Researching the History of African American Collectors

<p>Laura Helton's research led to a public reading and conversation with Virginia Lee's family members, which was held at Roanoke's Dumas Center. Image courtesy of Roanoke Public Library. </p> — Laura Helton’s research led to a public reading and conversation with Virginia Lee’s family members, which was held at Roanoke’s Dumas Center. Image courtesy of Roanoke Public Library.

Published in 2024, Laura Helton’s book Scattered and Fugitive Things: How Black Collectors Created Archives and Remade History chronicles the creation of African American archives in the first half of the 20th century. Developed by Black intellectuals who at times risked their livelihoods and careers to build them, these collections of books, manuscripts, pamphlets, photographs, images, and ephemera are now central to our understanding of Black histories and are essential to researchers who study U.S. history. In addition to helping readers understand the creation of these archives and their significance, Helton’s book uncovers the life stories of African American curators, archivists, librarians, scrapbookers, and bibliophiles, illuminating their contributions to American history. Scattered and Fugitive Things was written with the support of NEH funding. An NEH-funded fellowship through the New York Public Library supported Helton’s research in the Scholars-in-Residence program at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, which contributed broadly to the book. In addition, an NEH summer stipend helped Helton write a book chapter dedicated to Virginia Lee, an underresearched librarian in Roanoke, Virginia—work that has had an ongoing public impact.

<p>Panelists from a public event, including Laura Helton and several of Virginia Lee's family members, held at Roanoke's Dumas Center. Image courtesy of Roanoke Public Library. </p> — Panelists from a public event, including Laura Helton and several of Virginia Lee’s family members, held at Roanoke’s Dumas Center. Image courtesy of Roanoke Public Library.

Scattered and Fugitive Things illuminates the stories of Black intellectuals and collectors whose work to preserve African American history has had a profound, if underacknowledged, impact. The book’s chapters each explore the life and work of an individual collector, including Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, Alexander Gumby, Virginia Lee, Vivian Harsh, Dorothy Porter, and L.D. Reddick. Helton’s research often led her to the very archives these people endeavored to create. For the chapter on Virginia Lee, Helton undertook research at the Roanoke Public Library and the Gainsboro Library, where Lee worked as a librarian in the segregated branch. There, Lee organized reading groups and collected and provided access to materials related to the history of Roanoke’s African American community and Black American writing—despite being told to get rid of the materials by a city official.

Helton’s research has facilitated broader public engagement with the important history of Black intellectuals and collectors. For instance, a community group leveraged Helton’s research and worked with the state historical commission to install a marker recognizing Lee outside of the Gainsboro Library. There is hope that documenting and recognizing this history will help preserve the library’s historical building. In the summer of 2024, Helton joined members of Lee’s family in a public program at Roanoke’s Dumas Center to discuss Lee’s life and work.