Author: Mandy Mastrovita

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National Clown Week!

Happy National Clown Week!  National Clown Week was founded by President Richard Nixon on August 2, 1971. It is celebrated during the first week of August. This week, the DLG is happy to share several resources of clowns making people happy.

From the Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection’s WSB-TV collection, a newsfilm clip of a 1962 Atlanta parade that features clowns, cars, and Shriners.

CLOWNS, UNUSUAL CARS IN PARADE; SPECTATORS WATCH, 1962 June 3. wsbn42500, (No title), WSB-TV newsfilm collection, reel 0936, 6:41/08:30, Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Ga.
CLOWNS, UNUSUAL CARS IN PARADE; SPECTATORS WATCH, 1962 June 3. wsbn42500, (No title), WSB-TV newsfilm collection, reel 0936, 6:41/08:30, Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection,
The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Ga.

Courtesy of the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation, we have a photograph of a clown from the Florida State University Circus performing in front of a group of young patients in 1961.

Photograph of patients on gurneys watching a performance of the Florida State University Circus in the Roosevelt Hall Auditorium at the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation, Warm Springs, Meriwether County, Georgia, 1961. Roosevelt Warm Springs/Georgia Warm Springs Foundation Photograph Collection, Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation, Warm Springs, Georgia.
Photograph of patients on gurneys watching a performance of the Florida State University Circus in the Roosevelt Hall Auditorium at the
Georgia Warm Springs Foundation, Warm Springs, Meriwether County, Georgia, 1961. Roosevelt Warm Springs/Georgia Warm Springs Foundation Photograph Collection, Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation, Warm
Springs, Georgia.

Georgia State University Library’s Special Collections and Archives‘ WSB Radio Records, Popular Music and Culture Collection includes a photograph of Lambdin Kay, WSB Radio’s first manager, juggling with two clowns from the Barnum and Bailey Circus during the 1920s.

Lambdin Kay and clowns juggling, 1920-1929. M004_1069, WSB Radio Records, Popular Music and Culture Collection, Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library.
Lambdin Kay and clowns juggling, 1920-1929. M004_1069, WSB Radio Records, Popular Music and Culture Collection, Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library.

And from the Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center, we have a photograph of entertainer Emmett Kelly, Jr. shown with a young patient at Egleston Hospital in 1966.

Kelly, Emmett Jr., 1966. Bill Wilson Photographs, Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center.
Kelly, Emmett Jr., 1966. Bill Wilson Photographs, Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center.

We hope that we’ve brought you some cheer with these resources, and have helped foster an appreciation for the work that clowns do during National Clown Week!

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The Southern Voice Newspaper Collection, 1988-1995

Southern Voice, April 12, 1990. Southern Voice newspaper collection, 1988-1995, Kennesaw State University Archives.
Southern Voice, April 12, 1990. Southern Voice newspaper collection, 1988-1995, Kennesaw State University Archives.

We are excited to announce the availability the Southern Voice newspaper collection, 1988-1995 thanks to our partners at Kennesaw State University (KSU) Archives.

The Southern Voice newspaper, also known as SOVO, was an alternative news source for lesbians and gay men in the greater Atlanta area and Southeast for over 20 years. The paper was founded in 1988 by Christina Cash and Leigh VanderEls with a bi-weekly circulation of 5,000 copies. Southern Voice provided coverage of local and national events, editorials, and guides to local arts and entertainment. Circulation grew to 15,000 within two years, reaching a maximum readership of 100,000 during the 2000s. KSU Archives researchers have used the Southern Voice collection for exhibits, and class projects. Now, users of the Digital Library of Georgia and DPLA will be able to research local Georgia history, journalism, LGBT rights, and other issues.

Heather Oswald, Archivist and Coordinator of Outreach in the KSU Archives has been working with the Southern Voice collection since its initial donation, placing emphasis on making the paper as widely available as possible. She notes: “Southern Voice grew out of the need for a dedicated news source for the LGBT community following the 1987 March on Washington. From its initial publication in 1988, it functioned as one of the only papers targeted toward LGBT issues in the southeast, providing information on topics such as the fight against AIDS, marriage equality, discrimination, and violence against gay individuals. In addition, it provided alternative perspectives on major issues to those presented by the mainstream media. ”

The KSU Archives is working to locate, preserve, and digitize a complete run of the paper. Although they acquired a significant number of Southern Voice issues from donor David McLaughlin, they are still seeking a number of issues. Oswald has worked with colleagues from Atlanta-area institutions to help fill in gaps in the collection; these partners include the Atlanta History Center, Georgia State University, and Emory University. If you, or anyone you know, may have held on to back issues of the Southern Voice, please contact the KSU Archives at archives@kennesaw.edu. For information on the specific issues the KSU Archives is missing, visit https://archives.kennesaw.edu/lgbtq-publications-collection.

We hope that you enjoy this important new resource!

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