https://omeka.jmu.edu/simms/files/original/Celebrating Simms Collection The Story of the Lucy F. Simms School/simms00342-local-history-comes-to-life.pdf 841c7c14cfc2c572fb06b52bad327a45 PDF Text Text Skip to Main Content NEWS ▼   TOPICS ▼   SOCIAL ▼   COLLEGE NEWS JMU IN THE COMMUNITY ▼   PUBLICATIONS ▼   STAFF Local history comes to life JMU students and community members partner to preserve African­American history BY ROBERT HAROLD TUCKER   (L to R) Doris Harper Allen, one of Simms' former students, with JMU students Deana Forbes, Brett Seekford and Hannah Jones at the opening of the exhibit in April. SUMMARY: "Celebrating Simms" is the first permanent exhibition dedicated to African­American history in the Shenandoah Valley. The exhibit, honoring the iconic Harrisonburg educator Lucy F. Simms, launched in April, culminating a yearlong project in which students worked in concert with community members to collect archival materials ▼ ARCHIVE �from libraries and families, then designed the exhibit, a companion website and printed booklet. A collaboration between a team of JMU students and the Shenandoah Valley Black Heritage Project has reanimated history at the local Lucy F. Simms Continuing Education Center. Together, the partners created a permanent history display featuring 59 panels and more than 100 photos at the center, which honors the life and legacy of Harrisonburg’s iconic African­American educator and the school named in her honor. BACK TO TOP “Celebrating Simms” is the first permanent exhibition dedicated to African­American history in the Shenandoah Valley. “The value of the Celebrating Simms exhibition to the community is so great it defies description, “ said Robin Lyttle of the Shenandoah Valley Black Heritage Project. “This exhibition will give everyone a better understanding about what black America went through to get an education.  We do not learn this history in school.  If we did, we would have a better understanding of one another.” �Simms was born enslaved in 1857, but eventually earned a degree from Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) and settled in Harrisonburg to teach nearly 2,000 students from three generations of families. The school was built as a memorial to her shortly after her death in 1934, and served African­ American students from 1938 to 1965. The exhibit launched in April, culminating a yearlong project of interdisciplinary students guided by English professor Mollie Godfrey and Sean McCarthy, professor of writing, rhetoric and technical communication. Students worked in concert with community members to collect archival materials from libraries and families. Students then designed the exhibit, a companion website and printed booklet. This was an excellent example of how the university and the community can come together with a great outcome. �outcome. — Robin Lyttle, Shenandoah Valley Black Heritage Project “My interactions with the community were the most memorable part of the experience,” said Brett Seekford (’17), an English major from New Market, Virginia.  “As an aspiring academic, I realized the importance of reflecting not only on national themes but also on the investigation of local history. I wouldn't trade this experience for the world.” “This was an excellent example of how the university and the community can come together with a great outcome,” said Lyttle. “Many of the photos and ephemera came from the personal collections of the Simms students and their descendants. The JMU students took on a huge challenge and rose to the occasion, doing an amazing job in telling this history. This exhibition will be viewed for many, many years and I am proud to have been a part of it.” “The exhibit is important for the community because it recognizes the northeast neighborhood's contributions to the city of Harrisonburg,” said Seekford. “This history often goes unnoticed, but the �Seekford. “This history often goes unnoticed, but the increased attention it has received through this project informs current and future citizens about the influence of the African­American community on the city's development.” “What if other universities around the country did as JMU has done?” said Lyttle. “What if a Maryland university did a similar project in East Baltimore? Wouldn’t it be great to see a university or college group doing something similar in Ferguson [Missouri] or Oakland?  These projects help empower a neighborhood.“ Published: Monday, May 23, 2016 Last Updated: Monday, May 23, 2016 Related Articles JMU Debaters Help Refine Middle School TED­Ed Talks  Members of JMU"s Debate Team volunteered with the Explore More Discovery Museum to help local middle school students develop big ideas and present their findings in front of an audience. ... Motivating middle schoolers  Researchers, teachers team up to elicit students' best efforts ... Students and Alums roll up their sleeves for #JMUBigEvent  Nearly 500 JMU students and over 300 alumni participated in the 2016 Big Event, a day of service to impact the local community. ... READ MORE �A­Z INDEX  DIRECTORY  EXPENDITURES  PRIVACY MAPS  ACCESSIBILITY  SOCIAL MEDIA  COMMUNITY 800 SOUTH MAIN STREET     JOBS HARRISONBURG, VA 22807  CONTACT US Annual Security and Fire Safety Report   Title IX Policies Student Consumer Information © 2016 JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Celebrating Simms Collection: The Story of the Lucy F. Simms School Description An account of the resource The first series in the Celebrating Simms Collection consists of approximately 450 items that were digitized to support the development and design of the 2016 Celebrating Simms exhibit. The series consists primarily of photographs and some historical documents related to the Effinger St. School (1882–1938); the Lucy F. Simms School (1938-1966); the Simms Reunion Committee (1982–Present); private family photographs documenting life in the Northeast Neighborhood of Harrisonburg, Virginia (1882–1966); and official photographs documenting Harrisonburg’s R4 Urban Renewal Project (1955–1964). The Celebrating Simms Collection consists entirely of digitized materials. It is a post-custodial collection, meaning that all original materials were returned to the custody of their original owners immediately after being digitized. The individuals who shared their private collections with this project for digitization include: Doris Harper Allen, Howard Curry, Dorothy Dickerson, Twyla French, Billo Harper, Greg Johnson, Wilhelmina Johnson, Dale MacAllister, Edna Mitchell, Deanna Reed, Jennifer Vickers, and Betty Lou Winkey. Some items were also digitized for Celebrating Simms with permission from JMU Special Collections, the Massanutten Regional Library, the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society (now Rocktown History), and the Daily News-Record. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Celebrating Simms Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available JMU Libraries Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1867-2016 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Local History Comes to Life Subject The topic of the resource Lucy F. Simms Harrisonburg (Va.) Description An account of the resource An article discussing the Celebrating Simms project collaboration and exhibit launch. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Robert Harold Tucher Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Madison Magazine Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available James Madison University Libraries Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 16-May Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Madison Magazine Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CC By-NC 4.0</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource articles Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context simms00342 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Harrisonburg (Va.) Brett Seekford Deana Forbes Doris Harper Allen Hannah Jones