Activist Mandy Carter
It was clear to me then and remains clear today that this big southern university was and is the right place—and maybe the only place—for my papers and for the papers of many other women.
The collection has grown substantially over the years and now offers many opportunities for scholars and laypeople. The two-day program I attended to mark the 75th anniversary of the regularly updated compendium, “From Slavery to Freedom,” was for me an opportunity to hear the voices of black feminists, especially Mandy Carter, “The Scientist of Activism” a tireless fighter who over the decades has built bridges to many communities working in the causes of nonviolence and peace, gay rights, and southern justice.
The display of artifacts illustrating aspects of her career was highlighted for me by her presentation. Her calm, her long vision, and especially her humor reassured me that she is in it for the long run—as are my valued colleagues who keep the archive and the essential conversations going. I was especially glad to hear Mandy remind us that to avoid burnout, we must find a source of joy within ourselves.
I am moved and honored by the flourishing and expanding of what I started.
Yes, it was fun to see the handsome old Bingham School Building in nearby Mebane and to be shown my great grandfather William Bingham’s child scrawls on a piece of siding but that sliver of the long-gone past can’t compete in my mind for what is being accomplished every day with archivists, students and scholars at “The Sallie Center” as it is endearingly called.
I am enduringly grateful.
[An online exhibit of the “Mandy Carter, Scientist of Activism” exhibit is available on the Duke University Libraries website.]
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