Oral History Commons^™

Oral History: Thaddeus Stachura

Zycie w Ameryce: A Collection of Polish-American Oral Histories

This conversation is an oral history interview with a former pastor of Our Lady of Czestochowa parish, the center of Worcester’s Polish American community. This interview discusses much of the history of the community from its beginnings and delves into the life of a parish priest, while also touching on topics such as immigration, Church corruption, community life and difficulties, and local festivals.

Interview keywords: immigrants, Saint Casimir’s, difficulties, seminary, Bojanowski, Moneta, vocation, dompolski, immoral, Polish priest, Solidarity, redlining, violence, festival, PNI, citizenship.

Mental Health Memories: A Web-Based Archive For Mental Health Stories, Amanda E. Castro

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The Mental Health Memories project is an online archive created in order to display and preserve the personal histories of those with mental health experiences. The project aims to fill a void in available material culture related to the history of mental health and its preservation. Participants’ contributions include: oral histories, personal items, documents, and audio. Bringing together multimedia sources, the MHMemories website allows for the preservation of these items and stories through the digitization of contributions. This method allows for participants’ items to stay in their possession while also becoming part of the archive. In order to recruit participants, …

Playing His Own Game: Ernest 'Dutch' Morial's 1977 Mayoral Campaign For Citizen Participation In New Orleans, Eric Marshall

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Ernest “Dutch” Morial’s 1977 grassroots mayoral campaign disrupted the political status quo in New Orleans with his message of citizen participation. Morial’s citizen-driven campaign reached over the constituencies of established Black Political Organizations, capturing an eager audience with his message of political, social, and economic equality. With the help of volunteers and other community organizations, Morial created a grassroots campaign that focused on making city government more inclusive. Unattached to the traditional patronage structure, Mayor Morial empowered the black community, reducing the constraints of their political access. Although his legacy is difficult to discern in New Orleans current political realities, …

"I'D Rather Be Forgotten Than Dishonored": An Oral And Life History Project With A Vietnam Veteran, Hayley Michael Hasik

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

More than 2.7 million Americans served in the military during the Vietnam era and roughly 40,000 of them as helicopter pilots in Vietnam, yet scholars are still trying to understand the Vietnam experience. There is little doubt that the war played an influential role in the lives of that generation. Yet, many Vietnam veterans refrained from talking about their service, making it difficult to study and understand their experiences within the existing historical narrative. Using the life history of Warrant Officer James Scott, Hayley Hasik argues that Vietnam veterans—particularly helicopter pilots—are an underrepresented group that, through oral history, can provide …

Secrets On Morgan Hill: A Story Of An Unlikely Friendship Amid An Apartheid South, Camille Kleidysz-Ferreira

Master of Arts in American Studies Capstones

Introduction

The Burden of History and Fiction

“How much of the burden of history can fiction bear?” – Margaret Walker

Comprehensive historical research can often become the inspiration for art. The greatest pieces of historical fiction, are a result of years of historic scholarship before the creation of a compelling historical narrative or fiction piece. Through my two-year ethnographic study and collection of oral histories of the black community, surrounding the historic Bethel A.M.E. church in Acworth, Georgia, I was told a story about a friendship between two little girls who remained friends until the end of their lives. What …

Forgetting The Lynching Of Jesse Washington: Manifestations Of Memory And The "Waco Horror", Kurt A. Terry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

After a horrible historical injustice reemerged into public discourse in 1998, the citizens and civic leaders of Waco, Texas wrestled with the idea of whether to continue to forget the event or to acknowledge, apologize, and reconcile the past. At the center of the debate, a lynching of a seventeen-year old African American named Jesse Washington in 1916. Also known as the “Waco Horror,” the lynching disappeared from public conversation in Waco shortly after its occurrence. For nearly a century, the lynching remained relegated to anti-lynching movements, academic study, and the fringes of society. After the lynching’s reappearance into public …

Italian Fellas In Olive Drab: Exploring The Experiences Of Italian-American Servicemen In Sicily And Italy, 1943-1945, Guido Rossi

Master's Theses

Despite constituting the largest ethnic group in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II, the experiences of Italian-Americans have received scant attention by historians. In particular, the stories of the U.S. citizens of Italian descent or Italian-born but naturalized Americans who served in Italy, have received almost none. These soldiers, sailors, airmen, and coastguardmen who could often speak Italian, had grown up in Italian-American families and neighborhoods, and still had relatives in Italy, were asked to go fight in their country of origin. During the Allied advance, these men found themselves in close contact with a destitute Italian population …

The Intersection Of Culture And Activism In The Filipino Community In Soma, Ericka J. Martynovych

Master's Theses

My research analyzes the intersection between culture and activism, through oral histories with participants and organizers of SoMa Pilipinas, the Filipino cultural heritage district in the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco. I analyzed the impact of the establishment of the Filipino cultural heritage district on the Filipino community in the South of Market neighborhood. I examined what motivates members of this community to be politically active by organizing and attending protests and rallies, speaking at Planning Commission hearings at City Hall, attending planning meetings for SoMa Pilipinas, building relationships across organizations and fields, and providing resources for community …

Nihon Wa New Orleans No Ongaku Ga Daisukidesu (Japan Loves New Orleans’S Music): A Look At Japanese Interest In New Orleans Music From The 1940s To 2017, William Archambeault

Senior Honors Theses

Since the 1940s, music lovers and musicians in Japan has professed a strong interest in New Orleans music, particularly New Orleans jazz. This paper examines three ways in which this interest manifests itself: Japanese musicians immigrating to New Orleans, Japanese tourists visiting New Orleans, and sales of recorded and live New Orleans music in Japan. This paper primarily revolves around oral history interviews with Japanese musicians who immigrated in New Orleans. Additionally, this paper utilizes a combination of primary source and secondary source material to examine the history of Japanese interest in New Orleans music. By utilizing these sources, this …

Stories Of Knox County Final Paper, Sarah Aguilar, Maria Brescia-Weiler, Mary Grace Detmer, Gabe Jimenez-Ekman

Stories of Knox County: Final Paper

No abstract provided.

Oral History With Karen Edwards-Hunter, Matthew R. Griffis

Oral History Archive

Karen Edwards-Hunter was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1950 and has lived most of her life there. Her father was a mail carrier and her mother, who was originally a homemaker, was later a Teacher’s Assistant at Perry Elementary School. Edwards-Hunter grew up on 15^th Street in the city’s Russell neighborhood and attended Perry Elementary School and Harvey C. Russell Junior High School when both were still segregated. She later attended Louisville Male High School before earning a B.A. in English at Eastern Kentucky University and the University of Louisville. She completed further studies at Bard College in New …

An Oral History Of Italian American Identity & Perception During The First Half Of The 20th Century, Joshua A. Hoxmeier

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

This paper will detail the experiences, perceptions, and memories of working and middle class Italian American men during the first half of the twentieth century and examine the differences between how the two World Wars and their aftermaths shaped the ethnic identity of these men. By looking at Italian American World War II veterans, I conclude the notion that Italian American inclusion was achieved through the First World War and the nationalism of the 1920s, especially the restriction of immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe, is not fully representative of both the realities and perceptions of a sizable number of …

Lone Man And All My Relations, Doug Meigs

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Lone Man is the central creation figure of the Mandan, an indigenous people of present-day North Dakota. The story of Lone Man begins with the creation figure becoming self-aware on the open ocean. He creates the Earth and sets off to discover his people. Doug Meigs is writing the oral history of Robert O’Brien, a modern Mandan man living in Omaha, Nebraska, who grew up without any knowledge of tribal identity. Late in life, he would set off to learn that he was Mandan. O’Brien is still coming to terms with the meaning of that identity.

Oral History With Houston A. Baker, Matthew R. Griffis

Oral History Archive

Born in March of 1943, Houston Alfred Baker Jr. grew up in segregated Louisville. His mother was a schoolteacher; his father served as chief administrator of the city’s African-American hospital, the Red Cross Hospital, and had earned a master’s degree in hospital administration from Northwestern University on a Rockefeller fellowship. When Baker was a child, his family lived on Virginia Avenue, where Baker attended Virginia Avenue Elementary School. After his family moved to Broadway Street, Baker attended Western Elementary, later Western Junior High School, and then Male High School before leaving for Howard University in 1961. The family attended Grace …

Oral History With Maxine Turner, Matthew R. Griffis

Oral History Archive

Maxine Turner was born in 1940 in Holt, Alabama, and moved to Meridian, Mississippi when she was three years-old. After living in the George Reese Courts, Turner’s family moved to 34^th Avenue and 13^th Street in the northwest part of town. They attended St. Paul Methodist Episcopal Church, just across the street from the 13^th Street library.

Turner began using the library when she was in third grade, mostly for personal reading and to support her schooling. She attended several of Meridian’s segregated schools, including St. Joseph Catholic School, Meridian Baptist Seminary, Wechsler Junior High School and …

Guest Editor's Introduction, Sherlynn Allen-Harris

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

Acknowledgments And Disclaimer, Regennia N. Williams

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

The Rule, Marylou And Jerome Bongiorno

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

2018 Call For Submissions, Regennia N. Williams

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

A Former Student And Colleague Remembers Gil Scott-Heron, Linwood Gato Martinez-Bentley

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

The Legacy Of Gil Scott-Heron, Regennia N. Williams

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

Books: Suggestions For Further Reading, Regennia N. Williams

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

The Value Of Black Lives: The Effect Of The Digital Age On African American Identity And Political Participation, Lauren Grimes

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Regennia N. Williams

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

Revolution '67, Marylou And Jerome Bongiorno

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

The Wings Over Jordan And The Scholarship Of Oral History, Regennia N. Williams, Glenn Brackens

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

Wake The Devil, Ricardo Ruiz

Theses and Dissertations

You could only bury a body so deep before the seasons decided you would join it . Topsoil so desperate for affection it shakes to remind me that I was once and am loved .

I linger in the southwestern sky , burgundy to violet , with Neil Young playing faintly in the distance as my father calls me home .

Lost Boys And Girls: Navigating Experience And Identity During Operation Pedro Pan, Caleb M. Still

Honors College Theses

Over 14,000 unaccompanied children came from Cuba to the United States during Operation Pedro Pan. Once they arrived they were faced with an entirely new living situation and were forced to adapt. One of the remaining similarities to their Cuban home was the Catholic Church. The Church played a significant role in shaping these children’s fluid concept of their ethnic, national, and religious identities. Previous scholarship has not addressed the role of the Church in the program or the issue of the fluidity of identity among these children. This study builds on the existing scholarship and aims to fill in …

Life And Seoul Of The Party: South Korea’S Brief Occupation Under Communist North Korea, Catherine Rose Graham

All Master's Theses

This thesis analyzes the North Korean occupation of Seoul through the oral histories of the men and women who experienced the event. At the beginning of the Korean War, North Korean forces successfully captured and held the South Korean capital for three months. Despite the occupation’s interesting premise, it has received little attention from Korean War scholars. Interviews with the people who lived through the Korean War though, demonstrate that from their point of view, the occupation was a particularly significant part of their war experience.

Oral History With Jerome Wilson, Matthew R. Griffis

Oral History Archive

Dr. Jerome Wilson was born in Meridian, Mississippi in 1942. He attended St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Meridian from kindergarten to secondary school, whereupon he attended Dillard University in New Orleans to earn a BA in Chemistry and Mathematics.

Wilson later earned an MA in Immunology and Biochemistry from Cornell and, in 1983, earned his PhD in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He spent much of his career as a researcher and a research administrator in the pharmaceutical industry, later transitioning to academe when he helped set up the department of epidemiology at Howard University. …