The Atlanta University Center Woodruff Library presents The Lowery Collection and Community Day on September 16th on the AUC Campus. Attendees will have an opportunity to explore the unique Joseph and Evelyn Lowery Archival collection through historical images, documents, and an innovative touchscreen exhibition. Community reflections will be shared by civil rights leaders, social justice advocates, and more. A Youth Activism workshop will be led by Alisha Thomas Searcy, the first African American elected as a state representative from Cobb County. Participants will also learn how to preserve their own family’s photographs and memorabilia. Today, we are joined by Atlanta University Center Woodruff Library CEO and Library Director Loretta Parham to speak about this upcoming event.
I asked about the Lowery collection, and Parham shared that it is a wonderful collection from the life work of Joseph and Evelyn Lowery. There were over 500 boxes with diaries, videos, sermons, speeches, and even personal letters between the two. Parham mentions that they had a sense of history and understood that their story would need to be protected and preserved. Parham also speaks about their daughter Cheryl Lowery, who knew that their story needed to be shared.
When asked about families sharing their stories, Parham mentions the Isabel Wilkerson book The Warmth of Other Suns and speaks to the families' histories documented within the book. The Community Day taking place on September 16 will include a session with archivists to share with families the best way to protect their histories, photographs, and documents so that future generations can learn from them.
Please register here to attend the event and register for lunch for Community Day.
For more information, you can call the Woodrfull Library at 404-978-2003 or visit their website.
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