The bulk of these oral histories deal with the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta. Specific events that are mentioned include the student movement centering around Atlanta University; The Committee On Appeal for Human Rights (COAHR); creation and publication of the Atlanta Enquirer newspaper; the organization of the Atlanta Committee of Cooperative Action (ACCA), the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and activities to desegregate city buses and restaurants. Other topics that are discussed on the tapes include desegregation of the public schools and libraries and the organization of Help Our Public Education (H.O.P.E.). In addition, the relationship between local activists and Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) are discussed. Among the specific interviews, desegregation of Atlanta schools is discussed by Pearlie Dove, Robert Edge, John Sibley, Portia Harden Potts, and Muriel Lokey. The activities tied to the Student Movement at Atlanta University are discussed by Lonnie King, Jesse Hill, Alton Hornsby, and Charles Black. Although the primary focus of the project was the documentation of Atlantans and their involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, events in Georgia and the Southeast were also collected. Of particular importance is the discussion of the St. Augustine Movement, a series of demonstrations that are said to have guaranteed passage and the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Other discussions include work in desegregating educational facilities throughout the country, and discrimination and segregation in the United States Army in the 1950s and 1960s.

This collection consists of 36 interviews conducted during a six month period in 2005 and 2006. The project, headed by Dr. Carole Merritt of the Atlanta History Center staff, collected audio and video tape the memories of individuals active in the Civil Rights Movement. This oral history program was developed as a means to expand the information regarding Civil Rights activities in Atlanta and in Georgia. The project was funded from several sources, including the Georgia Humanities Council. Staff members at the Atlanta History Center, working with Dr. Merritt, identified individuals within the Civil Rights movement that provided a unique perspective on the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. Merritt scheduled and conducted all of the interviews. The transcribing and editing of the oral histories was completed by the staff of the James G. Kenan Research Center.

Voices Across The Color Line Oral History Collection, VIS 180, Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center.

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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