A little less than a year ago I learned about the Invisible Histories Project, and it opened my world to the concept of community archiving. With the guidance of Joshua Burford, IHP's archivist and director of outreach, I have spent the previous fifteen weeks diving into Mississippi's archival repositories (on the Web) in search of materials that document and inform Mississippi's queer history.
IHP was founded to preserve LGBTQ culture and history in the South, and recently partnered with the University of Mississippi. My project aimed to survey Mississippi's archival repositories and find LGBTQ materials and to identify the terms used to describe those collections. Most of the repositories I looked at were at universities and colleges, which often have university archives to preserve the history of the institution and special collections to provide research and learning materials for students and faculty.
To search for materials, I depended on the repositories--mostly libraries--having all their collections either entered in the library catalog, listed on the website, or (best practice) archival finding aids uploaded. I searched the websites of twenty-one Mississippi repositories--not an exhaustive list, but a decent sample. I had no idea what I might find, apart from my general expectation that there were LGBTQ historical figures and organizations, so there should be papers, records, photographs, and other materials available for researchers.
LGBTQ research in Mississippi takes a little extra work. Knowing historic figures or issues that impacted LGBTQ communities is often necessary, as few manuscript collections include LGBTQ access points or biographical information. Materials within folders or with titles containing LGBTQ keywords provide breadcrumbs. But for true representation, researchers need to find more than materials about the LGBTQ community from outside perspectives. The community needs to easily discover LGBTQ-identified individuals and information created by those within the community. During my search, I found various resources, summarized below as collections of and about known or closeted LGBTQ individuals and organizations, as well as related information adjacent to subjects of interest or about the LGBTQ community. This is not a complete list of LGBTQ resources in Mississippi, but it provides a picture of the kinds of resources currently available, and a future direction for archival collections that increasingly seek LGBTQ voices and provide clear access to resources.
Oral History Projects, 1990s-today
Oral histories collect the experiences of self-identified individuals, in their own voices. The University of Mississippi's project goes beyond oral histories, with documentaries and other materials uploaded and available online. Audio recordings and transcripts are posted and accessible. The University of Southern Mississippi's oral histories are recorded in the library catalog and Mississippi University for Women's are listed on the website and in basic finding aids--but for both of these repositories, researchers will need to contact the archivist and likely be travel to the repositories.
LGBT+ Alumni Oral History Project, Mississippi University for Women, 2013-2019
Mississippi Oral History Program of the University of Southern Mississippi,
Queer Mississippi Oral History Project, 2008-ongoing, 1993-2010
Manuscripts and Collections of Historic Figures & Organizations
Papers and collected materials in curated collections are infrequently identified as LGBTQ resources, though thorough descriptive inventories that include folder- or item-level description can sometimes contain keywords. As LGBTQ campus offices and groups evolve, Mississippi's collections are also including more LGBTQ organizations and related records.
James Baldwin, 1924-1987 - limited materials part of Margaret Walker Alexander Personal Papers, Margaret Walker Center, Jackson State University
James Richmond Barthé, 1901-1989, Barthé (Richmond) Collections, 1927-1980, Special Collections, University of Southern Mississippi,
Hubert Creekmore, 1907-1966, Hubert Creekmore Collection, Archives and Special Collections, Univerisity of Mississippi
Lehman Engel, 1910-1982, Lehman Engel Collection, Archives, Millsaps College
Charles Henri Ford, 1908/13?-2002, Charles Henri Ford Collection; Evans B. Harrington Collection, c.1950-1993; Small Manuscripts, c.1750-2008, Archives and Special Collections, University of Mississippi; Ford (Charles Henri) Letters, 1986-1989, Special Collections, University of Southern Mississippi
Aaron Henry, 1922-1997, Aaron Henry Collection, 1902-1976, Special Collections (housed at Missississippi Department of Archives and History), Tougaloo College; Faulkner (Leesha) Civil Rights Collection, 1932-1995, Special Collections, University of Southern Mississippi; Council of Federated Organizations records, 1964-?, Mississippi Department of Archives and History
William Alexander Percy, 1885-1942, William Alexander Percy SMMSS, 1922, Archives and Special Collections, University of Mississippi
Hal Thomas Phillips, 1922-2007, Willie Morris Collection, Archives and Special Collections, University of Mississippi; Thomas Hal Phillips manuscript, undated, Special Collections, Mississippi State University
Valeria Ross Collection, 1988-2016, Archives and Special Collections, University of Mississippi (campus diversity)
Sarah Isom Center Collection, 1921-2007, Archives and Special Collections, University of Mississippi (activism and women's issues)
Julius Eric Thompson, 1946-2007 - Dr. Julius Eric Thompson Papers, Margaret Walker Center, Jackson State University
Tennessee Williams, 1911-1983, The Oxford American Collection, 1988-2002; Tennessee Williams Small Manuscripts Collection, 1932-2005; Tennessee Williams periodicals, 1945-1973, Archives and Special Collections, University of Mississippi; Williams (Tennessee) collection, 1974, Special Collections, Mississippi State University
Stark Young, 1881-1963, Young/John Pilkington Collection, 1917-1986; Stark Young Small Manuscripts, 1906-1982; Young/Ella Somerville Collection, 1934-1960; Young/Pauline and Mary Goldmann Collection, 1911-1965; Stark Young Periodicals, 1923-1960, Archives and Special Collections, University of Mississippi
Periodicals
LGBTQ-specific periodicals are often listed in special collections within a library catalog. These sources of information may no longer be in publication and difficult to find.
Lesbian Alliance, 1992- , Special Collections, University of Mississippi
The Lesbian Front, 1975- & The Ladder, 1956-1972, Special Collections, University of Southern Mississippi, Special Collections, University of Mississippi
This Month in Mississippi, 1983-1984 and 1986-1991,
Mississippi Voice, 1995-1997; Mattachine Review (dates unk); & Gay Power (dates unk), Special Collections, Mississippi State University
Vertical Files
Archives and libraries often maintain clippings and resources filed in subject or vertical files for reference. Vertical files are often cited in research and can provide the only explicitely identified sources of LGBTQ information, often titled as Homosexuality or with the names of historic figures.
Mississippi Department of Archives and History
Special Collections, Mississippi State University
Beulah Culbertson Archives and Special Collections, Mississippi University for Women
Archives and Special Collections, University of Mississippi
LGBTQ Adjacent - Potential Sources
Many of the resources identified were related to the civil rights movement or other political and legal issues that impacted LGBTQ individuals and the community. Journalists, scholars, and advocates often had subject files or ephemera in their papers. Organizational records, though generally not supportive or positive toward the LGBTQ community, provide historic context.
American Family Association Collection, 1990-2005, Archives and Special Collections, University of Mississippi
Citizen's Council/Civil Rights Collection, 1954-1977, Special Collections, University of Southern Mississippi
James O. Eastland Collection, 1930-1978, Archives and Special Collections, University of Mississippi
Bishop Duncan Montgomery Gray, Jr. Collection, 1954-2000, Archives and Special Collections, University of Mississippi
Freedom Riders Collection, 1961-2001, Special Collections, Tougaloo College
Knox Collection of Extremist Literature, 1942-1982, Archives and Special Collections, University of Mississippi
Komisar (Lucy) Civil Rights Collection, 1961-1964 and 1991, Special Collections, University of Southern Mississippi
James Howard Meredith Collection, 1950-19979, Archives and Special Collections, University of Mississippi
G. V. 'Sonny' Montgomery Collection, 1993, Special Collections, Mississippi State University
Nash and Taggart Collection, 2004-2007, Special Collections, University of Mississippi
President's Papers/Executive Documents, Special Collections, Mississippi State University
Records of the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, 1956-1973, Mississippi Department of Archives and History
James W. Silver Collection, 1928-1986, Special Collections, University of Mississippi
Orma R. Smith Collection, Archives and Special Collections, University of Mississippi