MenuInventory of the Duke University Oral History Program Collection, 1973-1978, 1992
Collection Overview
The Duke University Oral History Program Collection contains 238 oral history interviews conducted by project participants in the years 1973-1978 and 1992. The majority of the oral history interviews deal with the civil rights movement in North Carolina, especially Durham, Chapel Hill, and Greensboro. Additionally, thirteen interviews deal with the Tulsa Race Riots, and fourteen interviews cover miscellaneous North Carolina topics. The collection also includes transcripts and research files related to the civil rights movement in North Carolina.
The collection is arranged in three series: Audiotapes, Transcripts, and Research Files. The Audiotapes Series consists of two identical sets of audiocassettes, one closed for preservation purposes and one open for researchers. The North Carolina Civil Rights Movement tapes, which make up the bulk of the series, include extensive interviews with Ella Baker, as well as hundreds of interviews with lesser-known but nonetheless important figures from the local movements in Greensboro, Durham, Chapel Hill, Weldon, and Monroe, N.C. The Tulsa Race Riots tapes include interviews conducted by Scott Ellsworth for his study Death in the Promised Land: The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. The North Carolina Miscellaneous tapes include an interview with Alex Haley about his critically-acclaimed book, Roots, as well as conversations about such topics as the state's agricultural history and mountain culture in Western North Carolina. The Transcripts Series includes eighty transcripts, as well as some interview notes, corresponding to tapes dealing with the North Carolina civil rights movement. The Research Files Series contains six files of background material related to the civil rights movement in North Carolina, including articles and speeches by Governor Terry Sanford and a bibliography of material dealing with the Durham sit-ins, and one file listing tapes and transcripts in the collection.
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Duke University Oral History Program Collection, 1973-1978, 1992, and undated
- Creator
- Duke University Oral History Program
- Extent
- 10.3 Linear Feet, 810 Items
- Repository
- David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University
- Location
- For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
- Language
- English.
Administrative Information
Collections are on the move for the renovation of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Contact Rubenstein Library staff before visiting. Read More »
Access Restrictions
The Duke University Oral History Program Collection has been restricted due to the absence of release forms transferring intellectual property rights from interviewees or interviewers to researchers using the collections. Researchers are cautioned that the publication of information contained in these interviews may violate the legal rights of the interviewees and interviewers. It is the sole responsibility of researchers to secure permission from interviewees or interviewers to publish quotes from either, and to ensure that information gained from research in this collection is not used in any way that violates rights remaining with interviewees, interviewers, or their heirs. Patrons who wish to use this collection must sign a Restricted Materials Research Agreement, which may be obtained from any Special Collections reference staff person.
In addition, patrons must sign the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.
Use Restrictions
The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
Contents of the Collection
Browse List of Series
Collapse All
Expand AllThe series includes two identical sets of taped oral history interviews. The master tapes in Subseries A serve as preservation copies and are closed to researchers; Subseries B contains a complete set of use tapes, which are open for use by all patrons. Each series contains 238 cassette tapes. The master tapes series contains an extra set of Ella Baker cassettes and also includes 4 reel-to-reel tapes, which duplicate the Ella Baker interviews available on cassettes. The tapes are arranged into three topical subseries: North Carolina Civil Rights Movement, Tulsa Race Riots, and Miscellaneous North Carolina.
This subseries includes 211 cassette tapes, which have been arranged into three groups. The majority of these tapes deal with the civil rights movement in Chapel Hill, Greensboro and Durham, and their environs, and include extensive interviews with Ella Baker. The twenty-eight interviews conducted by Marcellus Barksdale in 1976 and 1977 predominantly cover the movement in Weldon and Monroe, N.C. These interviews formed part of the basis for his 1977 Ph.D. dissertation, The Indigenous Civil Rights Movement and Cultural Change in North Carolina: Weldon, Chapel Hill, and Monroe, 1946-1965. Larry Thomas and Timothy Tyson's eleven interviews, conducted in 1978 and 1992, respectively, deal with the civil rights movement in Monroe. Tyson drew on these interviews for his 1994 Ph.D. dissertation, Radio Free Dixie: Robert F. Williams and the Roots of Black Power.
The Tulsa Race Riot interviews were conducted by Scott Ellsworth in 1978. These thirteen tapes were part of the basis for his 1982 book, Death in the Promised Land: the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921.
This Subseries includes an interview with Alex Haley about his book Roots, recordings of William Chafe dictating a letter to the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation and a study of communal living, discussions with international students at Duke University, and interviews dealing with agriculture in the state and with traditional mountain life and culture in Western North Carolina. RESTRICTIONS: Since there are no release forms accompanying these interviews, researchers must seek the permission of copyright holders before publishing quotes from these sources.
The series includes eighty transcripts of some, but not all, of the interviews in the North Carolina Civil Rights Movement Audiotapes Subseries. Some transcript files include notes on the corresponding interview, usually providing background information about the interviewee. These transcripts are arranged alphabetically by last name of the interviewee; transcripts for multiple interviews of one person are arranged chronologically. RESTRICTIONS: Since there are no release forms accompanying these transcripts, patrons must seek the permission of copyright holders before publishing quotes from these sources.
The Research Files Series consist of five files of research material on the North Carolina Civil Rights Movement, as well as one file of tape and transcript lists. The materials include a bibliography on the Durham sit-ins, compiled by Elyse Gallo; articles and speeches by Governor Terry Sanford; a file on the movement from 1960 to 1964; and three files of related background information.
Subject Headings
- Baker, Ella
- Afro-Americans--North Carolina--Civil rights.
- Civil rights--North Carolina--Chapel Hill.
- Civil rights--North Carolina--Durham.
- Civil rights--North Carolina--Greensboro.
- Civil rights--North Carolina--History.
- Civil rights--North Carolina--Monroe.
- Tulsa (Okla.)--Riot, 1921.
- Tulsa (Okla.)--Race relations.
- Oral History.
- Duke University Oral History Program.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Duke University Oral History Program Collection, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
Provenance
The Duke University Oral History Program Collection (1973-1978, 1992, & undated) was donated to the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library in 1983, 1992 and 1993 by William H. Chafe, Oral History Program, History Department Duke University, and in 1992 and 1993 by Timothy Tyson.
Processing Information
Processed by Lisa Hazirjian
Completed February 1, 1998
Encoded by Don Sechler
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.