To Spelman, With Love: A Lula Scott Crew Update

Fam, I’ve been holding out on you. I got something really, really cool – actually, something pretty darn amazing – in my email over a year ago, and I am only just getting to write about it. But now that I’ve had some brain space to pick up my research and writing again – taking vacation days is so necessary if you can, y’all! – I am so excited to loop you in. 

The Writing Lesson, by Morris Shulman. Citation Below.

 

Remember when I started to tell you about Lula Scott Crew, the younger half-sister of my 3x Great-Grandmother Scoatney Scott Cooper? She began attending Spelman Seminary (now Spelman College) around the same time that her brother Borden began attending Atlanta Baptist College (now Morehouse). I noted in one of my posts that I had reached out to the college archivist about getting permission to post some materials from their archives here on the blog, which they granted b/c they’re awesome. Well, as I was communicating with them, I asked if they had any historical files on their students and if they could check to see what they might have on Lula. And guess what? They did!!!!!!! Less than a week later, I had an email in my inbox with a link to two PDFs containing a total of 68 pages of information about Lula’s life.

Sixty-eight pages, you all! I’m talking personal letters handwritten by Lula discussing her life as a teacher, her family, her ongoing quest to further her own education, and her relationship to Spelman, plus multiple alumnae update forms she returned to the Appointment Office at the College, reporting in detail on the nature of her teaching assignments. And mixed in are copies of responses sent back to Lula from Spelman College presidents and administrators. It is a treasure trove – an absolute treasure trove -  of information and I cannot overstate how excited I am and how impactful it is to be able to read about Lula’s life, her experiences, her hopes, her challenges, and her steps to overcome them.

This record set has already not only corroborated info I had gathered from other places about her life, but has also helped me with the stories of several other family members. Stay tuned for those posts. And, of course, stay tuned for more posts about these amazing documents for their own sake and for what they help us learn about Lula’s own life as a Spelman graduate, mother, and educator. I can’t tell you how excited I am, and how privileged I feel to be able to learn about her in this way. It’s a family historian’s dream come true.

My only disappointment – and I’m holding out hope – is that there wasn’t a picture of Lula in the file!

*     *     *

Do you know anything about Lula Scott Crew’s time at Spelman Seminary? Her life in general? Do you have a picture of Lula? If so, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

 

Image Credit:

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Art and Artifacts Division, The New York Public Library. "The Writing Lesson" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1935 - 1943. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/531c32d0-2892-0132-4433-58d385a7bbd0