History: Oral History

Collection of digital oral history projects and archives, many of them related to social movements and human rights.

The recordings of former slaves in Voices Remembering Slavery: Freed People Tell Their Stories took place between 1932 and 1975 in nine states. Twenty-three interviewees discuss how they felt about slavery, slaveholders, coercion of slaves, their families, and freedom. Several individuals sing songs, many of which were learned during the time of their enslavement. It is important to note that all of the interviewees spoke sixty or more years after the end of their enslavement, and it is their full lives that are reflected in these recordings. The individuals documented in this presentation have much to say about living as African Americans from the 1870s to the 1930s, and beyond.

Originally established in 2002 as a small project dedicated to the preservation of recorded Jewish music, it has matured into a robust digitization operation for all types of sound recordings.

Explore the stories of 20 sites of worship, lodging, and civic engagement in Birmingham, Montgomery, and across the Black Belt that played significant roles in the African-American struggle for freedom—from Reconstruction to the Civil Rights Movement and beyond.