ARC-OH. Avery Research Center Oral History Collections

Abstract The Dart Library Oral History Project contains five oral histories documenting individuals' experiences of using the library at Dart Hall and attending dances in the second floor of the Hall. Participants also discuss family history, their memories of Jim Crow segregation in Charleston, and their professional careers. The oral history project was undertaken by the Avery Research Center as part of the 85th anniversary commemoration of the John L. Dart Library. The oral histories were...

Abstract The Borough Project collection, bulk: 1986-2002 (1937-2002), documents the history of the Ansonborough Homes, a public housing community commonly referred to as the Borough by residents, on the East Side of Charleston. The Borough Project was an effort undertaken by sisters, and long-time Borough residents, Catherine Braxton and Rebecca Campbell to preserve the history and memory of the community as part of the 2002 Spoleto Festival USA through oral histories with former Borough residents....

Abstract The Avery Research Center Midlands oral histories collection brings together individual oral history interviews conducted by Avery Research Center employees with people who are from the South Carolina Midlands or lived and worked in the Midlands while adults. A handful of oral histories that were donated to the Avery Research Center, but not conducted by Avery Research Center employees, are also included in this collection. A wide range of topics are discussed in these oral histories...

Abstract The Avery Institute of Afro-American History and Culture Oral History Project brings together oral history projects coordinated by the Avery Institute of Afro-American History and Culture (AIAAHC) as well as individual oral histories conducted by members of the Institute. The majority of the oral histories were done as a part of the Avery Normal Institute Oral History Project which sought to document the experiences and perceptions of former students, teachers, principals, and community...

Abstract The Avery Research Center Lowcountry oral histories collection brings together individual oral history interviews mostly conducted by Avery Research Center employees with people who are from the South Carolina Lowcountry or lived and worked in the Lowcountry while adults. A handful of oral histories that were donated to the Avery Research Center, but not conducted by Avery Research Center employees, are also included in this collection. A wide range of topics are discussed in these oral...

Abstract The Director's Cut Oral History Project is a series of six video oral history interviews recorded in 2025 with current and former living directors of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture. Participants discuss a wide variety of topics including their professional lives, what brought them to Avery, accomplishments and challenges from their tenure, the role the Avery Institute of Afro-American History and Culture and Averyites from the Avery Normal Institute played...

Abstract The Documenting the Arc Oral History Collection is a series of video oral history interviews conducted between fall 2021 and summer 2022 by Dr. Millicent Brown and Cedar Wolf Media using grant funds from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation. The interviews document the experiences of activists, organizers, artists, clergy, journalists, and other community members who were members or affiliates of Black Lives Matter Charleston (2014-2018) and other local grassroots organizations in...

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The Airbrush, Acrylic, and Acetylene Oral History Project contains three oral histories with three Charleston-area artists: Halim Abdul-Karim (jewelry designer), Elayna Shakur (visual artist), and Jafar Simmons (airbrush artist). The interviewees discuss their artistic practices, what brought them to the Charleston-area, why they decided to stay, and how they Lowcountry has impacted their artistic practices. The oral history project was conducted by Alada Shinault-Small in 1999.