Preserving Family Images with Monteral Harrell

The Hands That Keep On Giving

 

The Hands of Mrs. Ella Baton
Photo Credit: Jo'elle K. LaCoste

Several years ago, I was introduced to Ms. Badon by Dr. Kingsley Blaine Garrison, one of her former students. We spent several months and many long hours discussing local history. I learned so much from Ms. Badon, and she was generous in sharing what could remember. Despite being in her nineties, she maintained a sharp and sound mind. I hope that if I lived to see her age, my mind would be half as sharp has hers. I love this picture of our hands holding the book that our minds gave birth too. Throughout the process of writing and publishing this book, she played a major role in the success of the book. So many social, educational, and humanitarian activities were carried out by her hands. 

African Americans in Covington by Dr.Eva Semien Baham

African Americans in Covington" is a collection of stories, memories and photographs covering the history, lives, and triumphs of Covington's African American community. The forward by Rev. Mallory Callahan, it was published in 2015 as part of the "Images of America" historical series by Arcadia. Covington is the seat of St. Tammany Parish government and sits north of Lake Pontchartrain in the New Orleans metropolitan area. One person of African descent was present at the founding of Covington on July 4, 1813. Most African Americans in antebellum Covington were slaves with a modest number of fee people, all of whom covered nearly every occupation needed for the development and sustenance of a heavily forested region. 

Images of Tangipahoa and St. Helena Parishes, Louisiana: Part of the Images of America Series

For the past seven months, I have been traveling throughout Tangipahoa and St. Helena Parishes, Louisiana collecting photographs of African American people to be a part of the Images of America Series. I collected military, school, church, civic and social organizations, educators, farmers, elected officials and other pictures for the upcoming book. I couldn't have done it without the help of Glyniss Vernon Gordon, Dr. Kingsley Blaine Garrison, Mr. Lawerence Spears and his wife Arizona "Tat" Earnest Spears, Shan Gordon, Mrs. Ella Mae Badon, Earl and Vera Wheeler, Edwin Temple, Mrs. Grace Belvins Walker Perry, Annie Lee Hurst, Leonard Smith, and Montreal Harrell constant support. Certainly I want to thank my grandchildren for assisting me. There were days when everything seem so overwhelming and difficult, but I had to move forward to finish the book. I want to thank Melody Ricketts for offering her help and encouraging me. 

The Johnson Family
Courtesy of Myrtis Cook

The publishing company emailed me last week to inform me that the book will be available this coming December. The book is rich with 214 images and text. I learned so much about the people of this parish and their compelling stories and I'm excited to share these stories with the world.  Many of their stories are undocumented and not written in the history books. The community narratives and images  will help give scholars, researchers, and writers a broader perspective about African Americans people of the two Louisiana Florida Parishes. Each photograph in the nine chapters represents the communities the unsung trailblazers call home. I looked at so many amazing photographs inside of shoe boxes, albums, and dresser drawers. Some images that were taken around the late 1800s to early 1900s should be displayed in museums and preserved in archival repositories. 

These photographs can change how we see ourselves. The images frozen moments in time so that we can reflect upon today. We can learn a great deal about the past from the pictures. After Arcadia Publishing Company approved the images and quality, there are many images that wasn't selected and  I'm thinking about what I'm going to do with the others. The promotional team is working on the promotional release for the upcoming book and I will post it on all my social media sites. 

There is a sense of pride I have just knowing that the people and trailblazers have been written in the Arcadia Publishing and History Press Collection. Last but certainly not least, I want to acknowledge Dr. Howard Nicholls for inspiring and suggesting that I publish this book.