Selby Parker Collection
Scope and Contents
Folder 1 contains a three-page essay written by Selby Parker on the “Kings Stave Mill Company Store,” which was organized outside of Vicksburg following the Mississippi River flood of 1927 and provided for mill workers. The essay highlights the Company Store’s acceptance of credit and the subsequent economic hardships of white and African American mill workers and tenant farmers.
Folder 2 houses a sixty-one page reflection, Confessions of a Counselor, in which Parker details his experiences as Youth Court Counselor in Hattiesburg, Mississippi from 1960-1964. Parker recounts his associations with the African American community of Mobile Street, comments on the treatment of Clyde Kennard, and recalls Civil Rights protests that occurred in the city. Parker’s perspective as Youth Court Counselor is pronounced, as he emphasizes working with children and juveniles. He also discusses Hattiesburg’s police force, the court system, and his general thoughts on the town and university.
Folder 3 includes miscellaneous articles written by and pertaining to Selby Parker’s career as Youth Court Counselor and author. Many of the articles are photocopied from The Clinton News (Clinton, Mississippi), where Parker wrote opinion pieces.
Dates
- Creation: 1951
- Creation: circa 1960-1964
- Creation: 2004-2009; undated
Creator
- Parker, Selby, 1934- (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Noncirculating; available for research.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).
Biographical / Historical
Dr. Selby Parker Sr. is a native of Vicksburg and attended public schools in Vicksburg. He received his Doctor of Education Degree in Counseling and Guidance from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1974. He was awarded a Master of Arts Degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1963 and completed his Bachelor of Science Degree at Mississippi State University in 1956.
A U.S. Navy veteran, he was appointed the first Youth Court Counselor under the Youth Court Act to serve in Hattiesburg, Mississippi in 1960. He joined the staff of the Basic College at the University of Southern Mississippi in 1964 and served as a college counselor for seven years.
Upon completion of his course work at the University of Southern Mississippi for the doctorate in education he was employed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, New Orleans, Louisiana as a counseling psychologist in 1970. Following a tour of duty at the VA Regional Office he was assigned to the Veterans Administration Hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1974. He worked part time as an adjunct professor for Northwestern State University teaching psychology to medical students.
In 1984 he assumed the position of chief of vocational and rehabilitation and counseling at the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Regional Office, Jackson, Mississippi. He later retired with over 33 years of service to veterans and their dependents.
Books written by Selby Parker:
The Man from Bandera
The Camel Boy, a novel about the Civil War
Scopophilia
Extent
.25 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Selby Parker collection consists of one essay, a typescript, and miscellaneous articles written by and pertaining to the Mississippi author and former Youth Court Counselor of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. This collection is of particular interest to researchers studying the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, Mississippi authors and journalists, the University of Southern Mississippi, and local Hattiesburg history.
Arrangement
This small collection consists of three folders.
Provenance
Donated by Selby Parker on January 28, 2009; August 20, 2009; May 19, 2010.
Sources
Case File
Contents from the collection
“Ruby Fay Lyons Parker,” Obituary, Clarion-Ledger, March 11, 2018
Subject
- Parker, Selby, 1934- (Person)
- Title
- Selby Parker Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Collection processed and finding aid written by Jonathan Puckett
- Date
- 16 January 2020
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Historical Manuscripts and Photographs Repository
118 College Drive - 5148
Hattiesburg MS 39406-0001
601.266.4345
