Campus Community School’s Piece of History

Authored by Nancie Joseph

Historic Marker placed outside of Campus Community School stating the history of the building. Photo by Jennifer Boland

Introduction

“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” the famous words of Neil Armstrong the day he walked on the moon. “Forty-six years ago, when Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon, he had a little piece of Delaware with him” (Bittle 2015). His space suit was made in the building that is now Campus Community School at 350 Pear Street in Dover, Delaware. This is the story of a building where space suits were once made, which is now filled with laughter and learning. Continue reading

Maureen Anderman Collection: “Sarah” in Edward Albee’s 1975 Production of Seascape

Authored by Florence Nicosia

Maureen Anderman as Sarah in Edward Albee’s 1975 production of Seascape.

 

Pictured is Maureen Anderman in full makeup as an anthropomorphic lizard. The picture is a cultural artifact because of the type of film used and its depiction of Albee’s conception of what an anthropomorphic lizard looked like. The camera was a Kodak Pocket Instamatic that uses 110 film to produce 3” x 5” photos. This type of camera was considered state of the art in the seventies for amateur photography. This picture of Anderman was taken to assist the makeup artist in his/her effort to recreate Anderman’s makeup for each performance. Maureen Anderman is a Tony award nominated actress best known for her appearances on stage. Edward Albee was an American playwright whose plays were often considered commentaries on human relationships. Continue reading

Interference Archive: Support GI Resistance

Authored by Serena Troshynski

"Support GI Resistance" poster

Support GI Resistance poster created by Kevin Caplicki. This is currently housed in the Interference Archive in Brooklyn, NY.

The bright red, white, and blue of the protest poster would be eye catching anywhere, and one can imagine the statement it must have made as it was plastered all over the streets of Chicago. Created as part of a collaboration between Justseeds art collective and the protest organization Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), this piece was used as part of a demonstration staged in Chicago in November 2010. The demonstration included three art exhibitions in Chicago in November and December, as well as a street postering action.[1] Continue reading

In The Time Of Seascape

Authored by Tori Burrell

Image of a scene from Edward Albee's Seascape

A scene from Edward Albee’s Seascape. This derives from Collection 7, The Anderman Papers, located at Marymount Manhattan College.

 

Remembering lines and breathing life into sometimes fictional characters, is what is expected of those who have embraced the theater enough to be part of it. Having a career in theater is not always easy due to the questionable consistency of work, and the many instances in which one must step outside of their comfort zone and put their best foot forward. Although neither of these instances are ideal, with Broadway audiences capping off at fourteen million people per season in the United States,[1] the show must go on. Continue reading

Reverend Samson Occum: Forging a Bridge Across Cultures

Authored by Nicole Shaw

Your Watermarked Image

Mr. Buell’s sermon at the ordination of Mr. Occum. Acquired by Stony Brook University Special Collections from the Swann Auction Galleries in 2008.

Samson Occum was a well-respected minister in the late 18th century who worked tirelessly towards peace in his community. Believed to be the descendant of a Mohegan chief,1 he was credited as one of the first ordained Christian Indian ministers.2 Ordained in 1759, Occum spent the majority of his life working as a missionary among Indians. Regardless of receiving a stipend for his work, he spent a great deal of his life in poverty and endured much suffering at the hands of the English, while facing many betrayals and false promises. Despite these hardships, Occum continued his work to spread the Christian faith among his people. Known to preach in Montauk (Eastern Long Island), Occum blended Native American communities with Christianized Europeans and helped Native Americans assimilate to western culture. He also organized the creation of “Brothertown,” a settlement solely for Christian Indians.3 Although as a young man the only book he owned was the Bible, Occum became the first Native American to publish in English.4 To this day, Mr. Occum is honored with a wealth of recognition, particularly at Dartmouth College, which he helped raise funds to initiate. Continue reading

John F. Kennedy Announces Plans for Improved Immigration Laws, June 11, 1963

Authored by Cheryl Fruchthandler

President Kennedy is surrounded by delegates of the Third Symposium of the American Committee on Italian Migration at a colonnade near the Rose Garden June 11, 1963, after announcing plans on improved immigration laws.

In June of 1963, a lifetime’s work of President John F. Kennedy finally came to fulfillment, as a new proposal for immigration would be presented in front of Congress. Before becoming president, Kennedy had persevered as a Massachusetts State Senator to widen the quota of immigrants allowed into the United States by replacing the old quota granting entry into America. Among Kennedy’s seven proposals introduced in 1959 to liberalize immigration was a unique proposal to make it easier for future immigrants to assimilate into the United States.1 Kennedy was an advocate for change in the restrictive immigrating policy of our nation. He sharply criticized the system and called upon Congress to allow additional immigrants in each year without regard to their race or nationality. Continue reading

Chick Sexers and Congress

Authored by Alice Kiffer.

On May 21, 1979, at the 96th Congress (1979-1980), Norman Y. Mineta (D-CA) introduced H.R. 4161, which was then referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary[1]. On July 11, 1979, Assistant Counsel Ray D’Uva wrote to Chairwoman Elizabeth Holtzman (D-NY) to discuss a possible administrative, rather than legislative, resolution to the issue (see image).

The issue in question: immigrant chick sexers and the (in)ability of the American Chick Sexing Association (Amchick) to file with the Labor Department on behalf of the chick sexers. As D’Uva summarized in the memo, the poultry industry claimed that there were not enough qualified chick sexers in the U.S. The Labor Department did not dispute that claim or the perceived need for immigrant chick sexers, but it took the position that it could not accept applications filed by Amchick on the sexers’ behalf because the organization was not an “employer” for purposes of labor certification.

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The NCWC’s Fight for Just Migration in WWII

Authored by Maeve Dwyer

National Catholic Welfare Conference Bureau of Immigration Annual Report (1940-1941), from the Center for Migration Studies National Catholic Welfare Conference Collection

In 1920 the National Catholic Welfare Conference, previously the National Catholic Welfare Council, created a Bureau of Immigration to aid immigrants entering the United States. [1] The NCWC Annual Report (July 1, 1940- June 30, 1941) describes the efforts of the NCWC in assisting migrants who sought refuge in the United States during a time of increasing turbulence and uncertainty. Specifically, within the context of this annual report, the violence of World War II[2] was spreading throughout Europe. The NCWC took great pains to relieve the displaced, and those fleeing Nazi holdings or Axis power territories.

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Reggae Sunsplash: A Historical Record of Live Reggae

Authored by Christopher Anderson

Watermarked image.

Reggae Sunsplash video collection. Photograph courtesy of Christopher Anderson.

From 1978 through 1998, Reggae Sunsplash was a major reggae festival which originated in Jamaica and subsequently reached international heights. Reggae Sunsplash became a celebrated event in Jamaica and “established the model for reggae concerts locally and internationally.”[1] The festival “attracted a global audience by showcasing all the legendary acts of the golden period of the music for an entire week.”[2] In addition to its local impact “Reggae Sunsplash received worldwide acclaim from the international media and this undoubtedly served to formalise reggae as an established musical artform.”[3] The festival reached beyond Jamaica with additional concerts held in numerous locations throughout the United States in the 1980’s and 1990’s. An attempt was made to revive Reggae Sunsplash with a festival taking place in 2006, however, no subsequent events have been held.[4] Continue reading

IT’S ALL IN A LETTER: Requesting visa approval for NBC reporter to travel to Hanoi in 1979

Authored by Whitney Karen Brown

Elizabeth Holtzman, letter to Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Hoang Bao Son, 28 Feb. 1979, box 35, Garner J. Cline Papers, Center for Migration Studies, (New York, NY.).

In February of 1979, Elizabeth Holtzman, Chairwoman for the Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and International Law wrote a letter to the Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand, His Excellency Hoang Bao Son, regarding the quick approval for visas for James Upshaw, an NBC reporter, and his television crew, to travel with her to Hanoi.[1] The letter is part of a collection called the Garner J. Cline Papers, which currently resides in the Center for Migration Studies in New York.[2] The Garner J. Cline Papers consists of fifty-one boxes containing the personal papers of Garner J. Cline, who, at the time the letter was written, was Staff Director for the Committee on the Judiciary in the House of Representatives.[3] Continue reading