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This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 11.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 7,000 items) |
| Abstract | Roberta H. Jackson (1920-1999), African American professor of education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was married to Blyden Jackson (1910-2000), African American professor of English and dean of the Graduate School at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., and professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Blyden Jackson wrote novels and works on African American and southern literature. He also served from 1973 to 1981 as the Assistant Dean/Special Assistant to the Dean of the Graduate School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, charged with promoting the recruitment and retention of minority graduate students and working with the University's Student Aid Office to secure scholarships and fellowships for graduate students. The collection includes office files, correspondence, and other papers relating to African American college teachers Roberta H. Jackson and Blyden Jackson. Most papers relate to Blyden Jackson's teaching of and research on African American literature in the English Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill or to his work recruiting minority students as Assistant Dean/Special Assistant to the Dean of the Graduate School. Other papers relate to Blyden Jackson's work as a member of faculty committees and still others result from his other activities, including editing the Journal of Southern Literature and serving on the North Carolina Humanities Council. Also included are letters, 1959-1963, that Blyden Jackson wrote while teaching at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., to Roberta H. Jackson, in Bluefield, W.Va. |
| Creator | Jackson, Blyden.
Jackson, Roberta H. |
| Curatorial Unit | Southern Historical Collection |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Processing Information
Processed by: Linda Sellars and Nancy Kaiser, September 2004
Encoded by: Linda Sellars and Nancy Kaiser, September 2004
Updated by: Nancy Kaiser, January 2021; Anne Wells, February 2021
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Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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Biographical Information
Roberta Bowles Hodges Jackson was the first African American woman appointed to the faculty of the Academic Affairs Division of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in a tenure track position. Four years later, in 1974, she was the first African American woman to achieve tenure. Her husband, Blyden Jackson, was the University's first African American full professor. Roberta H. Jackson taught in the School of Education. Blyden Jackson taught in the English Department and was associate dean of the Graduate School.
Born in Germantown, N.C., on 23 February 1920, Roberta Bowles was one of ten children of Roberta, a school teacher, and George Bowles, a coal miner. She graduated from Byrd Prillerman High School in London, W.Va., as valedictorian. She earned a bachelor's degree from Bluefield State College in West Virginia, a master's degree in education from Ohio State University, and a doctorate in education from New York University. She taught at Southern University in Louisiana before joining the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1970. She retired in 1981. She died on 11 July 1999. She had one son, James Edward Hodges, Jr.
Blyden Jackson was born in Paducah, Ky., in 1910. His father was a history teacher and school principal and his mother was a librarian. Jackson earned a bachelor's degree from Wilberforce University in 1930. He began graduate work at Columbia University, but had to stop for financial reasons. After obtaining a scholarship, he earned a master's degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He taught in a junior high school in Louisville, Ky.; at Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn.; and at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La. He came to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1969 as the University's first African American full professor. He was a pioneer in the study of African American literature. As associate dean of the Graduate School, Jackson helped recruit minority graduate students to the University. He retired in 1981. After his retirement, Jackson completed the first volume of a planned four-volume history of African American literature, which was published in 1989. Blyden Jackson died in 2000.
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Scope and Content
The collection includes office files, correspondence, and other papers relating to African American college teachers Roberta H. Jackson and Blyden Jackson. Most papers relate to Blyden Jackson's teaching of and research on African American literature in the English Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill or to his work recruiting minority students as Assistant Dean/Special Assistant to the Dean of the Graduate School. Other papers relate to Blyden Jackson's work as a member of faculty committees and still others result from his other activities, including editing the Journal of Southern Literature and serving on the North Carolina Humanities Council. Also included are letters, 1959-1963, that Blyden Jackson wrote while teaching at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., to Roberta H. Jackson, in Bluefield, W.Va.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Southern University, 1959-1963.
Arrangement: chronological.
Letters, 1959-1963, that Blyden Jackson wrote while teaching at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., to his wife, Roberta H. Jackson, in Bluefield, W.Va. In almost daily letters, Jackson wrote of missing his wife; a visit to Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn.; his work as an English professor at Southern University; campus gossip; financial matters; attempts to begin writing a novel; thoughts on the works of authors such as James Baldwin; the 1960 Democratic Convention and other political matters; civil rights initiatives and events both locally and elsewhere; and the couple's plans to buy a home together. The letters conclude in August 1963 about Roberta Jackson's move to join her husband in Baton Rouge.
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Series 2. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1969-1991.
Office files, correspondence, and other papers relating to Blyden Jackson's work at the University of North Carolina. Many papers relate to Jackson's teaching and other activities in the English Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Other papers concern his work on committees, as a member of the Faculty Council, and as associate dean of the Graduate School. Note that, in most cases, Jackson's original folder titles have been retained.
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Series 3. Professional Activities, 1955-1988.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Correspondence and other materials relating to Blyden Jackson's professional activities and associations. Included are materials relating to manuscript reviews he wrote for presses and the History of Southern Literature project with the Society for the Study of Southern Literature and Louisiana State University Press. Note that, in most cases, original folder titles have been retained.
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Series 4. Writings, 1970-1990.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Manuscripts and other materials relating to Blyden Jackson's scholarly writings and publishing projects. Researchers should note that, in most cases, original folder titles have been retained and folder titles are not necessarily the same as final manuscript titles.
The first card in the card file is titled "Tentative Index for Biographies of Black Writers: A Preliminary Survey." The cards are grouped by chronological period and then by names of writers. Each card contains a citation to a book or journal article. Some dissertation citations are filed separately at the end.
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Series 5. Audiovisual Material.
Arrangement: by format.
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Items Separated