42 linear feet ( 1 Hollinger box ) contains materials relating to South Africa and Apartheid and in particular to The Davis Cup tennis championship that was held in Nashville at Vanderbilt in the spring of 1978. These papers were collected by Paul L. Slentz while he was a graduate student at Vanderbilt during the years 1977 - 1979.
A prominent church leader and activist, Kelly Miller Smith played a significant role in the civil rights movement, serving as part of the circle of advisors to Martin Luther King, Jr. He was pastor of the First Baptist Church, Capital Hill for 34 years. The first African-American named to the faculty of the Vanderbilt Divinity School, he served as lecturer in church and ministries and as assistant dean. Smith was very active in the civil rights movement in Nashville as well as nationally. The Kelly Miller Smith Papers include correspondence, notebooks kept as a student at Morehouse and Harvard Universities, biographical/personal material, writings, church records, subject files, and other related materials.
Southern Politics (Alexander Heard Papers)
Part of the collection of Chancellor Emeritus Alexander Heard, this collection consists of drafts and research materials for the book Southern Politics in State and Nation by V.O. Key, Jr. and A Two-Party South? by Alexander Heard. A large part of this collection consists of transcripts of interviews on Southern politics used as the basis for the two aforementioned books.
To use this collection, researchers must sign an agreement promising to keep names of the original participants confidential.
SSOC [Southern Students Organizing Committee] Reunion – 2002
This is an artificial collection of materials related to the 2002 SSOC Reunion weekend, held in Nashville, Tennessee. It includes a schedule of events, SSOC timeline, and materials donated by reunion attendees.
The Voices of Vanderbilt Oral History Project began in the History Department as a graduate student project and focused on desegregation at Vanderbilt. A second round of interviews focused on minority issues. A selection of these interviews can be reviewed online. Others are available for review in the Special Collections Reading Room. Some interviews may be unavailable for public review by request of the interviewee.
In 1965, Robert Penn Warren wrote a book, now out of print, entitled “Who Speaks for the Negro?” To research this publication, he traveled the country and spoke with a variety of people who were involved in the Civil Rights Movement. He spoke with nationally-known figures as well as people working in the trenches of the Movement. The “Who Speaks for the Negro? Archive” contains digitized versions of the original reel-to-reel recordings, as well as copies of the correspondence, transcripts, and other printed materials related to his research for the provocatively-titled book.