Black Women Oral History Project facts for kids
The Black Women Oral History Project is a special collection of interviews with 72 amazing African American women. These interviews were recorded between 1976 and 1981 by the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College (now part of Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study). The project aimed to save and share the life stories of these important women.
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Why This Project Started
The idea for the Black Women Oral History Project began in 1977. Ruth Edmonds Hill led the effort to complete the project and make sure people knew about the valuable information in these interviews. The main goal was to capture the lives and experiences of women of African descent, many of whom were already in their 70s, 80s, and 90s.
Dr. Letitia Woods Brown, a history professor, noticed that there wasn't enough information about African-American women's stories in libraries like the Schlesinger Library. With money from the Rockefeller Foundation, the project started to fix this problem.
The project looked for a wide variety of women who had made important contributions to American society, especially in the first half of the 1900s. Many of these women had professional jobs in areas like education, government, the arts, business, medicine, law, and social work. Others balanced taking care of their families with volunteer work in their communities or across the country. The interviews often covered topics like their family background, education, jobs, volunteer activities, and personal lives. The goal was to let each woman share her own story and reflect on what shaped her life.
Amazing Women Interviewed
Many inspiring women were part of this project. Here are just a few of them:
- Melnea Cass: A civil rights activist who worked for fairness and equality.
- Zelma Watson George: A talented musicologist and actress.
- Dorothy Height: A well-known educator and civil rights leader.
- Queen Mother Moore: A powerful civil rights leader and advocate for Black nationalism.
- Rosa Parks: A famous civil rights leader known for her brave actions during the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
- Esther Mae Scott: A gifted singer, musician, and composer.
- Muriel S. Snowden: The founder of Freedom House, which helped communities.
- Dorothy West: A writer from the Harlem Renaissance, a time when Black artists and writers created amazing work.
Other notable participants included:
- Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander: One of the first three Black women in the U.S. to earn a Ph.D.
- Etta Moten Barnett: A famous opera star and actress.
- Juanita Craft: A dedicated civil rights activist.
- Alice Allison Dunnigan: A pioneering journalist.
- Eva B. Dykes: Also one of the first three Black women in the U.S. to receive a Ph.D.
- Clementine Hunter: The first Black artist to have her work shown at the New Orleans Museum of Art.
- Lois Mailou Jones: A celebrated painter.
- Maida Springer Kemp: An important labor organizer who fought for workers' rights.
- Ruth Janetta Temple: The first Black woman to practice medicine in California.
- Charleszetta Waddles: An activist, minister, and humanitarian who helped many people.
Most of these interviews are available for anyone to research. However, a few interviews are not yet complete or will become available later.
How the Interviews Were Done
The interviews were first recorded on audiotape. Then, what was said was written down, or "transcribed." Each woman had a chance to read and correct her own interview transcript before the final version was made. Both the written transcripts and the original audiotapes are kept safe at the Schlesinger Library.
Copies of these materials are also available at the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. These copies include a guide to the interviews, summaries of each woman's life, and highlights from their conversations. You can also find the interviews and transcripts online through the Black Women Oral History Project website.
Related Projects
In 1981, a photographer named Judith Sedwick offered to take pictures of some of the women interviewed. With more funding, she photographed many more. These amazing photographs became a traveling exhibition, first shown in 1984 at the New York Public Library. All these photos are also available to view online through Harvard's Visual Information Access (VIA) database under "Black Women Oral History."
