Top of page

Category: Oral History

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Q & A with Journalist Vern Smith on the Voices of Civil Rights Project Collection

Posted by: Kate Stewart

Two weeks ago, Beth Domingo of AARP’s Life Reimagined Institute and journalist Vern Smith came to the American Folklife Center to talk with us about their work on the Voices of Civil Rights project (AFC 2005/015), sponsored by AARP and donated to the Library of Congress in 2005, and to hear about our recent work …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

“Today Was Tough–But I Took It”

Posted by: Megan Harris

During February and March 2015, the Veterans History Project will be running a series of blog posts discussing correspondence collections. The following is a guest post by Digital Conversion Specialist Matt McCrady. Many of the young men drafted into service in World War II arrived at boot camp at the height of physical fitness, fresh …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Recognizing African-American Veterans This Month and All Other Months Too

Posted by: Lisa Taylor

As a native Washingtonian, I grew up in a predominantly African American community and proudly attended D.C. Public Schools, where Black History was taught as a regular part of the curriculum, and not just during February. As far as my elementary school music teacher was concerned, “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” also known as “The …