Note: This post was previously listed under our "News from the Grey Box" blog series
By Marc Levitt Sometimes during our work processing millions of documents, archivists come across records that we don’t have the security clearance to see. These “Secret” documents may have been inadvertently filed or forgotten in a file drawer, only to be “discovered” later by those processing the collection. With the recent WikiLeaks incidents where thousands of classified documents were released, perhaps this more routine example of what can happen in an archive will be illustrative of normal archival protocol. Recently, I came across such a document in the Robert C. Byrd collection. Following proper archival protocol, I contacted the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to let them know what I found. They instructed me to send the document back to their offices, along with a request for declassification through the normal channels (a Mandatory Declassification Request). I also had to sign an Inadvertent Disclosure Agreement that stated I would not even acknowledge the existence of the document. Fortunately, my request for declassification was granted rather quickly (which is not typical), and I now can discuss the document in question. By Jody Brumage
On February 11, 1928, Captain Guenette E. Ferguson, the highest ranking Black World War I veteran from West Virginia, addressed a large crowd gathered in the small mining town of Kimball in McDowell County. The audience was assembled to dedicate a new community building for the town that was built as a memorial to African American veterans of "The Great War" and was the first such monument to Black soldiers completed anywhere in the United States. In his remarks, Captain Ferguson gave each of the four massive brick and terra cotta columns that grace the building's classical facade a label: faith, hope, charity, and service. This symbolic gesture expressed the sacrifice of veterans who not only faced the danger and difficulty of serving their nation in the Armed Forces, but did so in the face of racism and discrimination. In 1999, these attributes also came to embody the struggle of a grassroots organization from the community that sought to restore this monument which had suffered decades of neglect only to be gutted by arson. This group persevered and saved a national treasure. Note: This post was previously listed under our "News from the Grey Box" blog series By Jody Brumage
“I continue to believe, just as earnestly as I believed then, that the development of the human mind is all important, and that education should be a continuing thing, extending beyond high school and college, and that one should never stop learning.” These words, written by Robert Byrd in his autobiography, speak volumes to the incredible intellect and thirst for knowledge that so defined the senator.
Note: This post was previously listed under our "News from the Grey Box" blog series By Marc Levitt This semester the Byrd Center was lucky enough to have more interns and volunteers than normal. Six students from the Introduction to Public History course completed their service projects under the supervision of Dr. Jay Wyatt, the Center’s Director of Programs and Research. These projects consisted of research on a variety of topics, which the students then wrote a short summary about in the form of the “Student Edition” blogs on our weekly News From the Grey Box postings. More of their blogs will be featured on our website during the upcoming weeks. Two of these students stayed on to become full-fledged interns, joining two students from my own course,Introduction to Archives, which is wrapping up during this week of final exams. These interns have been focused on digitizing records from Senator Byrd’s collection, including his newspaper clipping scrapbooks and political cartoons. Other projects involved cataloging artifacts and processing the topical files which will soon be fully processed and have a finding aid online. The Byrd Center wants to give these students a sincere thank you for all their hard work. These (and former) students have been vital in processing and opening our collections for researchers.
Several of our current interns are staying on until next semester, but there’s always room for volunteers who want to get some hands-on experience working in the archival field! |
Welcome to the Byrd Center Blog! We share content here including research from our archival collections, articles from our director, and information on upcoming events.
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The Byrd Center advances representative democracy by promoting a better understanding of the United States Congress and the Constitution through programs and research that engage citizens.
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