Chowan Discovery Group

A new Award for Chowan Discovery!

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From Marvin Tupper Jones: October 13, 2018 – King of Prussia, PA: African American Historical and Genealogical Society gave Marvin T. Jones (and thus Chowan Discovery ) its second highest honor, the Paul Edward Sluby/Jean Samson-Scott Meritorious Achievement Award for “Distinguished Performance In Support Of African American History and Genealogy”.    Tremendous thanks goes to the many supporters of Chowan Discovery,  and AAHGS members Alice Harris (my cherished nominator!), Robyn Smith, Margo Lee Williams, Bernice Bennett and Linda Crichlow White among others  The Sluby/Samson-Scott is the second highest award granted by AAHGS. In the 1980’s, Paul Sluby contributed much to Winton Triangle when producing genealogy books for the Collins-Bizzell family.

Marvin is a member of the Central Maryland Chapter of AAHGS and has presented at eight chapters and the national conferences.  This is part of Chowan Discovery’s mission to research, document, preserve and present the history of the Winton Triangle and beyond.  In 2014, Marvin and Chowan Discovery received an award from the North Carolina Society of Historians.

Residents of prosperous Black neighborhoods tell their story.

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In conjunction with the Community Alliance for Upper Fourteenth Street (CAUFS), Chowan Discovery is showing four documentaries  October 2, 5, 9 and 12.  All times are at 6:30 pm  at at Andromeda Transcultural Health at 14th and Decatur Streets in Washington, DC.

The Chowan Discovery-produced film, Oral Histories from the Gold Coast and the Upper 16th Street Communities, is 20 minute documentary that tells the story of the Crestwood, 16th Street Heights, Shepherd Park, Colonial Village, and North Portal Estates neighborhoods of upper northwest Washington, DC through oral history interviews with residents.  Producer Marvin T. Jones will discuss the film and the communities. This film is funded in part by the are funded by Humanities DC  and the Chowan Discovery Group.

 

Alumni tell of story of a school conceived at a DC fort during the Civil War.

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In conjunction with the Community Alliance for Upper Fourteenth Street (CAUFS), Chowan Discovery is showing four documentaries  October 2, 5, 9 and 12.  All times are at 6:30 pm  at at Andromeda Transcultural Health at 14th and Decatur Streets in Washington, DC.

In 1864 in the barracks of Fort Stevens around the time of its successful defense against an invading Confederate force, the Military Road School as founded for children of color. Ninety years later, the school closed.  Its last students and teachers tell their fond memories of the school’s last decade.   School alumni will be present for the discussion that follows.  This film is funded by DC Humanties, the Military Road School Preservation Trust and received support from Chowan Discovery.

 

AUNT and FORT STEVENS film to be shown near story’s site.

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Elizabeth Proctor Thomas, 1824 – 1917.

In conjunction with the Community Alliance for Upper Fourteenth Street (CAUFS), Chowan Discovery is showing four documentaries  October 2, 5, 9 and 12.  All times are at 6:30 pm  at at Andromeda Transcultural Health at 14th and Decatur Streets in Washington, DC.

The property of an African American farmer and landowner, Elizabeth “Aunt Betty” Thomas, was taken by the U.S. Army in order to build Fort Stevens which saw battle in the Civil War.  This film is being shown only a mile from Mrs. Thomas’s farm and the fort. Was she compensated for her losses? Discover her life and legacy of a unique woman with living history interpreter Patricia Tyson and documentary producer/researcher Marvin T. Jones of the Chowan Discovery Group.

First of a Four Film Series: THE CAMPAIGNS OF MOLLY HUNDLEY

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In conjunction with the Community Alliance for Upper Fourteenth Street (CAUFS), Chowan Discovery is showing four documentaries  October 2, 5, 9 and 12.  All times are at 6:30 pm  at at Andromeda Transcultural Health at 14th and Decatur Streets in Washington, DC.

From 1921 to 1955, Mrs. Mary Gibson Hundley was an exacting teacher of French and Latin at the famous Dunbar High School in Washingon, D.C.  The film’s title reflects Mrs. Hundley’s educational advancement against racism at her college; her drive to encourage students to excel in all ways, the students who were inspired by her; her legal battle against a racially-restricted covenant that evicted her from her home;  and finally, Mrs. Hundley’s campaign to save the historic Dunbar High School building in the 1970’s.

Mrs. Hundley’s unyielding loyalty to her school and high educational standards led her to write a book, The Dunbar Story in 1965.  She encouraged and directed many Dunbar students to attend the best possible colleges in the United States during the Jim Crow era.  The Chowan Discovery Group presents a new film about this extraordinary personality in education.  THE CAMPAIGNS OF MOLLY HUNDLEY tells of her efforts to move students to excellent levels of education and mission, to broaden their choices of colleges during the Jim Crow era, and her own battles against mediocrity and racism.

This is the second Dunbar High film produced by the Chowan Discovery Group.  Both films are funded by the Humanities D.C. and the Chowan Discovery Group.

Two Lectures in Wise County, Virigina.

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Big Stone Gap, Virginia: On June 21, Marvin T. Jones is giving two presentations at a genealogical workshop at the Mountain Empire Community College.  The first lecture is about the development, activities and findings of the Chowan Discovery Group’s work on the Winton Triangle.  The second talk will be about the Winton Triangle’s role in the Civil War.  The workshop is a pre-conference event connected to the Melungeon Heritage Association Reunion.

Chowan Discovery thanks Dr. Mike Gilley of the Mountain Empire Community College and Scott Withrow, President of the Melungeon Heritage Association, for the invitation.

The times for the lectures will be posted later.