TU professor leads students in recording 20th century African-American history of Thomasville

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Dr. Michael Murphy joined the faculty of Thomas University last fall as Research Assistant Professor of African American History. Over the next few years, he will work with TU students in an effort to record the history of African Americans living in Thomasville during the Civil Rights Era through oral histories, publications and other mediums. The goal is to chronicle that period using interviews and documentation from the people who lived through it so that future generations will gain an understanding of that moment in history.

Dr. Michael Murphy

Before joining TU, Murphy served as a lecturer at Mississippi State University for four years after earning his Ph.D. there in 2018. Born in Long Island, New York, Murphy grew up in Citrus County, Florida. His mother has always had an interest in Native American History, as a child Murphy spent a good bit of time with her as she conducted research. That example made him interested in research as well.

After the family moved to Florida, he realized there were not very many African-American students in his school. Murphy’s curiosity led him to conduct research about why. That’s when he learned about the Rosewood Massacre. From then on, Murphy’s interest in research about local places continued to grow.

While working on a bachelor’s degree at the University of Florida, Murphy took a course on Southern history. He was hooked on the subject. Later as a graduate student at Mississippi State University, Murphy’s research led him to downtown Jackson, Mississippi, where he discovered the graves of patients from the original state mental hospital. Further research revealed they died from tuberculosis and pellagra, an illness caused by a nutritional deficiency. Severe pellagra leads to dementia-like symptoms in patients of all ages.

The TU project, part of a partnership with the Williams Family Foundation of Georgia, will provide opportunities for TU students to learn how to conduct historical research, record oral histories in both audio and video formats, and archive historic documents for preservation – all while earning class credits. Through this project, Murphy will teach participating TU students how to obtain and preserve primary sources.

“My goal for the class is that it will be very interesting for students…There’s a right way and a wrong way to do this kind of research. It’s easier when you know the national and statewide narrative of the time. Then you can fill in the local narrative.”

Dr. Michael Murphy

“Right now I’m recruiting graduate and undergraduate students to assist in this project,” Murphy said. “It doesn’t matter what their major is because this is such an interdisciplinary approach. Through this project they will gain skills that they’ll use once they graduate.”

Once the project is completed, Murphy plans to present it to the community and at various conferences. He also plans create a website so other scholars can use the information for their own research. The online database will include videos, photos and text available for anyone to use.

“My goal for the class is that it will be very interesting for students,” Murphy said. “A lot of it will be visiting museums and local public history works, digital websites and archival research. There’s a right way and a wrong way to do this kind of research. It’s easier when you know the national and statewide narrative of the time. Then you can fill in the local narrative.”

As an example, Murphy mentioned that he discovered that Andrew Young began his career at a church in Thomasville right out of seminary. However, the students need to understand who Young was and role he played later in the Civil Rights Movement to understand the significance of his time in Thomasville.

This project will focus on the history of the first 70 years of the 20th century in Thomasville and Thomas County, with the first phase focusing on the alumni of Magnolia High School and Douglas High School.

Murphy is currently forming the advisory board for the project and recruiting students to participate in the project. To contact him, email mmurphy@thomasu.edu.

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