Hooks News

David Waters of the Commercial Appeal writes about the Digitization efforts of the Hooks papers.

Hooks Institute Taps William Love to Digitize Archives

William C. Love is a Collection Specialist for the University of Memphis Libraries’ Special Collections Department. He joined the staff of the University Libraries to digitize portions of the Benjamin Lawson Hooks Papers (MSS 445), a project sponsored by the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change. Love has extensive experience in curating historical collections and recently served as a graduate student processing assistant at Emory University’s Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library. He has earned an M.A. degree in history from the University of Memphis and a Master of Theological Studies degree from the Candler School of Theology at Emory. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Emory University’s Graduate Division of Religion, where he specializes in the History of Christianity in Early Modern Europe.
“Thanks to generous support from FedEx, the Hyde Family Foundations, and DuPont Corporation, these valuable historical documents will be more accessible to students and researchers throughout the world,” said Daphene R. McFerren, director of the Hooks Institute. “We are excited to begin the digitization process that will soon enable others to continue Dr. Hooks’ legacy of social change.” In 1996, University of Memphis officials received approval from the Tennessee Board of Regents to create the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change in the College of Arts & Sciences. The mission of the Institute is teaching, studying and promoting civil rights and social change. The Hooks Institute archives include Hooks’ personal papers, which are housed in the Preservation and Special Collections Department in the University’s McWherter Library.