Friends of the UNCG Libraries

Dr. Rita Liberti at work in UNC Greensboro's Jackson Library As if she were opening a door into another world, sports historian Rita Liberti draws you into the 1920’s and 1930’s when basketball opened opportunities for black women at historically black colleges and universities that were not shared by many of their white counterparts.   At HBCUs in North Carolina, and particularly at Greensboro’s Bennett College, women’s basketball reached a level of prominence and success that would fade as the 1940’s came and expectations about gender roles changed.   Between 1925 and 1945, however, with strong administrative support, young women from as far as Detroit were recruited to come play basketball at Bennett, and provided grants-in-aid to do so.   They played on high profile, well-organized teams that traveled extensively and played 20 game schedules against teams from other black colleges and universities. Liberti has an infectious passion for her subject. ...

Greensboro history buffs - start your engines. The Textiles, Teachers, and Troops website, written about earlier on this blog is now available for public use.  After celebrating the launch of the website with a program at the Greensboro Historical Museum on Tuesday that featured a visit by North Carolina's Secretary of Cultural Resources Susan Kluttz and a keynote by Deputy Secretary of Archives and History Kevin Cherry, the partners on the project are ready for you to take a look at the website and provide feedback, especially on resources that you find especially useful.  Tell us what you learned and how the website helps you gain a better understanding of Greensboro's history.  Please email us at ttt@digitalgreensboro.org . Here are some photos from the launch. (L-R) State Librarian Cal Shepard; Deputy Secretary of Archives and History Kevin Cherry; Greensboro Historical Museum Director Carol Hart; Secretary of Cultural Resources Susan Kluttz;, Dean of Unive...

Greensboro--Elm St. at RR Crossing Looking North from a Greensboro College scrapbook, of student Mabel Pitts, circa 1920.   Courtesy of Greensboro College How did Greensboro become the city it is today?   From 1880-1945, three distinct forces helped transform the city: textiles, teachers, and troops.   Now, six important area institutions have come together to create a free online tool that documents that transformation and makes it available to the public.   Two upcoming programs will highlight that tool and are free and open to the public. On Tuesday, April 8, a public launch of the digital project Textiles, Teachers, and Troops: Greensboro 1880-1945 will be held at the Greensboro Historical Museum at 7 p.m. In addition to demonstration of the project website and a brief outline of Greensboro history during the period, Dr. Kevin Cherry, Deputy Secretary of Archives and History in the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources will speak. ...