Montgomery Bell Academy student documentaries, 2006-2013.
(Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material)

Arrangement: chronological by date of creation.

Materials housed in Special Collections Division of the Main Library, Nashville Public Library.

In library use only. Available by appointment.

Scope and content: Video documentaries produced from 2006-2013 by students at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Tenn. under the guidance of instructor Cal Fuller. Most films are approximately 10-15 min. and include photographs, film footage, songs, and newspaper coverage from the time period of the subject matter. Most documentaries concern either the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s-1960s or the Vietnam War era of the 1960s, and most focus on events in Nashville or the Middle Tennessee area. Other frequent subjects, which may or may not intersect with these time periods, include sports, schools, and the music industry. There are multiple films contained on each DVD.

Fall 2006 Topics: Black musicians; integration of Montgomery Bell Academy. 2006 Topics: 1960s culture; liquor-by-the-drink; and the church and local press in the Civil Rights movement. Fall 2007 Topics: construction of Interstate 40 and the disruption of Jefferson Street businesses and the African-American community; racial violence in Middle Tennessee 1940s-1960s. Fall 2008 Topic: collegiate sports in 1960s including integration. Spring 2009 Topic: Vietnam War. Spring 2010 Topic: Vietnam War including opposition. Fall 2011 Topics: Civil Rights, desegregation including schools. Fall 2012 Topic: Civil Rights movement including songs, churches, and school desegregation. 2013 Topic: Vietnam War

Cite as: [individual film title], [(date on videodisc)], Montgomery Bell Academy Student Documentaries, Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library

Nashville Public Library does not have intellectual property rights to these materials. This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code). Duplication in any form and of any extent is prohibited.

Cal Fuller;,Gift;,2006-2013,Acc. pending.

Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) began in 1867 with a two-year college program, a grammar school and a high school. The school traces its origins to Davidson Academy, established by Nashville pioneer and founder, James Robertson. He obtained permission through a legislative act from North Carolina in 1785 to establish educational facilities in the area that would eventually become Nashville, Tenn. The school was located in the vicinity of present-day Spring Hill Cemetery off of Gallatin Road in Madison, Tenn. In 1806, by an act of the Tennessee legislature, Cumberland College became the formal successor to Davidson Academy, and a building was constructed on "College Hill" in South Nashville. Among the trustees were Andrew Jackson and James Robertson. Later, James K. Polk and Andrew Johnson would also serve as trustees. Rev. Thomas Craighead served as the first principal and was succeeded by Dr. James Priestly in 1810. In 1816 the school closed due to financial troubles. The college was resurrected in 1824 by Rev. Phillip Lindsley, when it became the University of Nashville. In 1855, Dr. John Berrien Lindsley, son of Phillip, merged the Western Military Institute with the University of Nashville. Confederate hero Sam Davis was among its students. Also in 1855, Tennessee iron magnate Montgomery Bell died, bequeathing $20,000 to the University of Nashville for the tuition of 25 boys who would otherwise not receive an education. In 1867, John Berrien Lindsley used the funds to establish and open Montgomery Bell Academy.

Montgomery Bell Academy opened with just 26 students and two rooms, but quickly grew. In 1875, with the establishment of Peabody Normal School, the trustees of the old University of Nashville maintained control over Montgomery Bell Academy. After several moves and administrative changes around the turn of the century, in 1915 MBA opened at a new, spacious location off of Harding Road in west Nashville on the estate of Garland Tinsley. A fire destroyed the main building in 1925. Major building efforts and expansion took place in the latter half of the twentieth century, when MBA gained nationwide recognition as one of the leading preparatory schools in the country. In the early twenty-first century, it remains recognized for the academic success of its scholars and the leadership of its alumni.

Cal Fuller was an instructor at Montgomery Bell Academy and oversaw the development of these student documentaries as part of students' senior projects.

In English

Handwritten worksheets used by library staff to compile information about the contents of each DVD can be used as a rough guide or finding aid to the individual films, and are located in the repository. See Misc. A/V folder 3.

In the possession of Cal Fuller until donated to the library, 2006-2013.

Forms part of the Miscellaneous Audio-Visual Collection.

Summary worksheets compiled;,2013-2014.

Additional accruals are expected.