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Bicentennial Oral History Project: Clarke County Schools before and after Desegregation collection

 Collection
Collection number: MSS-028

Scope and Contents

As noted above, 19 interviews have been digitized, available as C. D. access copies and D. V. D. preservation copies as well as M-PEG I Audio Layer III (“MP3”) files. All of the master cassette copies, as well as back-up copies of those masters if they were made, are to be maintained in this collection. There were duplicates of some of these back-up master cassettes; these have been deaccessioned. The oral histories are listed here in chronological order, with the exception of the interview with David Hamilton Jones, listed separately because it seems to have been part of an oral-history project about the Vietnam war that did not proceed further. The “Trip to the Bottom” event is also not, strictly speaking, part of the oral-history program. However, it does concern the Bottom, an African American neighborhood of Athens demolished as part of the Urban Renewal programs of the 1960s. Note that the Reverend Charles Knox is not the only speaker. It was a presentation featuring multiple speakers organized by the Athens Historical Society.

Another presentation documented here, “A Visit to Chalky Level,” is also not an oral history; nor does it concern topics like desegregation, race relations, or Vietnam. It was apparently placed in this collection because it was digitized.

Dates

  • 2001-2011

Creator

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Access

Neither the original cassette recordings nor the Preservation DVD copies are available to the public. The rest of the collection is open to the public. Library policy on photography and photocopying will apply. Advance notice may be required. Apply in the Heritage Room for access.

Biographical / Historical

The Bicentennial Oral History Project was initiated by the former head of the Heritage Room, Laura Carter. The project focused on the desegregation of Athens and includes interviews of local school teachers, school employees, and students of the Clarke County school district and the University of Georgia. They were interviewed by a rotating group of local Athenians and professional interviewers. Forty interviews are documented here; 19 have been digitized. The interviews in the collection range from 30 minutes to over 3 hours, often spread over multiple tapes.

The desegregation of education in Athens over the course of more than a decade: the University integrated in 1961 but the high schools did not do so until the 1970-71 school year. The interviews present a variety of perspectives on the integration of these two institutions, Athens High and Burney-Harris High (originally named Athens High and Industrial). Other interviews take on a broader view of Athens history, including churches and shopping. The temporal focus of the interviews ranges from the 1920s to 2010.

Extent

25 Compact Disc (25 compact discs in 1 box)

94 Cassettes (64 cassette tapes in 2 boxes)

25 DVDs (25 DVDs in 2 boxes)

Additional Description

Overview

Audio recordings of 40 oral histories featuring Athenians interviewed by Athenians in the years, 2001-2011. The interviews mostly focus on the desegregation of Athens primary schools and the University of Georgia.

Arrangement

The collection is organized into four series.

Series I: Print materials Series II: Cassette master copies Series III: Compact Disc (C. D.) access copies Series IV: Digital Video Disc (D. V. D.) preservation copies

Related Materials

Rendezvous With Destiny: The World War II Oral History Project, MSS 008, Heritage Room, Athens-Clarke County Library

Athens-Clarke County Library Recordings collection, MSS 072, Heritage Room, Athens-Clarke County Library.

Bibliography

Enghauser, Audrey. “Echoes of integration.” Odyssey Media Group, Clarke Central High School, Athens, GA. 7 March 2020. https://www.odysseynewsmagazine.com/2020/03/07/echos-of-integration/

Physical Description

Good

Deaccessions

  • 1 cassette tape of interview with Charles Beard. (ACCL CS 051)
  • 2 cassette tapes of interview and interview copy with Julia Cook Brackett. (ACCL CS 050, 074)
  • Master tape for Hal Cofer interview.

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Bicentennial Oral History Project: Clarke County Schools before and after Desegregation collection
Status
Completed
Author
Angela Stanley, Laura Carter, Mikaela LaFave, Justin Kau
Date
August 2016, revised October 2020 and May 2026
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Heritage Room, Athens-Clarke County Library Repository

Contact:
2025 Baxter Street
Athens GA 30606

Related Unprocessed Material