In “Keep at a Safe Distance,” published by the Big Stone Gap Post on December 4, 1918, the editors report that influenza is reoccurring in communities thought to be rid of it. They warn of its virulence and give advice on how to avoid spreading and catching the virus.
Joseph Spencer DeJarnette wrote “Mendel’s Law: A Plea for a Better Race of Men” sometime in the early 1920s. DeJarnette, a strong proponent of eugenics and a witness in the landmark case Buck v. Bell (1927), is known to be very proud of his composition, and recited and published this poem several times throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
In this interview, published in the New York Times on June 11, 1911, the novelist Mary Johnston speaks about the necessity of woman suffrage and connects that to her belief in eugenics.
In this article published in the New York Times on October 29, 1911, Mary Anna Jackson, widow of the Confederate general Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, attacks the novel The Long Roll by Mary Johnston. She contends it is not fair to her husband’s legacy.
In 1938, the NAACP filed a petition on behalf of Aline Elizabeth Black with the Norfolk Board of Education for equal pay for black teachers. The petition was reproduced on November 5 in the Afro American and Richmond Planet.
In “Notice: The Following Rules and Regulations Are Promulgated by the Local Board of Health of Big Stone Gap, Va.,” published by the Big Stone Gap Post on October 16, 1918, the editors report on restrictions the Big Stone Gap Board of Health put in place to slow the spread of the influenza pandemic of 1918–1919.
In “Preparing to Combat With Influenza Epidemic” published by the Big Stone Gap Post on October 16, 1918, the editors report on public health efforts in Big Stone Gap to prepare the city and surrounding region for the spread of the influenza pandemic of 1918–1919. They describe citizens’ participation and compliance with new policies as a form of patriotism comparable to military service in World War I (1914–1918), which is echoed in “Call For Nurses.”
In “Roanoke News,” published by the Richmond Planet on November 13, 1920, the editors report on the comings and goings of Black Roanoke with particular attention and enthusiasm for the Colored Women’s Republican Club of Roanoke and its president Millie Lawson Bethell Paxton.
In “Roanoke News,” published by the Richmond Planet on March 19, 1921, the editors report on the comings and goings of Black Roanoke including, Millie Lawson Bethell Paxton‘s appointment as Truant Officer.
In “Schools May Close Again,” published by the Clinch Valley News on December 13, 1918, the editors report that Tazewell’s Mayor A. C. Buchanan is likely to shut down schools and other public spaces as the number of influenza cases in the region is the highest its ever been.
