Sweet Auburn Neighborhood Project oral history interviews
Scope and Content Note
The collection consists of oral history interviews and transcripts of interviews of residents and merchants in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia in 1978. The interviewees discuss personal background, social and economic conditions among the African American residents of Sweet Auburn, recollections of the riot of 1906, the fire of 1917, the Depression, the Butler Street Urban Renewal Project (1950s), cross-town migration, and the civil rights movement. The collection also contains information regarding research and preparation for the grant project.
Dates
- 1978
Creator
- Sweet Auburn Neighborhood Project (Atlanta, Ga.). (Organization)
Restrictions on Use
There are no restrictions on research use of this collection.
Copyright Restrictions
Prior permission from the Research Library must be obtained in writing before any portion of this collection can be published or reproduced.
Historical Sketch
The Sweet Auburn Neighborhood Project is an oral history project that was funded by an NEH Youth Project grant. The oral histories of Auburn Avenue residents and merchants were gathered by local teenagers in 1978. With support from Atlanta's Bureau of Cultural Affairs as well as NEH, Project Director Dr. Harry Lefever, Chairman of the Spelman College Sociology Department, and two other scholars trained youth between the ages of sixteen and twenty in oral history techniques. The project participants also learned to prepare a subject index, contribute to photographic essays, and prepare both newsletters and a Sweet Auburn walking tour book.
The two major goals of the Project were to "(1) compile and distribute historic and sociological information about the Sweet Auburn Neighborhood, and (2) to provide a meaningful learning experience for a group of young people ranging in ages from sixteen to twenty years."
Extent
71.0 audiotapes
Language
English
Overview
The collection consists of oral history interviews and transcripts of interviews of residents and merchants in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia in 1978. The interviewees discuss personal background, social and economic conditions among the African American residents of Sweet Auburn, recollections of the riot of 1906, the fire of 1917, the Depression, the Butler Street Urban Renewal Project (1950s), cross-town migration, and the civil rights movement. The collection also contains information regarding research and preparation for the grant project.
Series
- I. Cassette Tapes.
- II. [Project preparation materials and student publications]
- III. Transcripts
The collection remains in original order.
Provenance
The Sweet Auburn Neighborhood Project was given to the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African-American Culture and History in September, 1993 by Dr. Levefer.
Separated Material
This collection also contained the following issues of the Atlanta Daily World.
- June 18, 1976
- August 13, 1978 (50th Anniversary Issue)
- June 17, 1979
These issues have been transferred to the Auburn Avenue Research Library Archives Division Rare Newspapers and Periodicals Collection. These papers are also available on microfilm in the Reference Division.
Physical Description
genreform: cassette
Processing Information
Processed by VDH June 1994
- African Americans--Georgia--Economic conditions.
- African Americans--Georgia--Social conditions.
- Atlanta (Ga.)--Race relations.
- Atlanta (Ga.)--Social life and customs.
- Auburn Avenue Neighborhood (Atlanta, Ga.)
- Civil rights movements--Georgia.
- Depressions, 1929--Georgia.
- Fires--Georgia--Atlanta.
- Oral histories (literary works)
- Riots--Georgia--Atlanta.
- Sound recordings
- Urban-rural migration -- Georgia -- Atlanta
- Title
- Inventory of the Sweet Auburn Neighborhood Project Oral History Interviews aarl93-002 aarl93-002
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Finding aid prepared by Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History
- Date
- 2004 September 15
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African-American Culture and History Repository