Organizational History
Inspired by the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), and the Library of Congress initiated the Voices of Civil Rights (VOCR) Project in 2003 to collect and preserve stories of individuals who took part in, witnessed, or were affected by the civil rights movement. The Voices of Civil Rights Project was launched in August of 2004 with an event on the National Mall hosted by WJLA's Maureen Bunyan. The History Channel also participated in filming interviews, some of which were used for documentaries produced by the television station. Selected materials were on view at the Library through March 26, 2005; afterwards, the original project materials were accessioned in the Library's collection and curated by the American Folklife Center.