Elissa’s tips for new researchers:
“Use apps like Camscanner or TurboScan that can turn images to PDFs. Don’t be afraid to ask archivists for help!”
Elissa’s research examines race, gender, and law on evangelical higher education campuses in Arkansas and Texas from 1845 to 1969.
What libraries, archives, or sites do you plan to visit in summer 2025 for your research?
Southern Baptist Historical Library & Archives, Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, Mary Couts Burnett Library of Texas Christian University and Harrison County Museum.
What documents/artifacts are you hoping to examine during this archival research?
Students at Texas Christian University in the late 1930s who protested segregation were accused of communist behavior and investigated by South Texas Congressman Martin Dies. Dies was the first chairman of the House Un-American Activities Committee, and at the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, where Dies materials are stored, I theorize that I will find records related to this investigation. Because some of these students were gay, this represents a much earlier example of the Lavender Scare than previously documented.
What makes the experience of doing archival or site-based research meaningful to you?
I am passionate about connecting archival research and public history. I told the story of the Texas Christian University students investigated for communism on the blog for the Religious Exemption Accountability Project (REAP). This allowed me to connect past student activism with the present efforts of a nonprofit organization. I also have used archival findings about past queer student traditions to engage blog readers at REAP with an interest in the long history of queer marriage traditions. During my research into queer students at Protestant colleges, I met Alan Bell, a publisher who has been pivotal to Black and queer journalism (since the 1970s!). I am now collaborating with Bell on a public history project to memorialize his past publications (Gaysweek and BLK) and remember the national impact of the queer press-- outside of major coastal cities and reaching regions like Texarkana.
