Help Desk Number:
(404) 978-2052
Frankie V. Adams Collection 1931-1981
3 linear feet
Florence “Frankie” Victoria Adams (b. 1902 d. 1979) was a social worker, educator, author, and community activist. For most of her career, she was associated with the Atlanta School of Social Work (later the Atlanta University School of Social Work), the first school for African Americans to be accredited by the American Association of Schools of Social Work. At the request of Director Forrester B. Washington, Adams joined the faculty in 1931. She developed courses and trained students in the newly emerging disciplines of community organization and group work. As a member of the Committee on Group Work of the American Association of Social Work, she helped influence the curriculum and content of group work nationally. During her 33 years with the School she taught some 2,500 students, served as Acting Dean for two interim periods, and culminated her tenure as Associate Dean.
Adams remained active in social work after her retirement, working with Economic Opportunity Atlanta to develop neighborhood service centers in disadvantaged areas of the city. Upon her second retirement she volunteered for Project Head Start. She authored two books, Soulcraft: Sketches on Negro-White Relations Designed to Encourage Friendship (c.1944), and The Reflections of Florence Victoria Adams, a history of the Atlanta University School of Social Work. Reflections details the development of the School, its leadership and curricula, and includes a brief description of Adams’s contributions. She completed the draft manuscript three weeks before her death in 1979. It was published posthumously by the School in 1981.
This collection consists of the papers of Trezzvant W. Anderson from 1932 to 1963, with the bulk of it documenting the last few years of his life. It consists mainly of typescripts of his articles submitted in the latter part of his career as a reporter for the Pittsburgh Courier. Most of the articles were written under the bylines "Courier Press Service", "Courier Roving Reporter", "Dateline: Georgia", and "Report from Dixie". Also included in the collection are notebooks and printed materials Anderson used in writing and researching his articles. The earliest materials relate to his service in the U.S. Army during World War II, and his affiliation with the Elks. A significant amount of the correspondence is letters between Anderson and his managers at the Pittsburgh Courier. Of interest are the letters from William G. (Bill) Nunn, Executive Editor, and Managing Editor P.L. Prattis that concern story assignments and comments on his articles. Most of the correspondence dated 1958-1959 regards sales of the Courier and highlight the efforts of a Black newspaper to increase its circulation, especially in the segregated towns of the South.