This collection is comprised of material both created and collected by Dr. Charles Ford. It provides documentation of Dr. Ford's roles as a researcher and promoter of the history of the African American community within Hampton Roads. At the same time, it documents his involvement with gay cultural and activist groups, primarily the Tidewater AIDS Community Task Force (TACT). The bulk of the collection is related to TACT. These materials include correspondence, brochures, convention booklets, financial records, minutes, reports, promotional materials, a corporation agreement, invitations, cards, DVDs featuring lectures given by Dr. Ford, documents created by organizations, and articles from newspapers and magazines.
The collection is organized into three series: Series I: Professional and Civic Involvement; Series II: Research and Publications; and Series III: Tidewater AIDS Community Task Force and Gay Activism.
Open to researchers without restrictions.
Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from Special Collections and University Archives, and the holder of the copyright, if not Old Dominion University Libraries.
Dr. Charles Ford
Gift. Accession #2008-19
Additional accessions made in 2009 and 2010. Future accruals made on an ongoing basis
Material related to LGBTQIA+ students at Old Dominion University can be found in the Old Dominion University Gay and Lesbian Student Union (GLSU) Records (RG 37-5A).
[Identification of item], Box [insert number], Folder [insert number and title], Dr. Charles Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
The finding aids was created by Mel Frizzell, Special Collections Assistant, in 2008.
Charles H. Ford was born in Bellevue, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, on January 5, 1964. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in 1985, he earned his Masters and Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University. In 1992 he was hired at Norfolk State University (NSU) in Norfolk, Virginia as an assistant professor of history and in 2003 became the Chair of NSU's History Department.
During the 1990s, Ford's research focused on eighteenth century Britain and the Atlantic World and his first monograph,
His interests in the gay community's issues were combined with Ford's community service, including his work with the Tidewater AIDS Community Taskforce (TACT). Since 1994, he served as a member of the Board of Directors of TACT in multiple capacities. As of 2010, he was still involved in this organization and, having received tenure in 2007, was named an interim associate dean at NSU.
Note written by Mel Frizzell
This series pertains to Dr. Ford's community involvement regarding the African American community and their history and documenting other professional and public affiliations of Dr. Ford. Some of the topics discussed include Sister City, the Urban League, Voices from Within the Veil and the 400th celebration of Virginia, Waterways to Freedom exhibit, and material collected from various events featuring the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This series contains brochures, conference booklets, correspondence, and event programs.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 1, African American Community Involvement, 2005-2010, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 2, American Associations of University Professors, 2010, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 3, Commemoration, 2009, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 4, Local Organizational and Professional Involvement, 2002-2012, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
This series focuses on Dr. Ford's research of public school desegregation in Norfolk and the Hampton Roads area. The series features correspondence, brochures, lecture notes, information about his books, and promotional material related to publications and lectures recorded on DVD about desegregation and Massive Resistance in the Hampton Roads area.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 5, Articles on School Desegregation, circa 1950-1969, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 6, Blackboard Jungle/Confederate Flag Ban, National Edition Newspaper Article, 1958 July 19, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 7, Carolina Hypocrisy, National Edition Newspaper Article, 1958 September 6, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 8, City May Enroll 17 Despite Rule, Home Edition Newspaper Article, 1958 September 6, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 9, Civil Rights/NAACP/Integration, Home Edition Newspaper Article, 1958 July 12, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 10, Fifty Years of God's Faithfulness: A History of Suburban Christian Church, 2006 October, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 11, First Official Visit, National Edition Newspaper Article, 1958 July 26, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 12, Fraternity Penalizes Negro-Pledging Unit, National Edition Newspaper Article, 1958 September 13, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 13, Full Integration, National Edition Newspaper Article, 1958 August 30, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 14, Little Rock, National Edition Newspaper Article, 1958 July 5, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 15, Hampton Roads: Remembering Our Schools, 2009-2010, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 16, Massive Resistance and Desegregation in Norfolk, 2004-2012, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 17, Norfolkian Named to State Advisory..., Home Edition Newspaper Article, 1958 July 5, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 18, N.C. Pupil Wins Round, Home Edition Newspaper Article, 1958 July 19, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 19, Race Bias in School Testing, National Edition Newspaper Article, 1958 August 23, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 20, Articles about Distance Learning, 1961, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 2, Folder 1, Professional Publications, 2007-2008, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
This series documents political and cultural groups in the gay community in Hampton Roads. Items collected related to TACT, the AIDS Fund, Inc., Network VA, Gay Men's Book Club, and the Old Dominion University Gay Cultural Studies Program. It includes minutes, correspondence, reports, financial records, promotional material, the AIDS Fund, Inc.'s corporation agreement, articles, and bulletins.
[Identification of item and date], Box 2, Folder 2, The AIDS Fund, 1983-2012, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 2, Folder 3, Gay Cultural Studies, 1998-2012, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 2, Folder 4, Network VA and Social Activities, 2004-2011, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 2, Folder 5, TACT Education Reports, 2008 July-2009 October, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 2, Folder 6, TACT Financial Records, 2007 March-2009 December, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 2, Folder 7, TACT Meeting Minutes, 2007 July-2011 July, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 2, Folder 8, Reports to Executive Director, 2008 August-2009 October, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 2, Folder 9, TACT Various Materials, 2000-2010, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 2, Folder 10, Equality Virginia Materials, 2010-2013, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 2, Folder 11, LGBT Hampton Roads, 2016, Charles H. Ford Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.