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Series 2: Interviews (continued)
Vernon Dahmer, Jr. oral history interview conducted by Emilye Crosby in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, December 1, 2015
Digital content available
Biographical History: Vernon Dahmer, Jr. was born in 1929 in Kelly Settlement, Mississippi. The son of civil rights activist Vernon F. Dahmer, he joined the military in 1951, and after retiring from the Air Force, now resides in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Summary: Vernon Dahmer, Jr., remembers growing up near Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and discusses his experiences relating to segregation and race, as a child and in the military. He also recalls the night his family's home in Hattiesburg was firebombed, killing his father, Vernon Dahmer, Sr., and his subsequent involvement in the trials of the Ku Klux Klan members who staged the bombing.
Moving Images
12 video files (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (1:51:31) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0114_mv01-12
Manuscripts
1 transcript (.pdf) : text file
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0114_ms01
Eddie Holloway oral history interview conducted by Emilye Crosby in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, December 2, 2015
Digital content available
Biographical History: Eddie Holloway was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi in 1952. While he grew up in Hattiesburg, he also spent summers with family in Bessemer, Alabama. He enrolled at the University of Southern Mississippi in 1970. After graduating, he was employed at William Carey University and also worked in alcohol and drug treatment facilities. He eventually returned to work at USM for 40 years before he retired. In that time, he was the first African American to serve as Dean of Students, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs.
Summary: Eddie Holloway discusses growing up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, as well as his involvement in Freedom Schools and other civil rights causes. He remembers his experiences as a child in a segregated society and school system, attending University of Southern Mississippi during its transition from a segregated to an integrated school, and his observations of the current educational environment as Dean of Students at USM.
Moving Images
9 video files (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (2:13:09) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0115_mv01-09
Manuscripts
1 transcript (.pdf) : text file
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0115_ms01
Glenda Funchess oral history interview conducted by Emilye Crosby in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, December 2, 2015
Digital content available
Biographical History: Glenda Funchess, born in 1954 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, was one of the first African American children to attend the previously segregated, predominately white schools in Hattiesburg. She attended the participated in Freedom Summer and attended Freedom School at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. She currently practices law in Hattiesburg and teaches at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Summary: Glenda Funchess speaks about her childhood in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She remembers her experiences as one of the first children to desegregate Hattiesburg schools, as well as her involvement in Freedom Summer and at the Mount Zion Church Freedom School. She also discusses the relationship between churches and the Civil Rights Movement, and current civil rights activism and historical preservation.
Moving Images
6 video files (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (1:23:57) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0116_mv01-06
Manuscripts
1 transcript (.pdf) : text file
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0116_ms01
Nathaniel Hawthorne Jones oral history interview conducted by Emilye Crosby in Claiborne County, Mississippi, December 3, 2015
Digital content available
Biographical History: Nathaniel Hawthorne Jones was born in Claiborne County, Mississippi in 1914.
Summary: Nathaniel Hawthorne Jones recalls his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, specifically the Port Gibson Movement, in Mississippi. He discusses being drafted into the Navy in 1944 and the racial discrimination he experienced in his role as a Steward Mate. During the Port Gibson Movement, he was involved in the Port Gibson Merchant Boycotts, organizing protests at Alcorn College, and participating in voter registration activities.
Moving Images
12 video files (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (1:53:28) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0117_mv01-12
Manuscripts
1 transcript (.pdf) : text file
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0117_ms01
Leesco Guster oral history interview conducted by Emilye Crosby in Port Gibson, Mississippi, December 3, 2015
Digital content available
Biographical History: Leesco Guster was born in 1936 in Port Gibson, Mississippi. After growing up in various places in Mississippi, she briefly moved to Chicago before returning to Mississippi during the 1960s. She was heavily involved in voter registration is a lifetime member of the NAACP. She has operated a child day care center for over 30 years and continues to be active in her church community.
Summary: Leesco Guster remembers experiencing segregation growing up and working in Port Gibson, Mississippi, and Chicago, Illinois. She recalls her work as an activist in Port Gibson, where she canvassed for voting rights, boycotted segregated businesses, and joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She also discusses churches' role in the Civil Rights Movement and her participation in the trial NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co.
Moving Images
7 video files (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (1:15:13) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0118_mv01-07
Manuscripts
1 transcript (.pdf) : text file
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0118_ms01
Carolyn Miller and James Miller oral history interview conducted by Emilye Crosby in Port Gibson, Mississippi, December 4, 2015
Digital content available
Biographical History: James E. Miller was born in 1949 and grew up in Port Gibson, Mississippi, where he met his wife, Carolyn Miller, in the youth group of the NAACP and participated in the Port Gibson boycotts. He was involved with Mississippi Cultural Crossroads and worked as County Administrator in Claiborne County, Mississippi.
Biographical History: Carolyn Miller was born in Alcorn, Mississippi in 1953 and grew up in Hermanville and Port Gibson, Mississippi. She was involved in the youth chapter of the NAACP, where she met her husband, James Miller, and she participated in the Port Gibson boycotts. She taught at A. W. Watson elementary school, was involved in Mississippi Cultural Crossroads, and was a library board member.
Summary: James and Carolyn Miller discuss their experience of living in Port Gibson, Mississippi during the Port Gibson Movement. They specifically reference the downtown merchant boycotts and how race and class tensions impacted the local community. They discuss their persistence in building interracial coalitions and emphasize the strength of local community building, political accountability and leadership for the sustainability of Port Gibson.
Moving Images
9 video files (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (2:20:23) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0119_mv01-09
Manuscripts
1 transcript (.pdf) : text file
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0119_ms01
Patricia A. Crosby and David L. Crosby oral history interview, with Worth W. Long, Carolyn Miller and James Miller, conducted by Emilye Crosby in Port Gibson, Mississippi, December 4, 2015
Digital content available
Biographical History: David L. Crosby is a civil rights activist. He co-founded Mississippi Cultural Crossroads in Port Gibson, Mississippi in 1976.
Biographical History: Patricia A. Crosby is a civil rights activist. She co-founded Mississippi Cultural Crossroads in Port Gibson, Mississippi in 1976.
Biographical History: Worth W. Long was born in 1936 in Durham, North Carolina. He joined the Air Force around 1953. In 1959, he was a student at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas, he worked as a medic at the Little Rock Air Force base, served on the executive board of the Arkansas Council on Human Relations, and worked at Duke University Bale Research Lab in Durham, North Carolina. He became involved with organizing events in the civil rights movement as early as 1956, continuing through the 1960s, including participation in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). After the height of the civil rights movement, he was involved in folk music programming through the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Delta Blues Festival, Louisiana Zydeco Festival in South Carolina, Penn Center Heritage Festival in Florida, and Zora Neale Hurston Festival. In 1977 he was funded by the Ford Foundation Leadership and Development program to study folklife and community empowerment with Alan Lomax at Columbia University. He joined the Mississippi Cultural Crossroads Board in 1980.
Biographical History: Carolyn Miller was born in Alcorn, Mississippi in 1953 and grew up in Hermanville and Port Gibson, Mississippi. She was involved in the youth chapter of the NAACP, where she met her husband, James Miller, and she participated in the Port Gibson boycotts. She taught at A. W. Watson elementary school, was involved in Mississippi Cultural Crossroads, and was a library board member.
Biographical History: James E. Miller was born in 1949 and grew up in Port Gibson, Mississippi, where he met his wife, Carolyn Miller, in the youth group of the NAACP and participated in the Port Gibson boycotts. He was involved with Mississippi Cultural Crossroads and worked as County Administrator in Claiborne County, Mississippi.
Summary: Patricia and David Crosby discuss the founding and subsequent work of the Mississippi Cultural Crossroads, a cultural arts organization in Port Gibson. The organization was a legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and it did important activist work in generating arts and cultural activities and documenting and interpreting local movement history. Worth Long, James and Carolyn Miller, who were involved in the organization also participate in the interview.
Moving Images
8 video files (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (03:19:54) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0120_mv01-08
Manuscripts
1 transcript (.pdf) : text file
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0120_ms01
Charles McLaurin oral history interview conducted by Emilye Crosby in Indianola, Mississippi, December 5, 2015
Digital content available
Biographical History: Charles McLaurin is a civil rights advocate, born in Jackson, Mississippi in 1939. He joined the Army Reserves in about 1955. He joined the civil rights movement in 1960, helped register voters, and served as Fannie Lou Hamer's campaign manager when she ran for Congress in 1964.
Summary: Charles McLaurin discusses his work as a Civil Rights activist in the 1950's and 60's. He begins by discussing the racism he experienced growing up and how this shaped his personal and political values. McLaurin mainly describes working with African American voter registration rights issues, SNCC, and the Freedom Riders. He describes how he became a congressional officer for a number of years in Mississippi, working closely with Fannie Lou Hamer as her congressional campaign manager. McLaurin describes his involvement in a range of Mississippi-based protests, as well as his experiences with the judicial system and his personal arrests.
Moving Images
14 video files (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (4:36:56) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0121_mv01-14
Manuscripts
1 transcript (.pdf) : text file
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0121_ms01
Worth W. Long oral history interview conducted by Emilye Crosby in Jackson, Mississippi, December 6, 2015
Digital content available
Biographical History: Worth W. Long was born in 1936 in Durham, North Carolina. He joined the Air Force around 1953. In 1959, he was a student at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas, he worked as a medic at the Little Rock Air Force base, served on the executive board of the Arkansas Council on Human Relations, and worked at Duke University Bale Research Lab in Durham, North Carolina. He became involved with organizing events in the civil rights movement as early as 1956, continuing through the 1960s, including participation in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). After the height of the civil rights movement, he was involved in folk music programming through the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Delta Blues Festival, Louisiana Zydeco Festival in South Carolina, Penn Center Heritage Festival in Florida, and Zora Neale Hurston Festival. In 1977 he was funded by the Ford Foundation Leadership and Development program to study folklife and community empowerment with Alan Lomax at Columbia University. He joined the Mississippi Cultural Crossroads Board in 1980.
Summary: Worth W. Long largely discusses experiences growing up in a household strongly connected to the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Long discusses churches as important aspects of community building and as meeting spaces for the African American civil rights activists. He recalls personal experiences participating in protest and other forms of activism during the 1950's and 60's, including his participation with Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and other organizations involved in the Civil Rights Movement. He discusses some of his community-based political philosophies, and ends with a discussion of a powerful experience in the Kilby prison in Alabama.
Moving Images
15 video files (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (2:42:13) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0122_mv01-15
Manuscripts
1 transcript (.pdf) : text file
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0122_ms01
Frankye Adams Johnson oral history interview conducted by Emilye Crosby in Jackson, Mississippi, December 6, 2015
Digital content available
Biographical History: Frankye Adams-Johnson was born in Pocahontas, Mississippi to a family of sharecroppers. As a teenager in Jackson, Mississippi, she participated in the NAACP, COFO, and SNCC as a youth organizer and was heavily involved in the Jackson civil rights movement in 1963. In 1964, she enrolled at Tougaloo College where she continued to be involved in civil rights demonstrations. After moving to New York in 1967, she co-organized the White Plains branch of the Black Panther Party. Adams-Johnson became a college professor in the 1980s, and returned to Jackson from New York in the late 1990s.
Summary: Frankye Adams-Johnson recalls her involvement as a Civil Rights activist in the Jackson Movement. While a student at Tougaloo College she became involved with SNCC, the Freedom Riders and the March on Washington. Placing emphasis on the themes of racial consciousness, gender and violence, she traces the evolution of her political role, concluding with her involvement in the Black Panther Party.
Moving Images
4 video files (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (1:27:28) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0123_mv01-04
Manuscripts
1 transcript (.pdf) : text file
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0123_ms01
Betty Garman Robinson oral history interview conducted by Emilye Crosby in Baltimore, Maryland, December 8, 2015
Digital content available
Biographical History: Betty Garman Robinson was born on January 8, 1939 in New York City. She enrolled in Skidmore College in 1956 and became involved with NSA and attending National Student Congress meetings. In 1960 she became the assistant vice-president of the NSA, organizing the National Student Congress for the following summer where she first met members from the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). In the fall of 1961 she attended graduate school to study Political Science in Berkeley, California. In November of 1963 she attended the Howard Conference in Washington, DC and was recruited to join SNCC, leaving graduate school for a position with the organization. Robinson then went to Mississippi for Freedom Summer in 1964 and became the Northern Coordinator in the Greenwood Office. In 1965, she moved to Washington, DC was involved in the Free DC Movement and the Bus Boycotts, and later the anti-war movement and women's movement of the 1970's. She is currently involved in Showing Up For Racial Justice (SURJ), an organization in Baltimore that is committed to fighting structural inequity and racial injustice.
Summary: Betty Garman Robinson shares her experience in the Civil Rights Movement. She discusses her early involvement with the National Student Association (NSA) and the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), before joining the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1963. Of her many roles, she recalls serving as a Northern Coordinator in Greenwood, Mississippi during Freedom Summer 1964 and her later efforts that focused on bringing federal programs into southern communities. She discusses the role of women in SNCC and emphasizes the openness the organization had to women taking initiative and the impact it had on her activism. Shedding light on the on the inner organizational tensions of interracial relationships, the attitudes of white communities, and her navigation of "white privilege" she offers a unique perspective on the experience of role of white women in the Civil Rights Movement.
Moving Images
10 video files (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (2:44:05) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0124_mv01-10
Manuscripts
1 transcript (.pdf) : text file
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0124_ms01
Dorothy Zellner oral history interview conducted by Emilye Crosby in Baltimore, Maryland, December 8, 2015
Digital content available
Biographical History: Dorothy "Dottie" Zellner was born on January 14th, 1938 in New York City. She joined the NAACP in high school, and later went to Miami, Florida to enroll in a CORE workshop, training in non-violent organizing. Under CORE, she moved to New Orleans and was involved with "casing" sites for sit-ins and outreach to the white community. Dotty left CORE and was hired by the Southern Regional Council and moved to Atlanta in June of 1961. Later that year, she became involved with SNCC, organizing a Civil Liberties Workshop in the spring of 1963, and later marrying her husband Bob Zellner the following August. In 1964 she moved to Boston with her husband forming a Northeast Regional Office of SNCC while recruiting and interviewing prospective volunteers for the Freedom Summer Project. In 1965, Dottie had a daughter, and moved back to Atlanta with her new child and husband. She and her husband wrote a Grassroots Organizing Work (GROW) proposal to SNCC, to stay a part of the organization. She later moved to New Orleans to work with Anne and Carl Braden of the Southern Conference Education Fund (SCEF) for five years. Zellner worked as a nurse for several years before joining the Center for Constitutional Rights in 1984. In 1998, she became director of publications and development for the Queens College School of Law. She lectures and writes frequently about the civil rights movement and co-edited Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC. As of 2014, she is involved in advocacy work on behalf of Palestinians
Summary: Dorothy Zellner reflects on her experience as one of the early organizers in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Offering a unique perspective as a white woman in a black-led organization, she sheds light on the dynamics of race and gender in the Civil Rights Movement. Detailing the efforts of her and her then husband Bob Zellner, she discusses her involvement in organizing civil liberties workshops, forming a Northeast Regional Office of SNCC, and her role in recruiting Northern volunteers for the 1964 Freedom Summer Project. She discusses SNCC's decision to exclude white workers by the late 1960s and reflects on the complexities of this consensus. Emphasizing how SNCC was dynamic in its ability to function as a non-racial community, she considers its deterioration an endured loss for American society. She continues to pride SNCC as her life's work, to this day.
Moving Images
21 video files (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (3:03:01) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0125_mv01-21
Manuscripts
1 transcript (.pdf) : text file
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0125_ms01
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