Jones, Carridder Audiovisual Collection, 1992-2009

Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator: Jones, Carridder, 1935-2020

Title: Audiovisual Collection, 1992-2009

Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for this collection, contact the Collections Department at gro.l1730822186aciro1730822186tsihn1730822186oslif1730822186@hcra1730822186eser1730822186

Size of Collection: 6 audio cassettes, 3 miniDVs, 2 DVDs

Location Number:  017PC23AV

Accession Number:017PC23

 

Biographical Note:

Carridder “Rita” Jones (1935-2020) was born in South Carolina to John and Ester Mashack. She lived in Indiana before moving to Kentucky. A playwright and historian, Jones’s research has included African American communities in Kentucky, especially the black hamlets in Lexington and Louisville. She conducted oral history projects concerning these communities: “Black Hamlets in the Kentucky Bluegrass” and “Historic African American Neighborhoods in Jefferson County” (the latter in partnership with the Filson Historical Society). She has presented her research at conferences, programs, workshops, and as productions.

Jones’ play, “Black Hamlets in the Kentucky Bluegrass,” was a finalist in the New York Drama League’s New Works Project in 2002. Another of her plays, “The Mark of Cain,” was chosen by the University of Louisville‘s African-American theater program for the Second Annual Juneteenth Festival of New Works. She also adapted a play for the Oldham County History Center from “Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, an American Slave”.  The resulting production, “Voice of the Fugitive”, was presented at Actors Theatre of Louisville in 2009.

Jones also founded two women’s organizations: Women Who Write and the Kentucky Women’s Book Festival.  In addition, she served on the board of directors for the Kentucky Foundation for Women (KFW). In 2006, Jones received the KFW’s Sallie Bingham Award, which recognizes Kentucky women who are leaders of feminist expression in the arts.

She has published two books: A Backward Glance (2009) and Voices: From Historical African American Communities near Louisville, Kentucky (2015).

Sources:

Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (NKAA), Jones, Carridder “Rita” https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/

“Carrider Jones Obituary,” Courier-Journal, May 2020, https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/louisville/name/carridder-jones-obituary?id=2198487

Amazon.com author page for Carridder Jones.

 

Scope and Content Note:

This collection contains audiovisual materials relating to the professional interests and activities of Carridder Jones (1935-2020), a Kentucky playwright and historian. Oral history interview recordings relate to Jones’ interests in historic African American communities of the inner Bluegrass region. Video recordings document her activities as a playwright, including performances of her plays: “Black Hamlets in the Kentucky Bluegrass” in 2002 and “Voice of the Fugitive” at Actors Theatre, Louisville, Kentucky, her adaptation of Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb. The collection also includes a Mini DV recording of the dedication of a memorial to enslaved people at Farmington Historic Plantation on May 21, 2003, which includes a performance by Carridder with Erma Bush (1951-). Sculptor William M. Duffy (1953- ) created the memorial and was present at the dedication ceremony.

The processing archivist used the original labels on the media for the item titles below. The media is arranged by creation date.

 

Related Collections:

015PC55 Carridder Jones Photograph Collection, ca. 1920-2003

017PC23 Carridder Jones Added Photograph Collection, ca. 1920-2003

Mss. A J76 Jones, Carridder. Collection, 2000-2002. 0.66 cu. ft.

Mss. A J76a Jones, Carridder. Added papers, 1916-2016. 1 cu. ft. and 1 ovsz. folder.

Mss. A B188 Ballantine, Beverley, 1937-. Research Collection on Farmington Historic Plantation, 1757-2006. 3 cu. ft.

 

Related Collections Held at Other Repositories:

Interview with Carridder Jones, April 2017, in Morgan C. Atkinson Documentary Interviews: Louisville, Kentucky, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt7614jz366sc

 

Access Notes:

Cassette tapes must be digitized before they can be accessed. Please contact Collections staff at gro.l1730822186aciro1730822186tsihn1730822186oslif1730822186@hcra1730822186eser1730822186

 

Item List:

01: Lydia Taylor – age 92 / New Zion, August 22, 1998, audio cassette

02: New Zion Cemetery, February 14, 1999, audio cassette

03: Women of Maddoxtown, July 17, 1999, audio cassette

04: Women of Freetown – Lexington, Ky, October 1999, audio cassette

05: Negro Hamlets of Lexington, Ky, undated, audio cassette, 1 side. Includes narration by Dr. Blaine Hutson

06: Interview Part 2, Eugene Carter, Jr., Jack Carter, Brenda Crenshaw, August 21, 1999, audio cassette

07a-b: Black Hamlets, 2002, MiniDV, 2 copies

08: Farmington Dedication with Erma Bush, 2003, MiniDV

09a-b: The Oldham County Historical Society Presents: Voice of the Fugitive, Actors Theatre, Louisville, Kentucky, May 31, 2009, DVD (48 minutes, 6 seconds), videography and editing by Aukram Burton, 2 copies

 

Subject Headings:

Jones, Carrider

Bush, Erma Jean, b. 1951

Hudson, James Blaine, III, 1949-2013

Actors Theatre of Louisville (Louisville, Ky.)

Actresses, Black–Kentucky–Jefferson County

African American cemeteries

African American historians

African American neighborhoods

African Americans

African Americans–History

Black people

Cemeteries

Dramatists

Farmington Historic Plantation (Louisville, Ky.)

Historians

Historic house museums–Kentucky–Louisville

Kentucky–Fayette County–Lexington–Freetown

Kentucky–Fayette County–Lexington–Maddoxtown

Lexington (Ky.)

Louisville (Ky.)

Theater

Women, Black

Women dramatists