Jenkins Presents Black History Month Fabulously

Westbrook Branch’s P/T Library Clerk, Shaunda Jenkins, was assigned the task of creating a book display and bulletin board for Black History Month. What evolved from her vision was a full-fledged celebration of Jacksonville’s rich African American history. She created an interactive bulletin board with a historical map of the City of Jacksonville as the background and pop-out information cards on sites of historical significance for African Americans. She spent hours researching local historical sites, including the Kingsley Plantation, The Ritz Theatre and Museum, the Norman Film Studio, and the Clara White Mission and Museum. Shaunda worked closely with Main Special Collections, identifying, digitizing, and obtaining the rights to reprint a historical map depicting Jacksonville in 1921. She requested that CRM print the map once the rights were secured.

 

Shaunda converted her display into a power point presentation, which turned into a local African-American history program for neighborhood children on January 29th. Shaunda delivered her presentation to an enraptured audience of 40 children as they enjoyed locally donated refreshments. During the presentation, she included an excerpt of Rodney L. Hurst’s interview on Completely Booked, JPL’s podcast. Several individuals requested her power point be sent to them after the presentation. Other activities included a raffle, coloring inspirational quotes by black historical figures, and reading works of literature by black authors and illustrators.