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| Dr. Kingsley B. Garrison Photo Credit: Dr. Antoinette Harrell |
For the past several months I have had the honorable pleasure to interview Dr. Garrison about his family history. During the interview, I learned that he is an archivist. Dr. Garrison was a former teacher in the Tangipahoa Parish School System.
I asked him if he had any pictures I could look at? After I looked at his rich African- American images, at that point, I realized that I needed to talk with him about preserving his collection. "I know that my daughter will probably throw a lot of it away when I pass, " he said. "I think about that quite often!" said Dr. Garrison. I had to tell him that he didn't have to wait and that he can do something now. He is the kind of person that listens to sound advice and guidance. I took this opportunity to educate him on the process. Losing his collection would be losing a big part of African-American history of the Louisiana Florida Parishes.
That was one of the decisions I had to make about my collection. "What would happen to my collection when I passed away?" It was time for me to make a decision about the collection. Most of the collection consists of images, documents, and other research materials of African-American people in the Louisiana Florida Parishes. I decided that the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies was the best place for the collection.
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| Dr. Samuel Hyde looking at the collection Photo Credit: Dr. Antoinette Harrell |
I explained to Dr. Garrison the importance of making that decision while he could. After our discussion, we talked about him visiting the center with me. Having him to look at the process of preserving his collection would help him to make that decision. Dr. Garrison made that decision today.
Dr. Samuel Hyde, Director of the Center Southeast Louisiana Studies, said that the Louisiana Florida Parishes is lacking the history of African-American people.
We're proud to announce that the Dr. Kingsley B. Garrison Collection is coming to the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies. The collection will consist of images from the Ponchatoula Color School, Baptismal, and images of people in the community. Whenever I'm talking with him, I feel like I'm sitting with a talking library, I learn so much. I must mention that he is putting me in contact with others who had rich collections in the Ponchatoula, Louisiana.
