The Black Women Oral History Project consists of interviews with 72 African American women from 1976 to 1981, conducted under the auspices of the

Schlesinger Library The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America is a research library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University. According to Nancy F. Cott, the Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation Director ...

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and he ...

, now

Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University—also known as the Harvard Radcliffe Institute—is a part of Harvard University that fosters interdisciplinary research across the humanities, sciences, social sciences, arts, a ...

Project background

Beginning in 1977, Ruth Edmonds Hill coordinated and devoted herself to the completion of the project and to creating awareness of the rich information contained in the transcripts. The project began with the goal of capturing the lives and stories of women of African descent, many already in their 70s, 80s and 90s. On the recommendation of Dr. Letitia Woods Brown, professor of history at

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

, and with funding secured from the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

, the project began to address what Brown noted as inadequate documentation of the stories of African-American women in the Schlesinger Library and at other centers for research.Black Women Oral History Project Interviews; Finding Aid. OH-31, T-32/finding aid Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:RAD.SCHL:sch01406 Retrieved 20 May 2013 The project sought a cross section of women who had made significant contributions to American society in the first half of the twentieth century. Many interviewees had professional careers in such fields as education, government, the arts, business, medicine, law and social work. Others combined care for their families with volunteer work at the local, regional, or national level. Most of the interviews explored topics such as family background, education and training, employment, voluntary activities, and family and personal life. The intention was to give the interviewee the opportunity to explore and reflect on the influences and events that shaped her life.

Participants

Among the participants were Melnea Cass,

Zelma George Zelma Watson George (December 8, 1903 – July 3, 1994) was a well-known African-American philanthropist who was famous for being an alternate in the United Nations General Assembly and, as a headliner in Gian-Carlo Menotti's opera '' The Medium' ...

Dorothy Height Dorothy Irene Height (March 24, 1912 – April 20, 2010) was an African American civil rights and women's rights activist. She focused on the issues of African American women, including unemployment, illiteracy, and voter awareness. Height is cr ...

Queen Mother Moore Queen Mother Moore (born Audley Moore; July 27, 1898 – May 2, 1997) was an African-American civil rights leader and a black nationalist who was friends with such civil rights leaders as Marcus Garvey, Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela, Rosa Parks, ...

Rosa Parks Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has honored her as "the ...

, Esther Mae Scott, Muriel S. Snowden, and Dorothy West. Volume 2 of the published work features conversations with Sadie Alexander, Elizabeth Barker, and

Etta Moten Barnett Etta Moten Barnett (November 5, 1901 – January 2, 2004) was an American actress and contralto vocalist, who was identified with her signature role of "Bess" in ''Porgy and Bess''. She created new roles for African-American women on stage ...

. Volume 3 includes interviews with

Juanita Craft Juanita Craft (born Juanita Jewel Shanks; February 9, 1902 – August 6, 1985) was an American activist and politician. Craft was an activist in the civil rights movement and also served as a member of the Dallas City Council in Texas. Biography ...

, Alice Dunnigan, and Eva B. Dykes, while Volume 10 features Charleszetta Waddles, Dorothy West, and Addie Williams. All of the interviews are open for research with digitized materials, with the exception of the following: Merze Tate whose interview is not yet complete and five interviews that remain closed until 2027: Kathleen Adams,

Margaret Walker Alexander Margaret Walker (Margaret Abigail Walker Alexander by marriage; July 7, 1915 – November 30, 1998) was an American poet and writer. She was part of the African-American literary movement in Chicago, known as the Chicago Black Renaissance. H ...

, Lucy Miller Mitchell,

Ruth Janetta Temple Ruth Janetta Temple (1892–1984) was an American physician who was a leader in providing free and affordable healthcare and education to underserved communities in Los Angeles, California. She and her husband, Otis Banks, established the Temple ...

, and

Era Bell Thompson Era Bell Thompson (August 10, 1905 – December 30, 1986) was an American writer and editor. Thompson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, Includes brief bio and a selection from ''Africa''. to an African American family, the only daughter of Ste ...

Methodology

The interviews were recorded on audiotape and transcribed and each interviewee was given an opportunity to edit and correct the transcript prior to the final printing. Both the transcripts and audiotapes have been archived and preserved at the Schlesinger Library. Copies of these materials are also held in the

Sophia Smith Collection The Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College is an internationally recognized repository of manuscripts, photographs, periodicals and other primary sources in women's history. General One of the largest recognized repositories of manuscripts, a ...

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

and include the published guide to the transcripts; also the summary of each woman's life and highlights of topics from their interviews, as well as an index. Furthermore, the interviews and transcripts have been digitized and are available from the Schlesinger Library collection through th
Black Women Oral History Project finding aid

Related projects

In 1981, Judith Sedwick offered to create portraits of a few of the interviewees, and later, with additional grant funding, photographed many more. The result is a collection of stunning photographs, which became a traveling exhibition, first shown in 1984 at the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

.Sedwick, Judith. ''Women of courage: an exhibition of photographs based on the Black Women Oral History Project'' (1984), sponsored by the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Radcliffe College. Cambridge, Mass.: Radcliffe College, p 3-4. All of these photographs are also catalogued at Harvard'
Visual Information Access (VIA) database
and available to view as a collection under "Black Women Oral History".

References

External links

Black Women Oral History Project

Interviews of the Black Women Oral History Project.

Schlesinger Library
Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.
Sophia Smith Collection.
Smith College

* http://www.libsci.sc.edu/histories/georgia/statehistory/Oral_History_Project.PDF {{authority control History of women in the United States African-American women Post–civil rights era in African-American history Oral history Radcliffe College and Institute