Public humanities/Featured
Thursday's featured articles edit
Different articles are featured here each day of the week. Visit again tomorrow to discover new public humanities resources.
Learn more about the Florida citrus industry worker Horace Thompson at Federal Writers' Project - Life Histories
Carrie Dykes
Carrie Dykes was born in Belmont, Alabama circa 1870. Her mother was a former slave. The white family of H.G. Mitchell helped to raise Dykes while employing her as a child. She assisted Mrs. Mitchell’s sister “Miss Gillespie,” who was said to be “an invalid.” Her father worked in the Mitchell home, also helping Miss Gillespie as she could not walk. Dykes’ mother and aunt lived nearby during her childhood.
Dykes was later sent to school while working for the Mitchells. Her highest level of education was the seventh grade.
Learn more about Carrie Dykes at Federal Writers' Project - Life Histories
Frank Parker
Frank Parker was a Major General in the United States Army 1st Division during World War I. Several of his letters and documents were collected and donated to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library Archives.
His first experiences in war came during the Spanish American War in 1898, and the Puerto Rican conflict in 1900. After these two events, he served as an instructor at the US Military Academy from 1900 to 1903. He then attended the Calvary School in Saumur, France, where he studied reconnaissance and strategy. After graduating, he served as a military attaché in Caracas, Venezuela from 1904 to 1905. In 1912, he graduated from the École Supériure de Guerre in France, where he studied more war strategy.
Learn more about Frank Parker at World War I -- Life Histories
Frances E. W. Harper
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was born on September 24, 1824, to free black parents in Baltimore, Maryland. Her story, The Two Offers, written in 1859, is considered the first short story published by an African American woman. Harper is an important figure to study not only because of her literary accomplishments, but also because she devoted her literary and oratorical talents to “crafting freedom” for others. Orphaned at the age of three, Frances E. W. Harper was raised by her uncle, Reverend William Watkins, who was a political activist, clergyman, and director of Baltimore’s Academy for Negro Youth.
Learn more about Frances E. W. Harper at The Crafting Freedom Project