Preparing and conducting a research trip

Posted on July 31, 2025 by Jonathan Kirkwood

Field research is an exciting time, filled with travel, discoveries, and hope of breaking new ground. I recently traveled southwest Michigan, visiting four repositories in four days to research an event known as the Kentucky Raid, an attempt in 1847 by slavecatchers to kidnap African Americans residing in Cass County, Michigan thwarted by nonviolent resistance. This was a successful effort thanks to strong preparation and planning that allowed for thorough research of many resources.

Sanctuary and Deliverance mural, Cassopolis, MI
Credit: Dowagiac Daily News, 12-7-2007

First off, what was the Kentucky Raid? It remains little known or documented outside of Cass County. Kentucky plantation owners and bounty hunters sought to kidnap escaped slaves residing in a county that was also a hotbed of the Underground Railroad. However, the alarm was raised, free African Americans and whites confronted the slavecatchers and forced them through a hurried court trial to release the victims.

To start, I determined what I was going to research: not what happened but how memories and histories have shaped perspectives of the raid. This may appear simple, but it determined what repositories to visit, what collections to research, and what information to look for. This made for a more efficient effort on limited time.

Credit: WMU Regional History Collections, A-4254

This was especially important as records relating to the raid are scattered across southwest Michigan. Establishing the research goal allowed me to narrow the search to four repositories: the Cass District Library Local History Branch, the James E. Bonine House, the Lemmen Library & Archives at Grand Valley State University, and the Regional History Collections at Western Michigan University.

Before visiting any repositories came several steps. The first was presenting the goal and receiving supervisor permission. These helped secure funding for travel, meals, and living arrangements. Once they were approved and funded, I developed a schedule to ensure I used my limited time efficiently. As I was traveling every day between sites, I selected a hotel with a location central to them and a rental car for travel. One last step prior to visiting was contacting each repository a month in advance to give staff sufficient time to search collections for the necessary records.

Credit: Lemmen Library & Archives, Grand Valley State University, RHC-34

The volumes of records yielded in these searches varied among the repositories. Which was why I had to decide on whether I had time to research them or make copies to research later. Two repositories had fewer records than the other two, giving me time to research them. The volume of records at the other two forced me to focus less on research and more on looking for records that could be worth researching and marking them for reproduction.

All these efforts served to make this a successful research trip in hope of showing how perspectives have changed of the Kentucky Raid over time. Yet all this would not have been possible without setting that goal, doing proper preparation, and determining where to visit and what to research.

Understanding the content of the NAACP Bronson v. Board collection

Posted on June 23, 2025 by Julianna Witt

Last November, the University of Cincinnati Libraries announced the award of an Archives Grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to the Libraries’ Archives and Rare Books Library (ARB). This grant supports the archival processing of records related to the lawsuit Bronson v. Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Cincinnati maintained by the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and donated to the University of Cincinnati in the 1980s.

Archival records from organizations may contain an array of documents and an incredible amount of those documents, such as correspondence, meeting minutes and case files. When this occurs, archivists may arrange the material into series and subseries in order to assist researchers in accessing the collection. The NAACP Bronson v. Board records is an example of this practice. Due to the extensive material within the collection, it is vital to note the different types of documents and what they mean in the context of the case. This includes files created and kept by the school districts and documents that originated in the court. For both document types, ARB has consulted with the Office of General Counsel to determine if any records need to be restricted or redacted.

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P. Alfred Marchand, Lunch Talk

Posted on May 24, 2022 by Melissa Cox Norris

P. Alfred Marchand was one of the first African American librarians in the United States and possibly the Midwest region. He worked at the Cincinnati Hospital from ~1873-1918. Although Marchand was highly valued by the medical staff at the Cincinnati Hospital, there was also controversy surrounding his unwarranted dismissal then reinstatement following protest by medical staff.

Please join Leah Everitt, research assistant in the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library (HSL), on Thursday, June 16, 2022 from 12:00-1:00pm in the Stanley J. Lucas, MD Board Room of the Winkler Center, to hear about archival materials that reveal much more about Marchand’s academic accomplishments and his time at the Cincinnati Hospital. Please note that lunch will be served.

Cincinnati Pharmaceutical Association

Posted on October 18, 2017 by Devhra Bennettjones

The Ohio Pharmacist, highlighting the unique black recruiting program.

Recently, the Henry R. Winkler Center received a donation of materials that are now titled the Cincinnati Pharmaceutical Association: Diversity Recruitment History Collection. It is one of the Winkler Center’s long overdue first steps in attempting to document African American involvement in the city’s health professions.

The Cincinnati Pharmaceutical Association, also known as CinPha is an organization of African American Pharmacists in and around the Cincinnati area. In 1975, Ruby Hill and other black pharmacists in Cincinnati formed the organization due to poor recruitment of minorities into the University of Cincinnati, more specifically, the College of Pharmacy. The group was also formed as a professional organization which would allow African Americans an opportunity to network, build professional relationships, and stay current on trends and developments in the pharmacy profession. CinPha is the oldest African American pharmacy organization in the city. Originally known as the Cincinnati Black Pharmacists Association, in 1984_, Dr. Robert L. Thomas became the organization’s president and the name was changed to Cincinnati Pharmaceutical Association CPhA. In February, 1989, the acronym “CinPha” was adopted to represent the association.

The primary objectives of the association include:

Maintaining minority representation in the profession of pharmacy
Educating the general public on matters regarding pharmacy and health care with a focus on the minority population
Maintaining interaction with other groups and organizations in order to promote the practice of pharmacy and health care in general
To provide a forum for updating the membership on issues, concepts and developments pertaining to pharmacy
Support and maintain a code of ethics for pharmacists.

Jerry Rucker, the collection’s donor, was a graduate of the UC College of Pharmacy and practiced his career as a registered pharmacist. He collected the materials in this collection and served as the president of CinPha for several years. We thank Mr. Rucker for his donation and look forward to the collection growing in the future.

Jerry Rucker’s copy of a program from the annual Norris ‘ Bus’ Gordon scholarship dinner/dance.

One of the first advertisements from the UC College of Pharmacy targeted toward minority students.

This blog was written by Charles Talarico.

Cecil Striker Lecture and Exhibit a Success

Posted on May 8, 2017 by Devhra Bennettjones

We had to take a few days to recoup but now that we have here are a few images of last Thursday’s Cecil Striker Lecture, “African American Physicians in Cincinnati: Past, Present & Future.”

A multi-generational panel of physicians was moderated by Dr. Elbert Nelson and included Drs. Chester Pryor, Charles Dillard, Camille Graham, and Christopher Lewis. Each panelist discussed a bit of their personal stories, including obstacles and successes as African American physicians, their early mentors, and heroes, etc. After the discussion, attendees were invited to a reception and an exhibit opening of the same name in the Winkler Center’s Lucas Room. For now, these are the only images we have from the event, but more will follow. Stay tuned. And thank you to everyone who helped make the evening a huge success.

Staff of the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions