Withers Collection Inc

THE WITHERS COLLECTION MUSEUM AND GALLERY WILL ENHANCE STEWARDSHIP OF ITS COLLECTION BY ARCHIVALLY STORING AND DIGITIZING PHOTOGRAPHS FROM ITS COLLECTION TAKEN BY PHOTOJOURNALIST EARNEST C. WITHERS THAT DOCUMENT CIVIL RIGHTS HISTORY AS WELL AS AFRICAN AMERICAN LIFE AND CULTURE. FOR THE PROJECT, MUSEUM STAFF WILL PURCHASE COLLECTIONS STORAGE AND UPDATE PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL ARCHIVES. STAFF WILL WORK WITH A CONTRACTOR TO DIGITIZE APPROXIMATELY 4,000 IMAGES AND UPLOAD THEM TO AN ONLINE, PUBLIC PLATFORM. AS A RESULT OF THE PROJECT, MUSEUM STAFF WILL MAKE THE PHOTOGRAPHS MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR BOTH INTERNAL USE AS WELL AS USE FOR PUBLIC PROGRAMMING, EXHIBITIONS, AND RESEARCH.

THE WITHERS COLLECTION MUSEUM AND GALLERY WILL BUILD STAFF CAPACITY TO BETTER SERVE THE PUBLIC THROUGH INCREASED COMMUNITY PROGRAMS AND IMPROVED MANAGEMENT OF ITS ARCHIVES. THE PROJECT WILL SUPPORT AN EXHIBITION CURATOR AND ARCHIVIST WITH RESPONSIBILITIES TO DEVELOP AN EXHIBIT ON THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN MEMPHIS AND THE MID-SOUTH, INCREASE THE NUMBER OF DIGITAL IMAGES IN THE ARCHIVES, AND IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY TO THE PHYSICAL ARCHIVES. ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING FOR STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS, IDENTIFYING STRATEGIES TO INCREASE LOCAL VISITORS, HOSTING AN EDUCATOR EVENT THAT WILL K-12 VISITORS, AND DEVELOPING A CURRICULUM FOR THE EXHIBIT. BY PROVIDING VARIED LEVELS OF ENGAGEMENT AND OPPORTUNITIES TO ADD VOICE TO THE PHOTOGRAPHS, THE WITHERS MUSEUM BELIEVES THAT THE TARGET GROUPS WILL COME TO UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF THE COLLECTION AND VIEW THEMSELVES AS STAKEHOLDERS AND STEWARDS.

THE WITHERS COLLECTION MUSEUM AND GALLERY WILL EMBARK ON THE SECOND PHASE OF A DIGITIZATION EFFORT TO PRESERVE THE ORIGINAL NEGATIVES OF ITS CIVIL RIGHTS COLLECTION. THE COLLECTION IS LARGELY THE WORK OF DR. ERNEST C. WITHERS, A RENOWNED PHOTOJOURNALIST WHO CAPTURED MANY OF THE MOST ICONIC IMAGES OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, AND WAS THE PERSONAL PHOTOGRAPHER FOR DR. KING FOR TWELVE YEARS. FUNDING WILL SUPPORT THE DIGITIZATION, DUPLICATION, AND RE-HOUSING OF THE OLDEST SILVER GELATIN NEGATIVES, IDENTIFIED AS A PRIORITY IN AN INITIAL COLLECTIONS SURVEY. FOLLOWING THE COMPLETION OF A CATALOGUE AND INVENTORY PROCESS, THE MUSEUM WILL DIGITIZE THE ORIGINAL NEGATIVES, PREPARE DUPLICATE NEGATIVES, AND RE-HOUSE ORIGINALS FOR COLD STORAGE. A RESEARCH FINDING AID WILL BE PREPARED FOR EDUCATORS AND RESEARCHERS AND LOW-RESOLUTION IMAGES WILL BE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE CROSSROADS TO FREEDOM DIGITAL ARCHIVE AT RHODES COLLEGE AS WELL AS THE DIGITAL LIBRARY OF TENNESSEE.

THE WITHERS COLLECTION WILL IDENTIFY AND DIGITIZE ITS COLLECTION OF SPORTS-RELATED IMAGES AS PART OF AN ONGOING PROJECT TO CREATE A COMPREHENSIVE ONLINE IMAGE DATABASE AND FINDING AID TO FULFILL RESEARCH REQUESTS RECEIVED FROM WRITERS, FILM MAKERS, STUDENTS AND RESEARCHERS. THE SPORTS COLLECTION COVERS SEVERAL SPORTS AND REPRESENTS SOME OF THE OLDEST WORK OF PHOTOJOURNALIST DR. ERNEST C. WITHERS, DATING BACK TO 1948, WHEN HE BEGAN CAPTURING IMAGES OF TEAMS IN THE NEGRO BASEBALL LEAGUE. THE COLLECTION INCLUDES NEVER-SEEN-BEFORE IMAGES OF JACKIE ROBINSON, SAMUEL "THE JET" JETHROE, AND LUKE EASTER. THE PROJECT TEAM WILL WORK CLOSELY WITH THE NEGRO LEAGUE COMMITTEE AND MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY OF BASEBALL RESEARCHERS ON IDENTIFICATION OF PERSONS AND TEAMS REPRESENTED IN THE HISTORIC IMAGES. OTHER COMMUNITY RESOURCES AND SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS WILL BE CONSULTED, AS NEEDED, TO IDENTIFY PERSONS IN OTHER SPORTS IMAGES.

WITHERS COLLECTION ARCHIVE PRESERVATION PROJECT