Written Letters and Collaboration Over Distance: Communication in Historical Preservation Efforts

Letters were the most efficient format of long-form written communication throughout the course of Eartha M.M. White's life. Consequently, if written information was to be spread among individuals and groups, it would be through letters. Newspapers also could share news of major historical events and achievements. They served as a bridge between general communication and dissemination of historical knowledge.

Traditionally, oral communication has been used to transmit historical knowledge. This was especially the case for enslaved black people in the United States who were largely prohibited from learning to read or write. Stories of black leaders and achievements were passed down by elders, a tradition which later was transformed into public events like Emancipation Celebrations when many African Americans still were illiterate. As the decades passed, more African Americans were able to learn to read and write and gain a higher, more advanced education, although that was still uncommon for most. With this greater access to education came an increased interest in the written transmission of historical knowledge. Because of this, attempts to document African American history became more common in the early twentieth century.  

Several items in the Eartha M.M. White Collection illustrate how written correspondence enabled the spread of historical information and the organization of efforts to recover the black history of Florida. In one example, White received in 1954 a photograph and short biographical sketch of Thomas Van Gibbs, a vice president of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), from J. Henderson, FAMU's head of Business Education and Administration.