Maxey family photographs

Collection

Collection number: ahc.VIS37

Scope and Content

The collection includes photographs of Charles Lincoln Maxey, Sr., and other members of the Maxey family. The collection contains images of African American school groups at varying levels from one-room schoolhouses for elementary level children to college students. All are group photographs, primarily scenes posed before educational buildings, or graduation groups, and most are unidentified. Those identified include the Chi Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, students at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, with Charles Maxey; the Kappa Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, Morgan County Georgia teachers; and the class of 1923 at Clark College with M. E. Maxey. The Clark University photograph was taken by Atlanta African American photographer Paul Poole.

Dates

1910-1945

Creator

Maxey family (Family)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

This material is protected by copyright law. (Title 17, U.S. Code) Permission for use must be cleared through the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center. Licensing agreement may be required.

Administrative/Biographical History

The Maxey family included Charles Lincoln Maxey, Sr. (1880 - ) of Madison, Georgia, and his wife, Tina Beatrice Johnson Maxey (1880 - ) of Covington, Georgia. They both were educators in Atlanta area schools, particularly teachers and principals, and had four children: Alva Beatrice Maxey (1913-2009), Chandos Maxey, Charles Lincoln Maxey, Jr., and Edwina Marie Maxey Austell (1912- ).

As the youngest child, Alva Beatrice Maxey mirrored her parents’ career path by becoming an educator and social worker in Chicago, Illinois. Alva graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of arts in sociology from Talladega College in Alabama, where she was inducted into Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s Chi Chapter. Alva attended Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1933-1935. There she received a master of science in social administration in 1938. In the 1940s, Alva worked as a social worker. She also worked for community organizations such as the Chicago Urban League from 1950-1955 as their Community Director. Alva taught at Roosevelt University in Chicago in the Sociology Department from 1955-1970. She briefly moved to Canada to study and receive her doctorate degree in philosophy from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada, in 1972. After completing her doctorate degree, Alva served as associate professor of sociology at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, until her retirement in 1982.

Additional biographical information about the Maxey family has not been determined.