1973: A Big Year in Fashion Too!

Can't get enough of 1973? Well here's another great opportunity to learn more about this pivotal year, as featured in our Now and Then: 1973 exhibit. 

It turns out  1973 was also a big year in the fashion industry. Tonight (August 29th) the Georgia Museum of Art will host a screening of the film, "Versailles '73: American Runway Revolution" from 7-9PM (description below). For more information visit their website.

Our staff will be there -- along with some signage and promotion materials for our ongoing exhibit, and the associated programs we have lined up for September and October. Be sure to pick up some information there, or visit http://rbrl.blogspot.com/search/label/BigYear for updates on all of our events for the Big Year program series.

Description:
In November 1973, for the second time in history, the United States stormed France in an epic battle. Unlike D-Day, this one would pit the French haute couture establishment against innovative American ready-to-wear designers in a runway rumble for industry dominance. On the stage where Louis XVI married Marie Antoinette, in front of a who’s who audience of royalty, jet-set millionaires and icons including Princess Grace of Monaco, Andy Warhol, Christina Onassis and Josephine Baker, the American designers claimed victory. Filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper and a panel of influencers in fashion, history and pop culture will discuss the implications of this legendary event, the behind-the-scenes making of the film and the role of fashion in life. 2012, NR, 91 min.

This event is sponsored by Patricia Cloar Milsted in honor of Judith Ellis and the UGA Parents and Families Association.

Reflections on the March on Washington

One of our oral history initiatives here at the Russell Library is our First Person Project, where we invite members of the community to come to our oral history studio and record a 40-minute interview to be archived at the library. Interviews in the First Person Project usually focus on personal stories and memories—but they also often touch on larger national issues and events.

Last October, Dawn Bennett-Alexander and her daughter Jenniffer Jones recorded an interview in which Dr. Bennett-Alexander discussed her childhood in Washington, D.C.—including participating in the March on Washington in 1963. Fifty years later, as we look back on this historic moment in the Civil Rights Movement, Bennett-Alexander’s story of attending the march as a twelve year-old child, and her memories of discrimination and segregated facilities in Washington, D.C., gives us a personal view of this historic event.

Today, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of this historic event, the Russell Library invites you to take a listen to this personal recollection of a major moment, and movement, in American history.

To hear the full interview visit: http://podcaster.gcsu.edu/podcastdata/UGA/Channel_44612786/podcast_8424243/8424243.mp3

More About the First Person Project
Modeled roughly on StoryCorps, a national initiative partnered with National Public Radio and the Library of Congress, the First Person Project is smaller in scale but similar in concept, providing tools to would-be oral history interviewers and interviewees, including tips on how to create questions and conduct interviews. The project was inspired by the belief that everyone is an eyewitness to history, and that everyone, sometimes with a little encouragement, has a story to tell.

Our next First Person Project interview day is scheduled for Friday, September 13th. For more information on this event, please email russlib@uga.edu or call (706) 542-5788.

Post by Callie Holmes, Media and Oral History Archivist, Russell Library

First Person Project Hosts Theme Day for Big Year Series

This September the First Person Project, an oral history series documenting the experiences of everyday Georgians, invites participants to tell stories around the theme “It was a Big Year" on Friday, September 13th in room 268 of the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries.

Was there a year that changed things moving forward for you or your family? Or maybe there was a year when national or international events made you rethink ideas about politics, religion, or social relations? The First Person Project is looking for stories about years of change, time periods that reshaped the lives of individuals, and we want to hear from you. 

Six sets of partners will be accepted for this First Person Project session, scheduled for Friday, September 13th between 9:00am and 4:00pm. Each audio recording session takes one hour to complete. Photographs will also be taken for each session. The Russell Library will archive the interviews to add to its documentation of life in post 20th century Georgia and will provide participants with a free digital download of the recording and photographs. A $10 donation is suggested for each participant pair.

This day of oral history is part of It Was a Big Year, a program series inspired by the exhibit Now and Then: 1973, currently on display in the Russell Library Gallery at the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries. For more information on other programs in the series, visit: http://rbrl.blogspot.com/search/label/BigYear 

If you have a friend or family member with a story to tell, become a part of the First Person Project. Reservations are on a first come first serve basis and can be made by calling 706-542-5788 or registering online at http://www.libs.uga.edu/russell/fpp/fpp_register.html.

For more information on this event and other upcoming First Person Project days, please email russlib@uga.edu or call (706) 542-5788.

More About the First Person Project
Modeled roughly on StoryCorps, a national initiative partnered with National Public Radio and the Library of Congress, the First Person Project is smaller in scale but similar in concept, providing tools to would-be oral history interviewers and interviewees, including tips on how to create questions and conduct interviews. The project was inspired by the belief that everyone is an eyewitness to history, and that everyone, sometimes with a little encouragement, has a story to tell.

It Was a Big Year: Russell Library Program Series Looks Back at 1973

What do you know about 1973? Join the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies for It Was a Big Year, a program series that considers how a few key events in a single year can change the culture and course of a nation for years to come.

1973 was the year of the Roe v. Wade decision and the return of POWs from the war in Vietnam. It was the year President Richard Nixon proclaimed he was not a crook, even as the Watergate scandal unfolded on national television. It was the year of the Yom Kippur War, the Arab oil embargo, the launch of Skylab, and passage of the Endangered Species Act. Forty years later, history reveals 1973 to be a pivotal year in American history with a lasting legacy.

Inspired by the exhibit Now and Then: 1973, currently on display in its Harrison Feature Gallery, the Richard B. Russell Library will host three events this October that spotlight some of the most significant events from that year and invites attendees to consider what “makes” a big year in history.

All events in the series are free and open to the public. All events will take place on the 2nd floor exhibit level in the new Richard B. Russell Building for Special Collections Libraries, Georgia’s newest cultural destination. Dates and descriptions for individual events are listed below. For more information, please contact russlib@uga.edu or call (706) 542-5788.   

To learn more about the Richard B. Russell Library, visit:
http://www.libs.uga.edu/russell

Wednesday, October 16, 2013, 5:30-7:30PM
Panel Discussion, Now and Then: The Endangered Species Act
Location: Auditorium (Room 271), Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries

Inspired by the 40th anniversary of the passage of the Endangered Species Act, this panel discussion will help attendees engage with the legacy of this landmark piece of environmental legislation and consider both its impact and relevance forty years later. Panelists will include: Dr. Brian Drake (Department of History), Dr. Laurie Fowler (Odum School of Ecology), Dr. Michael Mengak (Warnell School of Forestry), and Dr. Terrance Centner (College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences). Following the event, attendees are invited to partake in tours of the gallery. 

Thursday, October 24, 2013, 7:00-9:00PM
It Was a Big Year: Storytellers and Scholars
Location: Large Event Space (Room 285), Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries

Inspired by the storytelling format of popular radio show This American Life, and co-sponsored by local non-profit Rabbit Box, this event will invite selected scholars and community members to tell stories around the theme “It was a Big Year.”

Three scholars drawn from departments on the University of Georgia campus will reflect on what they consider to have been a big year in their field of study – addressing music, fashion, and film. Presenters will include Professor David Barbe (Music Business Program, Terry College of Business), José Blanco F. (Historic Clothing and Textiles Collection, College of Family and Consumer Sciences), and Dr. Richard Neupert (Department of Theatre and Film Studies).

Rabbit Box, a local non-profit that fosters the art of storytelling by providing a forum for people to share true stories from their lives, will solicit three storyteller participants from the Athens community to participate in the program, composing pieces around the same theme. Storytellers and scholars will be interwoven in the program, shifting the focus from national and international events to personal stories about significant events in the lives of individuals. Light refreshments will be served during the event. 

Wednesday, October 30, 2013, 6:00-8:00PM
Reconsidering Roe: A Dialogue & Deliberation Event
Location: Large Event Space (Room 285), Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries

This event will ask attendees to engage with the legacy of the landmark court case, Roe v. Wade, and consider both its impact and relevance forty years later. Presenters Professor Lori Ringhand and Professor Randy Beck from the UGA School of Law will give brief presentations, followed by rounds of moderated conversation in the World Café format. Light refreshments will be served during the event.

In Tribute: Remembering Ray Moore

Ray Moore, an Atlanta newsman for twenty-three years, passed away this morning—one week shy of his 91st birthday.  In 1951, he joined WSB Radio and then WSB-TV the following year. Moore resigned as news director of WSB, in 1969, and joined WAGA-TV (Channel 5) until he retired from broadcasting entirely in 1974. He was the face of local news for many Georgians during the tumultuous period of the 1950s and 60s, and during his tenure he produced a number of documentaries on penal reform, school desegregation, hunger, religion, and urban development.

Earlier this year, Moore was interviewed by Bob Short as part of the Russell Library's Reflections on Georgia Politics oral history series. He talked about the early days of television broadcasting—including the potential pitfalls of live commercial advertisements that were the norm during these years. In this clip, he describes the "Great Hotdog Incident."

 
Moore covered many pivotal moments in U.S. and Georgia history—and he was often a part of that history. Moore remembers interviewing Martin Luther King, Jr., after Kennedy's assassination. Later, after King's own assassination, Moore provided the tip that located James Earl Ray's abandoned white Mustang. Moore also covered the desegregation of UGA in 1961. In this clip, Moore describes being surrounded by an angry mob that developed around Charlayne Hunter's residence at Myers Hall.

Post by Callie Holmes, Media and Oral History Archivist, Russell Library 

Heidi Davison Papers Now Open!

The Heidi Davison Papers are now open and offer a wealth of information for the researcher interested in local and state politics and government. The papers document the two terms of Athens Mayor Heidi Davison, who served the city from 2003 until 2011.

Davison came to Athens in 1973 and graduated from the University of Georgia in 1975 with a B.S. in Education. She taught Language Arts in area schools and worked on numerous local and community associations. Throughout the 1990s she served on Athens-Clarke County committees and boards related to environmental initiatives, arts foundations, and education projects.

Mayor Davison fundraising at a UGA Arch Foundation event

Mayor Davison’s papers reflect her personal commitment to promoting political and civic awareness. The papers demonstrate the daily functions of a robust local government and a mayor that guided a growing city of over 115,00 people. The collection documents the activities of the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government  as they worked with the mayor and created new initiatives and carried on day to day business of the city.

The papers cover some controversial decisions from her tenure in office as well. Materials related to the heated fight over a 2003 ordinance that would have required renters to register with the county show how local opinion affected the decisions of local government. The issue gained statewide attention and prompted a last-minute bill signed by Governor Sonny Perdue that effectively banned rental registration laws. The papers also include records about another controversial ordinance: the partial smoking ban of 2004 that eased the Athens downtown bars into a full smoking ban in 2005. Other highlights include environmental issues, development and regional plans, and zoning controversies related to Athens-Clarke County area.

Heidi Davison’s papers document the unique and important business of running Athens-Clarke County Unified Government and provide research value in the broader subject areas of Georgia politics and women in politics. The papers share interesting connections with other Russell Library collections. For instance, Davison ran the political campaign for Louise McBee’s initial bid for the Georgia House of Representatives in 1991. The M. Louise McBee Papers include materials related to her terms in office as a Georgia state legislator from 1991-2004. Davison was also an active member of the Athens League of Women Voters, a group dedicated to women’s participation in politics. The Athens League of Women Voters Records show the range of political activities of the organization from 1940-2006.

The Heidi Davison Papers contain nearly a decade of dynamic Athens history concerning political and civic topics of debate for the region. This is the first donation of papers from an Athens mayor to the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies and is an important collection documenting the many connections between the University of Georgia and the city of Athens.

Post by Angelica Marini, Processing Intern, Russell Library

1973: Rebellious Teen from Madison County

Me at age 14, September 1973

This post was submitted by Ann, one of our docents here at the Special Collections Building. It is part of our ongoing A Look Back at 1973 series, crowd sourced from readers of the blog. If you have a story to tell, read more about this project HERE.

In 1973...I entered the rebellious stage of puberty as social unrest and protest movements swept the nation.  I was half way through the eighth grade and my Madison county [Georgia] girlfriends were boy crazy and mad for the new blue mascara from Maybelline, but I was obsessed with the war in Vietnam and feared that my little brother and my best guy friends would be drafted into battle where they would be maimed or killed like my KIA cousin. We debated the ERA in school and wondered if its passage would subject girls to the draft.  Would we be sent to 'Nam as well?

Wounded Knee II and the American Indian Movement informed my youthful poetry and I wrote my ninth grade term paper on the Yippee Revolution.  I organized protests against excessive library fines (ten cents), the middle school lunch program, and even my local city hall where my best friend and I marched with homemade banners reading "Make Love, Not War, " and "Down with the Draft."  I persuaded my buddies to join me in a letter-writing campaign to Senators Talmadge and Nunn concerning the problems encountered by migrant farm workers.  I played my old Bob Dylan LPs until the grooves wore out.  This young teen believed in the power of the people.

A Look Back at 1973

In May we opened our latest feature exhibit here at the Russell Library, Now and Then: 1973. The exhibit looks back at a pivotal year in modern American history and considers the impact of events that filled the public mind for a moment in time.

1973 was the year of the Roe v. Wade decision and the return of POWs from the war in Vietnam. It was the year President Richard Nixon proclaimed he was not a crook, even as the Watergate scandal unfolded on national television. It was the year of the Yom Kippur War, the Arab oil embargo, the launch of Skylab, and passage of the Endangered Species Act. Forty years later, history reveals 1973 to be a pivotal year in American history with a lasting legacy.
  
In crafting the exhibit, our outreach staff got into the habit of asking everyone who crossed our paths what they recalled about 1973. And we'd like to take this opportunity to ask you, our blog readers, the same question: How do you remember 1973? 

We're interested to know where you were and what were you doing in 1973. Tell us a story about your life in that year in 2-3 paragraphs, paired with a picture that you don't mind us posting to the blog site (http://www.rbrl.blogspot.com). We'll accept submissions through the end of October 2013.

If you're interested in this opportunity, send an email to russlib@uga.edu and a member of our staff will respond with further information. We look forward to hearing from you!

Dean Rusk Oral History Transcripts Now Available Online

The Russell Media and Oral History Unit is delighted to announce that researchers may now access 172 transcripts from interviews with Dean Rusk  and his colleagues between 1984-1989 online at http://tinyurl.com/Rusktranscripts. The interviews document Rusk's life from early childhood in the 1910's through his teaching career in the 1980's. The interviews contain information on Rusk's service as U.S. Under Secretary and Secretary of State during the administrations of Presidents Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson and his involvement in foreign relations including the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War. The interviews also document his position as president of the Rockefeller Foundation in the 1950s. 

The interviews are an important part of a larger collection of materials related to Rusk available for research onsite at the Russell Library. You can check out the finding aid HERE.

Special thanks to Callie Holmes and Mayowa Pius (pictured above next to a Dean Rusk bust) for their hard work on this project!

New Exhibit, Now and Then: 1973

There are some moments in history that become powerful touchstones, revisited to reflect and inform a better understanding of the present day. Now and Then: 1973, the Richard B. Russell Library’s latest feature exhibit, looks back at a pivotal year in modern American history and considers the impact of events that filled the public mind for a moment in time. The exhibition explores the interactions of the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of government – how the decisions made by each conflicted with one another, and with public opinion, in choosing a path for the United States. 

1973 was the year of the Roe v. Wade decision and the return of POWs from the war in Vietnam. It was the year President Richard Nixon proclaimed he was not a crook, even as the Watergate scandal unfolded on national television. It was the year of the Yom Kippur War, the Arab oil embargo, the launch of Skylab, and passage of the Endangered Species Act. Forty years later, history reveals 1973 to be a pivotal year in American history with a lasting legacy.

“We originally considered an exhibit focused exclusively on the anniversary of the Watergate scandal,” said outreach archivist Jan Levinson, “but after some preliminary research found that there were so many big events happening in 1973 that touched on our key collecting areas, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take a look a multiple events.”

Both Levinson, who curated the exhibit, and her colleague Jill Severn, Russell Library’s Head of Access and Outreach, saw that the events of 1973 shared easy connections with current events and issues that Americans are struggling with today. “In creating the text and selecting objects from our collections, we tried to highlight the connections between past and present, as well as to prompt visitors to consider the interactions of various branches of government in dealing with public issues,” said Levinson.

The Russell outreach team will spend this summer planning an exciting slate of public programs scheduled for fall 2013, that complement the key themes and topics of the exhibit. In the coming weeks they hope to launch an interactive appeal to the public, soliciting photographs from 1973 for display in the gallery and on the Russell Library blog (www.rbrl.blogspot.com).     

The exhibit will remain on display in the Harrison Feature Gallery of the Russell Library Gallery through December 15, 2013. The galleries of the Special Collections Building are open from 8am-5pm Monday through Friday and 1-5pm on Saturdays; admission is free. For more information contact Jan Levinson at jlevinso@uga.edu or by calling 706-542-5788. To schedule a tour of the Special Collections Libraries Galleries, contact Jean Cleveland at jclevela@uga.edu or by calling 706-542-8079.