The Villager Newspaper Photograph Collection, 1973-2002 An Inventory of The Villager Newspaper Photograph Collection at the Austin History Center


Collection Summary
	Creator:	Black Registry Publishing Company.
	Title:	The Villager Newspaper Photograph Collection.
	Inclusive Dates:	1973-2002.
	Bulk Dates:	1973-1979.
	Abstract:	The Villager Newspaper was started in 1973 by Tommy L. Wyatt and continues to publish weekly. The free newspaper has a circulation of 6,000, and is distributed mostly in East Austin but also at select venues throughout Austin. The focus of the newspaper is the African American community in Austin, Texas, especially those individuals and businesses in East Austin.
	Call Number:	AR.2001.002
	Quantity:	7.5 linear ft., 15 boxes, 4,372 photographs; 206 halftones; 101 negatives.
	Location:	Photography Collection (Cold Storage: Outer Vault).
	Repository:	Austin History Center, Austin Public Library 810 Guadalupe, Austin, Texas 78701.

Corporate History of The Villager Newspaper

According to the article by Kharen Monsho in the Handbook of Texas Online, “The Villager, an umbrella publication of the Black Registry Publishing Company, was first published in Austin as a four-page tabloid. Black Registry Publishing was founded by T. L. Wyatt in 1969 for the purpose of publishing the Black Registry, a directory of black-owned businesses. The Villager started in 1973 as a one-man operation with Wyatt writing all the stories, selling and collecting advertising, and shooting and developing photographs. In-depth stories about crime in the community seldom appeared in the Villager because Wyatt felt that that kind of news was covered adequately and sometimes overemphasized by the mainstream media. He chose instead to focus on the history of the community and the good news that was often overlooked by the Austin American-Statesman and Austin’s broadcast media. The paper became involved in community issues, especially area neighborhood revitalization. It led the effort to allow clinic-card holders the right to purchase prescriptions from neighborhood pharmacies. Before the change eligible persons had to purchase all medications from city-selected pharmacies. As the Villager’s influence grew, politicians began to lobby for the paper’s endorsement. East Austin was thriving economically in the early years of the paper, but as integration gradually became reality, black businesses went through a transition period. Some businesses failed and others moved out of east Austin to take advantage of the changing demographics of the city. During this time, more white-owned businesses, national corporations, and city agencies began to advertise in the Villager. Each year since its inception, a celebration has been held honoring the anniversary of the paper. The Villager began as and remains a free paper supported by advertising sales. It was originally distributed in 125 locations in neighborhood businesses, supermarkets, dining establishments, newsstands. The newspaper operated under a controlled circulation of 5,000 copies distributed weekly on Thursday and dated Friday. For the first ten years of publication 5,000 copies of the paper were distributed; circulation later increased to 6,000.”

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Scope and Contents of the Records

Four thousand three hundred and seventy-two (4,372) black and white and color photographs taken and received by the Villager newspaper for publication, 206 halftone illustrations, and 101 color and black and white negatives comprise this 7.5 linear feet record group. Photographs and halftones document the people, events, businesses and organizations in the African American community in Austin and Texas during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Of particular interest are the large number of photographs that feature individuals active in the social, business, religious and political life of the African American community in Austin and Texas.

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Organization of the Records
	No original order existed for this group of photographs, so an alphabetical arrangement scheme has been imposed on the photographs. Photographs are identified and filed according to a single access point determined by the collection processors. If a group photo can be identified by event or organization name, then that event or organization is the access point. If no event or organization can be pinpointed in group photos, one individual pictured is chosen as the access point, and the photo filed according to that individual’s name. Folders labeled with letters of the alphabet hold the photographs in alphabetical order. A large number of unidentified photographs continue to be examined by community consultants, identified and added to the alphabetical arrangement. The unidentified photographs are placed at the end of the group of alphabetical files and will need to be handled with gloves since they are not sleeved. Halftones have also been moved to the end of the collection and arranged alphabetically.
	Future additions to the collection will be alphabetically interfiled with those photographs processed in this initial group.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Gloves must be worn when handling the unidentified photos since they are not sleeved.

Restrictions on Use

Some photos labeled: “Restriction #3 This photograph may not be photoduplicated without the written permission of the photographer/artist/maker.”

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Index Terms

	Persons:
		Delco, Wilhelmina.
		Dukes, Dawnna.
		Wyatt, Tommy.
		Doggett, Lloyd.
		Durst, Lavada "Dr. Hepcat".
		Fuller, Maud Anna Berry.
		King, John Q. Taylor.
		Krueger, Bob.
		Barrientos, Gonzalo.
		Bullock, Bob.
		McClellan, Carole Keeton.
	Organizations:
		National Urban League.
		National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
		National Newspaper Publishers Association.
	Subjects:
		Juneteenth.
	Places:
		Anderson High School (Austin, Tex.).
		George Washington Carver Branch Library (Austin, Tex.).
		Carver Museum and Cultural Center (Austin, Tex.).
		Austin Community College (Austin, Tex.).
		Huston-Tillotson College.

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Related Material

Periodicals: Villager Newspaper, 1973-present.

Austin Files - Newspapers - Villager N2400.

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Separated Material

One hundred and one negatives separated, sleeved and housed in the outer vault.

Two documents separated and placed in clipping files. One item is a letter from Dawnna Dukes that is placed in AF-Biography – Dukes, Dawnna.

Marian E. Barnes’ resume has been placed in AF-Biography – Barnes, Marian E.

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Administrative Information

Custodial History:

Tommy L. Wyatt made an initial donation of photographs, halftones and documents in January 2001. He followed with additional donations in March 2001, August 2002, and August 2003. Mr. Wyatt plans to donate more photographs in the future.

Preferred Citation:

The Villager Newspaper Photograph Collection (AR.2001.002), Austin, TX: Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.

Acquisition Information:

Donor #: DO/2001/052 Donation Date: 2001-01-31; 2001-03-22; 2002-08-30; 2003-08-22.

Processing Information:

Preliminary Processing by Vicki Harris, Summer 2003.

Final Processing and Finding Aid By/Date: Grace McEvoy, Karen Riles, Margaret Schlankey, and Lisa Cox-Black/June 2004.

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Detailed Description of the Records

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection. The files are in alphabetical order by title, subject, person, or place after which the individual photographs are named.



Series 1 Identified Photographs
box	folder
1	1	A (14 items).
	2	A (25 items).
	3	A (24 items).
	4	A (24 items).
	5	A (19 items).
	6	A (15 items).
	7	A (07 items).
	8	B (29 items).
	9	B (23 items).
	10	B (29 items).
	11	B (26 items).
box	folder
2	1	B (27 items).
	2	B (26 items).
	3	B (23 items).
	4	C (21 items).
	5	C (26 items).
	6	C (13 items).
	7	C (30 items).
	8	C (27 items).
	9	C (32 items).
	10	C (17 items).
box	folder
3	1	D (33 items).
	2	D (34 items).
	3	D (20 items).
	4	D (25 items).
	5	D (23 items).
	6	D (26 items).
	7	D (06 items).
	8	E (22 items).
	9	E (21 items).
	10	E (25 items).
	11	E (11 items).
box	folder
4	1	F (28 items).
	2	F (26 items).
	3	F (22 items).
	4	G (26 items).
	5	G (26 items).
	6	G (29 items).
	7	G (32 items).
	8	H (26 items).
	9	H (26 items).
	10	H (23 items).
box	folder
5	1	H (28 items).
	2	H (22 items).
	3	H (25 items).
	4	H (15 items).
	5	I (07 items).
	6	J (25 items).
	7	J (26 items).
	8	J (25 items).
	9	J (24 items).
	10	K (28 items).
	11	K (22 items).
	12	K (27 items).
box	folder
6	1	L (26 items).
	2	L (26 items).
	3	L (43 items).
	4	L (31 items).
	5	L (15 items).
	6	M (27 items).
	7	M (24 items).
	8	M (27 items).
	9	M (25 items).
	10	M (25 items).
box	folder
7	1	M (30 items).
	2	M (24 items).
	3	N (32 items).
	4	N (19 items).
	5	O (25 items).
	6	P (26 items).
	7	P (27 items).
	8	P (16 items).
	9	P (23 items).
	10	P (35 items).
	11	Q (06 items).
box	folder
8	1	R (23 items).
	2	R (25 items).
	3	R (34 items).
	4	R (08 items).
	5	S (29 items).
	6	S (25 items).
	7	S (20 items).
	8	S (31 items).
	9	S (29 items).
	10	S (27 items).
	11	S (38 items).
box	folder
9	1	T (26 items).
	2	T (22 items).
	3	T (22 items).
	4	T (25 items).
	5	T (10 items).
	6	U (27 items).
	7	U (23 items).
	8	U (10 items).
	9	V (19 items).
	10	V (14 items).
	11	W (35 items).
	12	W (25 items).
box	folder
10	1	W (32 items).
	2	W (19 items).
	3	W (40 items).
	4	Y (13 items).
	5	Z (13 items).

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Series 2 Unidentified Photographs
box	folder
10	6	Unidentified - Arts. (86 items).
	7	Unidentified - Locations. (111 items).
	8	Unidentified - Education. (114 items).
box	folder
11	1	Unidentified - Organizations. (39 items).
	2	Unidentified - Politics. (45 items).
	3	Unidentified - Religion. (28 items).
	4	Unidentified - People. (63 items).
	5	Unidentified - People. (61 items).
	6	Unidentified - People. (68 items).
	7	Unidentified - People. (94 items).
	8	Unidentified - People. (78 items).
box	folder
12	1	Unidentified - People. (113 items).
	2	Unidentified - People. (67 items).
	3	Unidentified - People. (75 items).
	4	Unidentified - People. (84 items).
	5	Unidentified - People, 1970s. (81 items).
box	folder
13	1	Unidentified - People, 1970s. (100 items).
		Unidentified - People, 1970s. (92 items).
	3	Unidentified - People, 1970s. (90 items).
	4	Unidentified - People, 1970s. (118 items).
	5	Unidentified - People, 1970s. (92 items).
box	folder
14	1	Unidentified - People, 1970s. (63 items).
	2	Unidentified - People, 1970s. (81 items).
	3	Unidentified - People, 1970s. (93 items).

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Series 3 Halftone Images
box	folder
15	1	Halftone - A. (13 items).
	2	Halftone - B. (21 items).
	3	Halftone - C. (17 items).
	4	Halftone - D. (09 items).
	5	Halftone - E. (05 items).
	6	Halftone - F. (03 items).
	7	Halftone - G-H. (18 items).
	8	Halftone - J-K. (18 items).
	9	Halftone - L. (11 items).
	10	Halftone - M-N. (24 items).
	11	Halftone - O-P. (14 items).
	12	Halftone - Q-R-S. (29 items).
	13	Halftone - T-U-V. (16 items).
	14	Halftone - W-X-Y-Z. (18 items).

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Villager Newspaper Photograph Collection, 1973-2002

An Inventory of The Villager Newspaper Photograph Collection at the Austin History Center

Organization of the Records

Restrictions on Access

Restrictions on Use

Series 1 Identified Photographs

Series 2 Unidentified Photographs

Series 3 Halftone Images