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About this collection
Voices of Freedom was produced by the Virginia Civil Rights Movement Video Initiative, a non-profit organization incorporated in 2002 to produce videotaped oral histories of leaders of the Civil Rights movement in Virginia. While much has been written about the historic events which occurred in the deep South, the story of the Civil Rights movement in Virginia has largely gone untold. Voices of Freedom focuses on statewide activities from the 1950s through the early 1970s and includes stories about the Jim Crow segregation laws that existed nationally through the mid-1960s; stories about the struggles to change the laws and to change public attitudes; and advice from these civil rights veterans to future generations of Virginians/Americans.
Researchers can access from this collection eleven videotaped interviews (edited down to about 25 minutes) of leaders and activists in Virginia's Civil Rights movement. The complete transcripts of these full interviews are also available. DVDs of the edited interviews are housed at James Branch Cabell Library Special Collections and Archives.
Voices of Freedom is meant to educate people about our common history, to stimulate discussion on why and how this great social movement happened, to stimulate further research into the Virginia civil rights movement and further contact with its living leaders, to further consideration of the impact of the Civil Rights movement on our current 21st century society, and to inspire future generations to involve themselves in civic affairs and act with conscience and courage.
"These interviews are about family and community strength, human aspirations, personal history and public history, social conflict, altered public attitudes and altered public policy, the workings of our democracy and the most fundamental aspects of human relations. They deal with the most important changes made in the United States during the 20th century. These are personal - often passionate - testimonials from people with firsthand experience in making history at the grassroots level. Several interviewees talking about separate water fountains and bathrooms, not being able to eat at lunch counters or try on clothes in department stores, being segregated residentially, getting 'hand me down' books and equipment in the black schools, not being able to use public libraries or public parks or even public cemeteries; several persons remembering Virginia's varied civil rights pioneers and several interviewees giving contemporary advice to young people and others who will view the video interviews."
--Ben Ragsdale, Coordinator, Virginia Civil Rights Movement Video Initiative, February, 2003
Copyright
This material is protected by copyright, and copyright is held by VCU. You are permitted to use this material in any way that is permitted by copyright. In addition, this material is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). Acknowledgment of Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries as a source is required.
Credits
Ronald E. Carrington, President of Media Consultants Global, Inc. of Richmond, was the director-producer of the video taping and interviewed the interviewees. Historian Dr. Betsy Brinson conducted preliminary oral interviews. The Virginia Historical Society (VHS) hosted two days of taping. Dr. Lauranett L. Lee, curator of African American History at the VHS, served as a consultant to this project.
Board of Directors, Voices of Freedom, Virginia Civil Rights Movement Video Initiative: Hon. Benjamin J. Lambert, III, President, Ben Ragsdale, Coordinator, Raymond H. Boone, Hon. Curtis W. Harris, Dr. Robert D. Holsworth, Curtis Lyons, Hon. Henry L. Marsh, III.
Major supporters of Voices of Freedom: The Richard S. Reynolds Foundation, the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, Dominion Resources, Hunton and Williams, Ukrops Supermarkets, the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, Virginia Commonwealth University, the Virginia Historical Society, and Mrs. Frances Lewis.
Video captions were created by Maddie Barger, Gabrielle Brownson, Naomy Cardoso Perez, Katie Condon, Susan Grube, Amaiya Howard, Bec Jude, Sophie Maize, and Anita Williams.
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Interview with Dr. Joyce E. Glaise
Dr. Joyce E. Glaise, educator, community activist, former member of the Danville, Virginia City Council. She discussed: the racial situation in Danville, Virginia; the Danville Voters League; Dr. Martin Luther King's trip to Danville in 1963; recreation in Danville; the church's role in the Civil Rights movement; and activists Ruth Harvey and Lawrence Campbell.
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Interview with Dr. Laverne Byrd Smith
Dr. Laverne Byrd Smith, educator and civil rights activist, recounts her experiences in segregated Richmond, including its segregated streetcars. She also discussed writing for the Richmond Afro-American; serving as president of the Virginia Council on Human Relations; and interviewing Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Interview with Dr. Milton A. Reid
Dr. Milton A. Reid, retired minister, civil rights leader, current Chairman of the Board of the Virginia Unit of the SCLC. The topics Dr. Reid discussed include: Growing up in Chesapeake, Virginia; the role of the SCLC in Virginia; Danville, Virginia; Prince Edward County; the use of "Prayer Pilgrimages" as protest; and sit-ins.
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Interview with Dr. W. Ferguson Reid
Dr. W. Ferguson Reid, surgeon, first African American elected to the Virginia General Assembly since Reconstruction. Issues discussed include: racial segregation in Richmond and Virginia; the Richmond Crusade for Voters; the Democratic Party and the Byrd Machine; the Poll Tax; John Mitchell and The Planet; the NAACP; the Medical College of Virginia; and racism in the medical community.
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Interview with Elizabeth Cooper and Jane Cooper Johnson
Elizabeth Cooper was the plaintiff in the Federal lawsuit desegregating Richmond City Public Schools. She and her daughter, Jane Cooper (Johnson), discuss their role in desegregating Richmond's schools; their lawyer, Oliver W. Hill, Sr.; and the types of obstacles and harassment Jane faced by fellow students when she was the first African American to integrate Richmond's Westhampton Junior High School (under a U.S. Desegregation Court Order) and the first African American to integrate Thomas Jefferson High School. Some historical background: In 1958, an application was filed with the Richmond City School Board on behalf of the plaintiff, Mrs. Elizabeth B. Cooper, requesting that her daughter, Jane, be transferred from the all-black George Washington Carver Elementary School to the all-white Westhampton Elementary School. Two other plaintiffs joined Mrs. Cooper; however, they eventually withdrew. Attorneys representing the case were Oliver W. Hill, Roland D. Ealey, Martin A. Martin, and Samuel. W. Tucker. The application was forwarded to the Virginia Pupil Placement Board. In turn, the State Board was ordered to submit a plan for the integration of Richmond City Public Schools. The State Board, however, denied the application that same year. As a result, a suit was filed with the Federal District Court, requesting the court to order Jane admission to Westhampton Elementary School. The segregation case continued over a three-year period. In July 1961, Jane was granted admission to attend Westhampton Junior High School, under a Supreme Court order, which was handed down by Judge Oren R. Lewis (1902-1983), U. S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia. The initial application was filed requesting attendance at Westhampton Elementary School; however, by the time the ruling from the Supreme Court was handed down, Jane was entering junior high school. On September 5, 1961, at the age of 12 years old, Daisy Jane Cooper, was the first African American student to integrate Westhampton Junior High School under a U.S. Desegregation Court Order. After graduating from Westhampton in June 1962, the following September, Jane enrolled as a freshman at Thomas Jefferson High School. In September 1962, Daisy Jane Cooper, at the age of 13 years old, was the first African American student to integrate Thomas Jefferson High School. Jane Cooper graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in June 1966.
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Interview with John A. Stokes
John A. Stokes, of Lanham, Maryland, educator, retired principal, Baltimore City Public Schools, one of the leaders of the student strike at the R.R. Moton High School in Prince Edward County, Virginia in 1951. Stokes provides a "behind the scenes" report on the famous Barbara Johns-led student walkout and its aftermath. Mr. Stokes also discussed the conditions of the schools in Prince Edward County; the role of parents and clergy in the strike; the early involvement of the NAACP in Prince Edward County; and rural life in segregated Virginia.
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Interview with Oliver W. Hill, Sr.
Oliver W. Hill, Sr. , Virginia's leading Civil Rights attorney in the 20th century, represented the students in Prince Edward County in the Brown vs. Board of Education desegregation case. Born in Richmond in 1907, Hill earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Howard University. Hill began practicing law in 1934, focusing on litigating Civil Right cases. He received national attention in 1948 when he was the first African American since Reconstruction elected to the Richmond City Council. At the age of 91 he retired from his Richmond law firm, Hill, Tucker and Marsh, after practicing law for nearly 60 years. In 1999, President Bill Clinton presented Hill with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He began practicing law in 1934, focusing on litigating Civil Right cases. Hill received national attention in 1948 when he was elected to the Richmond City Council and became its first African American since Reconstruction. At the age 91 he retired from his Richmond law firm, Hill, Tucker and Marsh, after practicing law for nearly 60 years. In 1999, President Bill Clinton presented Hill with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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Interview with Raymond H. Boone
Raymond H. Boone, founder, editor and publisher of the Richmond Free Press discussed: the role of education in his life; growing up in Suffolk, Virginia; John Mitchell and the Richmond Planet; the Richmond Afro American; the Frederick Douglass Fellowships (designed to recruit and train black journalists); the role of the black press; Massive Resistance; Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME); and Virginia Governor Mills Godwin.
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Interview with Rev. Curtis W. Harris
Rev. Curtis W. Harris, of Hopewell, Virginia -- pastor, civil rights leader, former president of the Virginia Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), former mayor of Hopewell and city council member since 1986. Rev. Harris discussed: his work with the SCLC; Martin Luther King, Jr.; civil disobedience; racial segregation in Hopewell; confronting the Klu Klux Klan in Hopewell; running for city council; becoming Mayor of Hopewell; the Boatwright Committee; support from the ACLU; and Hill, Tucker and Marsh.
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Interview with Sen. Henry L. Marsh, III
Henry L. Marsh, III, civil rights attorney, state senator, first African American Mayor of Richmond, he discusses what it meant to confront Richmond's white power structure and become mayor. Other topics include: growing up in Smithfield, Virginia and in Richmond; his first meeting and then working with Oliver W. Hill, Sr.; his work with the NAACP Youth Council; Virginia Union University; the role of Massive Resistance in creating Civil Rights leaders in Virginia; Rev. Curtis Harris; and various race discrimination cases in employment (including Philip Morris) and education.
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Interview with Thomas S. Hardy
Thomas S. Hardy -- A long time resident of Surry County, Virginia, Mr. Hardy was a shipyard worker and community activist. He discussed the work that he and other activists have pursued in Surry County, Virginia. He also discussed: his life as a Korean War veteran in segregated Virginia; Isle of Wight County, Virginia; Surry Training School; Fort Pickett; Voter registration; the Surry County Improvement Association; the Surry Assembly; the Poll tax; segregation and separation of facilities in the Norfolk Navy Shipyard; the Klu Klux Klan in Surry County; Gerald Poindexter; Don Anderson and political organization.