(Note: This post was authored by Taylor McNeilly, Processing & Reference Archivist.) Welcome back to another #WyattWalkerWednesday post! As I mentioned in our previous entry, we’ve spent much of the summer shifting things around to help make space and provide a better location for processing the Dr. and Mrs. Wyatt T. Walker Collection. Now that processing is once again in full swing, I’ve begun going through the materials we pulled out of off-site storage when setting up the quarantine (for more information on that, check out the Setting Up a Quarantine article from May). One of the main focuses of processing right now has been some of the earliest material, which happens to be more records of Dr. Walker’s time at SCLC.
Administrative records from Dr. Walker’s time at SCLC awaiting processing.
While Dr. Walker’s tenure at SCLC is well defined and many of his accomplishments are widely recognized, including his work on Project C and the March on Washington, the records I am processing now help shed light on the minute and sometimes mundane details: records such as reimbursement for gas used to drive from one event to another might shed little light on the Civil Rights Movements and its inner workings. However, a reimbursement request for a diamond ring Mrs. Walker lost during a protest seems to show more about the struggle than mere transportation costs.
These records reflect much of the work SCLC was doing beyond the attention-grabbing, headline-making events that are recorded in the popular American narrative. They help provide a distinct view of SCLC and Dr. Walker as its first full-time executive director. And taken in the context of SCLC’s records before and after Dr. Walker’s time there, they help provide a more complete history of this deeply important organization. As such, they are an important focus in our work to process the collection and open it to researchers, as we expect these records to be of high research value and under high demand.
As always, keep an eye on this blog and other official University of Richmond and Boatwright Library communications channels for news on when the collection will be open for processing. And in the meantime, stop back here next week for another interesting, behind-the-scenes look at preparing this collection for use.
Taylor,
Can you give an update as to when professional historians will be allowed access to the Walker Collection? My current project focuses on Rev. Wyatt’s library sit-ins in Petersburg, VA prior to joining King and the SCLC, but I am interested in going through the entire collection for part of a larger study on the Civil Rights movement in Petersburg. Timely access to the papers would be very, very helpful. I’m looking forward to it!
Thanks,
John Kirn
Professor of History
John Tyler Community College
Unfortunately we can’t give any hard dates for when the collection will be open just yet. Since we’re expecting a few additional donations, and since we’re uncertain of the sizes of those donations or the materials that will be included, it’s impossible to say when I’ll finish processing everything and be able to open the collection. I am hoping to be able to open the collection in stages, starting with the manuscript material, which should expedite access. Feel free to reach out to me directly if you have further questions! You can find my contact information on the Rare Books and Special Collections page of the Boatwright Library site.