Radcliffe College Black Women Oral History Project
Scope and Contents
Between 1976 and 1981 the Schlesinger Library of Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, conducted over 70 oral history interviews with African-American women, of which the transcripts of 8 D.C. interviews were donated to the D.C. Public Library. Topics include family background, childhood history, family, socioeconomic status, education, influences, accomplishments and the effects of sex and race on their lives. No tapes of these interviews were transferred to the Library.
Dates
- Creation: 1976 - 1981
Creator
- Radcliffe College (Organization)
Conditions Governing Use
The D.C. Public Library does not hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study to publish or exhibit information.
Biographical / Historical
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts and functioned as a female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. A formal "non-merger merger" agreement with Harvard was signed in 1977, with full integration with Harvard completed in 1999. The Schlesinger Library on the campus of Radcliffe College was created in 1943 and seeks to document women's lives and endeavors.
Extent
0.25 Linear feet
1 Boxes
Language of Materials
English
Custodial History
Radcliffe College conducted these oral histories between 1976 and 1981 and donated the transcripts for 8 D.C. related projects to the Library in the early 1980s. There is no deed of gift or correspondence related to this gift receipt.
Processing Information
After the initial donation the Library gathered biographical information on the interviewees and placed that information into folders and placed into a filing cabinet. The bound transcript were cataloged and placed into the Washingtoniana book collection. During the digitization process for the Oral History Projects in 2014 it was discovered that the Schlesinger Library digitized these interviews and has made them available through their website. In 2017, the collection was reprocessed and the biographical information gathered on the interviewees were placed into appropriate archival storage, and all administrative documentation was moved to the control file. There are no audio recordings for this collection.
- Title
- Radcliffe College Black Women Oral History Project
- Subtitle
- An inventory of the Radcliffe College Black Women Oral History Project at DC Public Library
- Author
- DC Public Library, Special Collections Department
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- Engish
Repository Details
Part of the The People's Archive, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library Repository