This maxim reflects the bond between writer Tom Dent and his library at Amistad.
50 Years/50 Collections: The Samuel Ralph Harlow Papers, 1977
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As the history of the Amistad Research Center is closely tied to the legacy of the American Missionary Association, the history of missionary movements within the United States and the efforts of American missionaries in foreign lands is one of the strengths of the archival collections at the Amistad Research Center. These collections document not only the labors of various missionary organizations, but also the lives of the women and men who served with them.
While the papers of Samuel Ralph Harlow, who was a Christian missionary to the Near East with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), fit well within Amistad’s missionary collections, at the same time, the Harlow papers offer a unique look at overseas missions in an area of the world not well covered by our other missionary collections. Harlow was born in 1885 in Boston and, from an early age, wished to be a missionary. He was ordained as a Congregational minister in 1912 and traveled with his wife, Marion, to Turkey, where he served as chaplain and head of the sociology department at the International College in Smyrna until 1917; they returned to Smyrna from 1919 to 1922. The Harlows’ time in Turkey coincided with an era of upheaval and unrest, notably conflicts between Christians and the Ottoman government, the prohibition of Christian proselytizing by the government, the Armenian Genocide, and the occupation of portions of Turkey by Greece following World War I.Because of Harlow’s urging of the ABCFM to expend efforts to aid refugee Armenians and Greeks rather than among Turks, he came into dispute with the Board and resigned. Harlow then served as professor of religion and Biblical literature at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. His later life and career were characterized by his work as a pacifist, civil rights activist, Zionist, Socialist, international lecturer, and author of several other books on religion, social action, and paranormal phenomena. He passed away in 1972.
Samuel Ralph Harlow’s papers date from 1862 to 1970 and comprise 9.62 linear feet of correspondence (ca. 3800 items), along with diaries, sermons, poems, prayers, manuscripts of Harlow's books, scrapbooks, and collected materials. Other subjects include the Harlow family, Smith College and other schools, Christian religious publications, the International College at Smyrna, Pierce College at Athens in Greece, the Middle East, Zionism and Israel, Jews in America, the NAACP, African Americans and race relations, social action, pacifism, political topics, and Harlow’s travels. Harlow’s papers also include a scrapbook of clippings on the Spanish-American War, pasted over a letter book kept by Harlow's grandfather, Roland Greene Usher, while a U.S. Army paymaster during the Civil War.
A detailed finding aid for the Samuel Ralph Harlow papers can be found here.
Images from the Samuel Ralph Harlow papers. Images from Amistad’s website, newsletters, and blogs cannot be reproduced without permission.
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Kathe Hambrick is the Founder and former Executive Director of the River Road African American Museum (RRAAM), established in 1994 as Louisiana’s first African American Museum. She is a past President of the national Association of African American Museums (AAAM). She served as the Chief Curator and Director of Interpretation for the West Baton Rouge Museum for four years. Hambrick was born in New Orleans and spent half her life in California where she received an undergraduate degree in English and a minor in African American Studies from California State University Long Beach.
Hambrick is a Public Historian with a passion for collecting, preserving and interpreting history for diverse audiences. Her thirty-one-year career as a museum professional includes expertise in program development, interpretative planning, curation, grant writing, fundraising, and board governance. She led the effort to preserve three slave cemeteries and six historic buildings in Ascension Parish.
She is considered an expert on the history and culture of African Americans in communities along the Mississippi River. Kathe Hambrick’s interviews include local, national, and international media, the BBC Learning Channel, CBS Morning News, National Public Radio, and the New York Times. The consulting firm, 2PRESERVE was established by Hambrick in 2021 to provide cultural resources and guidance to corporations, museums, cultural centers, government agencies, and faith-based organizations.
Throughout her 31-year career, Kathe has curated over one hundred exhibits, including The Rural Roots of Jazz, African Influences on Louisiana Cuisine, Creole Du Monde, and The Square Collection which featured original art by Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, Richmond Barthé, and Tina Allen. Her most recent exhibit is the GU272 of Ascension: The Jesuit and Episcopal Connection to Slavery.
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Kathe Hambrick is the Founder and former Executive Director of the River Road African American Museum (RRAAM), established in 1994 as Louisiana’s first African American Museum. She is a past President of the national Association of African American Museums (AAAM). She served as the Chief Curator and Director of Interpretation for the West Baton Rouge Museum for four years. Hambrick was born in New Orleans and spent half her life in California where she received an undergraduate degree in English and a minor in African American Studies from California State University Long Beach.
Hambrick is a Public Historian with a passion for collecting, preserving and interpreting history for diverse audiences. Her thirty-one-year career as a museum professional includes expertise in program development, interpretative planning, curation, grant writing, fundraising, and board governance. She led the effort to preserve three slave cemeteries and six historic buildings in Ascension Parish.
She is considered an expert on the history and culture of African Americans in communities along the Mississippi River. Kathe Hambrick’s interviews include local, national, and international media, the BBC Learning Channel, CBS Morning News, National Public Radio, and the New York Times. The consulting firm, 2PRESERVE was established by Hambrick in 2021 to provide cultural resources and guidance to corporations, museums, cultural centers, government agencies, and faith-based organizations.
Throughout her 31-year career, Kathe has curated over one hundred exhibits, including The Rural Roots of Jazz, African Influences on Louisiana Cuisine, Creole Du Monde, and The Square Collection which featured original art by Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, Richmond Barthé, and Tina Allen. Her most recent exhibit is the GU272 of Ascension: The Jesuit and Episcopal Connection to Slavery.
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