Oral History Project Information
You all will be working in pairs to conduct a collaborative research project about the City of Newark. This project will provide you with hands-on, original research experiences and connect you with residents of the community in which this institution is embedded. The stories of community residents are tremendously important to an understanding of the history of a city. You will collect oral histories in order to document the experiences of Newark residents as they relate to racial and ethnic inequalities in housing and neighborhood development in the City of Newark. We are primarily interested in the stories of individuals who have spent a significant portion of their lives residing in Newark—people who can testify to local history, on the level of memories about day-to-day lived experience. We are partnering with the Newark Public Library to create an archive of sound recordings documenting life in Newark since the early 20th century. Your oral histories will be the first to be included in this archive. We will have a wonderful program at the Newark Public Library on May 2nd at 6pm where you will give your final presentations that will include the oral histories, the photographs, map, and narrative (originally scheduled for April 25th and 30th in class). You can invite anyone you like (and I encourage you to invite everyone! ), but at a minimum, you MUST invite the narrator from whom you collect an oral history.
You will be exploring residents’ lives using the same three lenses we focus on in the course (exclusion, confinement and transformation) in order to illuminate the uneven development of Newark and how it has affected Newark’s diverse, but predominately African-American residents. One third of the class will focus on “Exclusion”, another third on “Confinement,” and the last third on “Transformation.” As part of this project you will each be conducting one oral history. This means that your final group project will include 2 oral histories in total. The following are the research questions that you will be answering for the narrative portion of your project and these will guide your interviews. Consider the questions you can ask that will bring out the life story as it relates to your particular topic. Take note of the age criteria for your topic.
Exclusion: What is the current racial and ethnic composition of Newark? What is the history of segregation in Newark? How did Newark become so racially segregated? What are the experiences of those who migrated to the city from the South? Where could people live? What was the city like following the Great Migration? What were the joys? The challenges?
The groups exploring the notion of exclusion will be talking to residents born Version 1- 2.12.18 1
before 1940 (currently 78 years old or older). These residents were at least 10 years old during the first and second great migrations from the South (1910-1930 and 1940-1950).
Confinement: Provide data on Newark’s current poverty, unemployment, crime, homeownership rates and the educational attainment of its residents. Connect this data to what you’ve learned about the development of US “ghettos” and cities. What was it like to be a young person, trying to make a life for her/himself in a city becoming increasingly violent with limited opportunities?
The groups exploring the notion of confinement will be talking to residents born during two different periods. One group member in each group will interview someone born between 1950-1970 (currently 48-86 years old). This resident was between 20-30 years old between 1970-1990. The other group member will interview someone born between 1971-1991 (currently 27-47 years old). This resident was between 20-30 years old between 1991-2001. These represent significant moments in Newark’s history, when it became even more segregated, primarily African-American, with African-American leaders running the city. The city also became even further economically depressed as it struggled to recover from the 1967 uprising.
Transformation: Explain what led up to the Newark uprising in 1967. You may also include what led up to the Puerto Rican uprising in 1974. What was happening in Newark? What were the causes of these uprisings? What were the results? How did they affect Newark’s residents?
The groups exploring the notion of transformation will be talking to residents born during two different periods. One group member in each group will interview someone born between 1937-1949 (currently 69-81 years old). This resident was between 18-30 years old during the 1967 uprising and 25-37 during the Puerto Rican uprising in 1974, which is what this interview will be designed to understand.
What work are people doing today in Newark related to racial and economic justice? Are there changes taking place in the city? How are they being experienced by its residents? How do these changes relate to what’s going on in the country and the world? What are the hopes for the future of the city?
The other group member will interview someone born between 1990-2000 (currently 18-28 years old). This interview will be focused on gentrification and contemporary social movements based upon racial and economic justice.
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In Additional Course Documents, you will find a folder containing what you need to complete the project. You will see that I have adapted six of the original documents that were in this folder. Please read these documents in the following order:
1. “1.4 Starecheski A Brief Lesson_BdlP”
2. “1.6WhatWe’reInterestedIn_BdlPadaptation”
3. “1.5SelectingaNarrator_BdlPadaptation”
4. “1.8WritinganOralHistoryInterviewGuide_BdlPadaptation”
5. “BiographicalInfoSheet”
6. “How-toGuide-interviewquestions”
7. “1.9DCOHCInvitationLetterTemplate_BdlPadaptation”
8. “2.1MovesofanInterviewer_BdlP”
9. “3.1TheStepsofanInterview_BdlP”
10.“4.1 After the Interview by de la Piedra_BdlP adaptation” 11.“A-Practical-Guide-to-Oral-History_march2014- Notes on Interviewing” 12.“1.7 DCOHC Legal Release Form_BdlP adaptation”
13. “4.4_Roi Barnard Metadata and Index by Judy Waxman_BdlP”
14.“4.2 Blank DCOHC Metadata Form_BdlP”
15. A-Practical-Guide-to-Oral-History_march2014resources
When you have read through the documents, please follow the following steps using the appropriate corresponding documents that you read above:
1. SelectanarratorbyFeb.21st.
2. Write an Oral History Interview Guide based upon above document that
includes the following:
a. Pre-Interview Research (including the Biographical Information Sheet) b. Pre-InterviewCorrespondencewithNarrator
c. Interview Outline
a. Submit Oral History Interview Guide by March 7th.
3. Collectoralhistorywithnarrator(remembertotakephotograph!)byApril4th.
4. Complete“AftertheInterview”steps:
1. Upload interview recording and share with narrator.
2. Check in with narrator to confirm that she/he/they have listened to the
recording.
3. Get signed release form.
4. Indexortranscribetheinterview.
e. Audio,transcriptandreleaseformsdueApril30th
5. Consider how to incorporate your narrator into your presentations.