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Series 2: Interviews (continued)
Ben Caldwell oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Los Angeles, California, April 11, 2013
Digital content available
Biographical History: Ben Caldwell was a Vietnam veteran, artist and filmmaker. He was a member of the L.A. Rebellion and the founder of the KAOS Network, a community arts center, in Los Angeles, California.
Summary: Ben Caldwell shares his family's history in the Southwest and his childhood experience in New Mexico. Caldwell describes his military service during the Vietnam War and how his experiences made him reflect on racial prejudices in the United States. He began studying art, and he eventually moved to Los Angeles, where he has been part of a black arts movement since the 1970s. He discusses the L.A. Rebellion, a collective of black filmmakers from UCLA, as well as various art projects in which he has been involved and documentary films he has produced.
Moving Images
6 video files of 6 (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (127 min.) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0077_mv01-06
Manuscripts
1 transcript (65 pages)
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0077_Caldwell_transcript
Rick Tuttle oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Culver City, California, April 11, 2013
Digital content available
Biographical History: Rick Tuttle attended Wesleyan University and the University of California, Los Angeles, and participated in the Freedom Rides of 1961. He helped found the California Federation of Young Democrats and later became the Los Angeles City Controller and a lecturer at the School of Public Policy at UCLA.
Summary: Rick Tuttle describes his family background and when he first became aware of the sit-in movement and the Freedom Rides when he was a student at Wesleyan University. As a graduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), he was recruited to join the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1963 and went to Greenwood, Mississippi, to work on voter registration drives. He also briefly spied on white supremacist and Ku Klux Klan meetings. After being driven out of Mississippi by threats, he joined the Chatham County Crusade for Voters in Savannah, Georgia. Tuttle describes being arrested in Savannah for disturbing the peace and the subsequent trial. Tuttle discusses the work he did after leaving the Movement: as the comptroller in Los Angeles he helped to bring an end to segregation at private clubs and participated in the anti-apartheid movement.
Moving Images
6 video files of 6 (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (125 min.) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0078_mv01-06
Manuscripts
1 transcript (58 pages)
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0078_Tuttle_transcript
Joan Trumpauer Mulholland oral history interview conducted by John Dittmer in Arlington, Virginia, March 17, 2013
Digital content available
Biographical History: Joan Trumpauer Mulholland attended Duke University and Tougaloo College. She joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and participated in the Freedom Rides of 1961. She later worked at the Smithsonian Institution, at the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Justice and as a teacher in Arlington, Virginia.
Summary: Joan Trumpauer Mulholland shares how, as a child in Arlington, Virginia, her awareness of racial disparities grew. As a student at Duke University, she began participating in the sit-in movement. She soon moved to Washington, D.C. and joined the Nonviolent Action Group (NAG), which led her to participate in the Freedom Rides of 1961. She describes in detail serving time at Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman Farm) with other civil rights activists. Mulholland also discusses attending Tougaloo College and her involvement in the Jackson sit-in movement.
Moving Images
8 video files of 8 (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (126 min.) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0079_mv01-08
Manuscripts
1 transcript (70 pages)
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0079_Mulholland_transcript
Martha Prescod Norman Noonan oral history interview conducted by John Dittmer in Cockeysville, Maryland, March 18, 2013
Digital content available
Biographical History: Martha Prescod Norman Noonan grew up in Rhode Island and attended the University of Michigan. She was a fundraiser and a field secretary for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). She later worked as a community organizer in Baltimore, Maryland.
Summary: Martha Prescod Norman Noonan describes her childhood in Providence, Rhode Island, and being one of the few black families in the neighborhood. Her parents urged her to attend the University of Michigan, where she joined Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and learned about the Civil Rights Movement in the South. She eventually made her way to Albany, Georgia, where she worked with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. She also worked in the Movement in Mississippi and later in Alabama. Noonan describes the March on Washington, her perception of Mississippi Freedom Summer, and the early iterations of Black Power.
Moving Images
7 video files of 7 (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (93 min.) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0080_mv01-07
Manuscripts
1 transcript (50 pages)
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0080_Noonan_transcript
Cleveland Sellers oral history interview conducted by John Dittmer in Denmark, South Carolina, March 21, 2013
Digital content available
Biographical History: Dr. Cleveland Sellers was a civil rights activist with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and was arrested after the Orangeburg Massacre in 1968. He later became a professor of African American studies at the University of South Carolina and president of Voorhees College.
Summary: Cleveland Sellers shares memories of growing up in Denmark, South Carolina, especially the influence of Voorhees College in the community. He organized a Youth Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Denmark, and he describes the group's activities. He discusses his first impressions of Howard University, where he joined the Nonviolent Action Group (NAG). He shares memories of the March on Washington and the role of students in organizing it, his involvement in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and his role in the Mississippi Freedom Project. He also describes the goals of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and the tensions that developed within SNCC in the late 1960s.
Moving Images
5 video files of 5 (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (108 min.) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0081_mv01-05
Manuscripts
1 transcript (49 pages)
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0081_Sellers_transcript
William S. Leventhal oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in El Segundo, California, April 13, 2013
Digital content available
Biographical History: Willy Siegel Leventhal attended the University of California, Los Angeles and worked for the Summer Community Organization and Political Education (SCOPE) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He later became a special education teacher and baseball coach and worked on several political campaigns.
Summary: Willy Siegel Leventhal discusses his childhood in California, his experiences at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the 1960s, and his involvement in the Summer Community Organization and Political Education Project (SCOPE). Leventhal describes what it was like to be a Jewish child in a mostly Catholic community and how his childhood experiences informed his later activism and identity. Baseball was especially important to him, as he witnessed the first Jewish and African American ballplayers desegregate the Major Leagues. Leventhal became active in SCOPE during his first year at UCLA, after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., visited campus to recruit students. Leventhal describes the SCOPE training in Atlanta, and he shares his memories of living and working in Macon and Americus, Georgia.
Moving Images
8 video files of 8 (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (182 min.) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0082_mv01-08
Manuscripts
1 transcript (113 pages)
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0082_Leventhal_transcript
Gloria Claudette Grinnell oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Ojai, California, April 14, 2013
Digital content available
Biographical History: Gloria Claudette Collins Grinnell grew up in California and attended Virginia Union University. She participated in sit-ins in Richmond, Virginia, and later became a teacher in Los Angeles, California.
Summary: Gloria Claudette Grinnell recounts her participation in the sit-in movement in Richmond, Virginia, when she was a student at Virginia Union University. She describes her family's history on the East Coast and explains how she and her mother ended up in San Francisco. She discusses her decision to move from California to attend Virginia Union. She describes the sit-in movement that she joined in 1960. She discusses returning to California and her career with the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Moving Images
4 video files of 4 (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (67 min.) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0083_mv01-04
Manuscripts
1 transcript (43 pages)
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0083_Grinnell_transcript
Clarence B. Jones oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Palo Alto, California, April 15, 2013
Digital content available
Biographical History: Dr. Clarence B. Jones attended Columbia University and Boston University school of Law. He was a former personal counsel, advisor, draft speech writer, and close friend of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He also worked as an entertainment lawyer and investment banker.
Summary: Dr. Clarence B. Jones shares memories from his work as a legal advisor and speechwriter for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In particular, he describes his significant contributions to the "I Have a Dream" speech, which King delivered at the March on Washington in 1963. Jones also describes his early life living in a Philadelphia home for indigent black orphans and foster children, because his parents, who were both domestic workers, could not afford to provide for him. Jones talks about his education at Columbia University, his training as a classical clarinetist, and some of his early encounters with leftist politics while in New York. Jones discusses the death of his mother and the profound effect it had on him. He describes his time spent in the military during the Korean War. Other topics discussed in the interview include Jones's marriage to Anne Norton, his studies at Boston University Law School, and his move to California to become an entertainment lawyer.
Moving Images
12 video files of 12 (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (163 min.) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0084_mv01-12
Manuscripts
1 transcript (62 pages)
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0084_Jones_transcript
Samuel Berry McKinney oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Seattle, Washington, April 17, 2013
Digital content available
Biographical History: The Reverend Dr. Samuel McKinney attended Morehouse College and became the minister of the Mount Zion Baptist Church in Seattle, Washington. He was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Seattle and founded the Central Area Civil Rights Committee.
Summary: The Reverend Dr. Samuel Berry McKinney recalls growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, and attending Morehouse College, where he got to know fellow freshman Martin Luther King, Jr. After service in the Army Flight Corps during World War II and finishing his college education, McKinney became a minister at a church in Seattle, Washington, where he contributed to the creation of the Liberty Bank. He discusses his role in founding the Central Area Civil Rights Committee in Seattle.
Moving Images
7 video files of 7 (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (109 min.) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0085_mv01-07
Manuscripts
1 transcript (39 pages)
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0085_McKinney_transcript
Charles Siler oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Dallas, Texas, May 10, 2013
Digital content available
Biographical History: Charles Siler attended Southern University in Louisiana and became a civil rights activist. He also was a Vietnam veteran, museum curator, and cartoonist.
Summary: Charles Siler remembers his early life in Louisiana, including a penchant for drawing that began before the age of two, quitting the Boy Scouts when his troop made black Scouts walk behind the horses in a local parade, and picketing Louisiana's segregated State Library as a senior in high school. He was eventually expelled from Southern University because of his activism. He joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was drafted in 1967 and served in the military in the Vietnam War. He continued his civil rights advocacy as he took a variety of positions at cultural institutions and began a career as a cartoonist. The interview closes with Siler's reflections on identity and the process of learning from those who are ideologically different.
Moving Images
4 video files of 4 (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (102 min.) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0086_mv01-04
Manuscripts
1 transcript (46 pages)
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0086_Siler_transcript
Aaron Dixon oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Seattle, Washington, May 11, 2013
Digital content available
Biographical History: Aaron Dixon was a co-founder of the Black Panther Party in Seattle, Washington. He later worked for many non-profits, founded Central House, and ran for U.S. Senator as a Green Party candidate in Washington State.
Summary: Aaron Dixon describes his childhood in the Midwest and in Seattle and how he became a leader in the Black Panther Party, helping to found the Seattle chapter of the Party. Dixon describes in detail his family history and the influence of oral tradition on his racial consciousness. He discusses the role of the Black Student Union at the University of Washington and details how the murder of Little Bobby Hutton influenced him profoundly and led him to join the Black Panther Party. He describes the Party's influence in Seattle and Oakland, his role in the Party, tensions with the police, tensions among members, and how the goals of the Black Panther Party shifted over the 1960s and 1970s.
Moving Images
11 video files of 11 (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (148 min.) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0087_mv01-11
Manuscripts
1 transcript (70 pages)
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0087_Dixon_transcript
Bill Russell oral history interview conducted by Taylor Branch in Seattle, Washington, May 12, 2013
Digital content available
Biographical History: Bill Russell was a leader in the sports arena as an advocate for justice and equality, both as a member of the basketball teams for the University of San Francisco and the Boston Celtics.
Summary: Basketball player Bill Russell remembers his childhood in Louisiana and Oakland, California, in the 1940s. After winning two Final Fours with the University of San Francisco, he won an Olympic gold medal and an NBA championship playing for the Boston Celtics, one of thirteen Russell would win, including eight in a row. Russell had a difficult relationship with the sports media in Boston, but a better one with his Celtics teammates. He defends the organization as progressive on racial matters (as opposed to the Red Sox) and describes a post-retirement reconciliation with Boston that resulted in considerable Red Sox support for his mentoring organization and a statue of him, erected in 2013.
Moving Images
11 video files of 11 (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (187 min.) : digital, sound, color
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0088_mv01-11
Manuscripts
1 transcript (60 pages)
Digital ID: afc2010039_crhp0088_Russell_transcript
Linda Fuller Degelmann interview conducted by Emilye Crosby in Americus, Georgia, May 28, 2013
Digital content available
Biographical History: Linda Fuller moved to the cooperative Koinonia Farm with her husband Millard in the 1960s. The Fullers founded Habitat for Humanity in 1976.
Summary: Linda Fuller Degelmann discusses her experiences at Koinonia Farm in Americus, Georgia, and how she and her husband Millard Fuller were inspired to start Habitat for Humanity. She describes her childhood in Birmingham, Alabama, and her memories of racial segregation from childhood through young adulthood when she became aware of the Freedom Rides and the Civil Rights Movement. She and Millard decided to move to Koinonia Farm in 1968, where they worked on cooperative industries, helped to establish a child development center, and built homes, which provided the seeds for Habitat for Humanity. She goes on to describe the growth of Habitat for Humanity in the United States and internationally, and she explains the religious principles of the organization as well as linking it to the Civil Rights Movement.
Moving Images
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