Date of Award

Spring 2012

Degree Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Political Science, International Development, and International Affairs

Committee Chair

Marek Steedman

Committee Chair Department

Political Science, International Development, and International Affairs

Committee Member 2

Robert Press

Committee Member 2 Department

Political Science, International Development, and International Affairs

Committee Member 3

Teresa Welsh

Committee Member 3 Department

Library and Information Science

Abstract

Archival collections are one of the most important sources of original materials that help create the story of our past. Given this, it is critical to understand what makes up a collection and how the items, both present and not, impact our societal conscious regarding an event or time period This study examines the Civil Rights archives at two institutions, The University of Southern Mississippi and Queens College, focusing specifically on the materials each has related to Freedom Summer Both of these institutions claim direct ties to Freedom Summer and their collections were analyzed in terms of what kinds of materials are present, who donated them and what biases exist based on the previous factors. The findings of this study conclusively show biases present in both collections. As the majority of both archives represent the experiences of white northerners who volunteered during Freedom Summer, the stories of African Americans and native southerners is essentially rejected These biases confirm the notion that those who have social and political capital are also the ones who get to write history Discovering and acknowledging the disparities that exist in these collections will allow researchers to seek out additional perspectives when studying this period, as well as encourage curators to broaden the scope of their collections.

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