Collections

Over 170 photographs of African American men in military uniform, some of which feature a coiled rattlesnake, the patch adopted by the 369th Infantry Regiment which was stationed in Hawaii during World War II.

Collection contains a single concert advertisement for a segregated show for Marian Anderson. The advertisement reads: S. Hurok presents Marion Anderson "The Great American Singer" at the Mosque Theater. The ad also lists separate seating prices for white and black individuals.

The Theodore C. (Ted) DeLaney, Jr. Collection is composed of materials from Dr. Ted DeLaney's personal and professional life including genealogy and personal history; historical research, correspondences, and papers as historian and professor at Washington and Lee University. The collection is arranged in three series. Of note are Dr. Delaney's research on school desegregation in Lexington, Virginia and in Southwest Virginia and a series of video interviews with Dr. DeLaney completed in 2018.

This collection includes photographs, ephemera, clippings, correspondence, and printed material created and/or acquired by members of the Walker and Wood families, specifically Harry L. and Eliza Walker and their daughter Nannie and her husband Clarence. Subjects include the Walker-Wood Brothers meat and grocery business, the family home Blandome, properties owned by the families, First Baptist Church, and social organizations in Lexington and Roanoke such as the NAACP and the Virginia Federation of Colored Women. Several of the photographs date to the late 19th century and feature multiple generations of both families. Of particular note are photographs of Freedman's Hospital nurses and a unit of Buffalo soldiers. The families were very active in advocating for the education of African American children in Lexington, and this collection reflects that. The collection includes documents related to the advocacy for and development of Lylburn Downing School and the organization of the Home and School League.