Page 10 - 2019 Spring Newsletter

“ Faculty Speak “

It’s no secret TCU faculty are outstanding individuals and remarkable speakers and writers.

Recently, Dr. Frederick W. Gooding Jr., assistant professor of African American
Studies in the John V. Roach Honors College, provided insight into untold stories
of African American federal workers post World War II. In his talk he shared real-
world experiences as he spoke on his new book American Dream Deferred: Black
Federal Workers in Washington DC, 1941-1981.

Gooding’s book, American Dream Deferred: Black Federal Workers in
Washington DC, 1941-1981, is a pioneering work of scholarship about one of
the most significant struggles of the modern black freedom movement, one that
has been almost completely untold until now. As the largest employer of one of
the world’s leading economic and geo-political superpowers, the history of the
federal government’s workforce is a rich and essential tool for understanding
how the “Great Experiment” truly works. The literal face of federal policy,
federal employees enjoy a history as rich as the country itself, while reflecting the
country’s evolution towards true democracy within a public space. Nowhere is this
progression towards democracy more apparent than with its internal race relations.
While World War II was a boon to black workers, little is known about the nuanced, ongoing struggles for dignity and
respect that black workers endured while working these “good, government jobs.” American Dream Deferred challenges
postwar narratives of government largess for African Americans by illuminating the neglected stories of these unknown
black workers.

New Director of

Special Collections

Ann Hodges is the new Director of Special Collections. She comes to TCU from Texas
A&M – Corpus Christi where she was Director of Special Collections and Archives at the
Mary and Jeff Bell Library since 2014, following an 18-year tenure at the University of
Texas at Arlington Libraries where, among other positions, she served as Head of Special
Collections and as Director of Grants and Research. “I am very excited to be part of the
Mary Couts Burnett Library and to work with the fantastic staff of the Special Collections
department. I look forward to helping build our distinguished collections and to supporting
scholarship and teaching,” says Ann. June Koelker, Dean of the Library, adds “we are
delighted to have Ann bring her expertise, energy and commitment to the Library and I
look forward to seeing Special Collections continue to develop into a major university
resource for faculty and students.”

Ann holds Master of Library Science and Master of Applied History degrees from the
University of North Texas and a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Texas
at Austin. She is also a Certified Archivist, a past president of the Society of Southwest Archivists, and the 2017 recipient
of the SSA’s Distinguished Service Award.

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