Black Women at Virginia Tech Oral History Project Records
Scope and Content
The Black Women at Virginia Tech Oral History Project Records include interviews focused on the entry experience of the individual into the Virginia Tech community and the interviewees' perceptions of the climate and attitudes within the university community, particularly as pertains to race and gender. The collection includes audiocassette tapes, DAT tapes, floppy disks, and transcripts of interviews with some of the first Black women students at Virginia Tech (Jacquelyn Butler Blackwell, Marguerite Harper Scott, and Linda Edmunds Turner); Marva Felder Davis, first Black homecoming queen; Cheryl Butler McDonald, first Black woman in the Corps of Cadets; and Elaine Dowe Carter, catalyst of the project and doctoral candidate at Virginia Tech. Interviews were conducted by Carter and Tamara Kennelly, University Archivist.
Some materials include copies of items from interviewees' times at Virginia Tech, originally dating to the 1960s through 1980s.
Transcripts of interviews with students and with two staff members (Cora McDaniel Pack and Rhonda Miller Rogers) are also available in the collection.
Dates
- ca. 1967-2000
- Majority of material found within ( 1994-2000)
Creator
- Blackwell, Jacquelyn Butler (Interviewee, Person)
- Carter, Elaine D. (Interviewee, Person)
- Carter, Elaine D. (Interviewer, Person)
- Davis, Marva Lajeune Felder Carter (Interviewee, Person)
- Fulcher, Victoria (Interviewee, Person)
- Gowens, Cynthia (Interviewee, Person)
- Higgins, LaVerna (Fredi) Hairston (Interviewee, Person)
- Holmes, Michele (Interviewee, Person)
- Hoyle, Linda Paulette Adams (Interviewee, Person)
- Kennelly, Tamara (Interviewer, Person)
- King, Loretta (Interviewee, Person)
- MacDonald, Cheryl Butler (Interviewee, Person)
- Pack, Cora McDamel (Interviewee, Person)
- Rogers, Rhonda Miller (Interviewee, Person)
- Roy, Lucinda (Interviewee, Person)
- Scott, Marguerite Harper (Interviewee, Person)
- Turner, Linda Edmonds (Interviewee, Person)
Language of Materials
The materials in the collection are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
The majority of the collection is open for research. Restrictions on access to specific items are noted at the item level in the inventory.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.
Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.
Administrative History
The Black Women at Virginia Tech Oral History Project was a multi-phase research and educational collaborative program of the Virginia Tech University Libraries and the Women's Center at Virginia Tech. The project involved the identification of the first Black women students, staff, and faculty at Virginia Tech and the collection of their oral history narratives.
Extent
0.8 Cubic Feet (4 boxes)
Abstract
The Black Women at Virginia Tech Oral History Project was a multi-phase research and educational collaborative program of the Virginia Tech University Libraries and the Women's Center at Virginia Tech. The collection includes audiocassette tapes, DAT tapes, floppy disks, background and biographical information, and transcripts of interviews with some of the first Black female students and employees at Virginia Tech. The interviews focus on the entry experience of the individual into the Virginia Tech community and the interviewees' perceptions of the climate and attitudes within the university community, particularly as pertains to race and gender.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged alphabetically by interviewee's surname, with project documentation at the beginning.
Technical Access
Equipment is required and available to listen to available audio recordings. Equipment is required to access computer disks, which may not be available.
Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated to Special Collections and University Archives in several accruals beginning in 1995.
Existence and Location of Copies
Several of the interviews in this collection have been digitized and are available online with transcripts. Links to individual interviews are included at the item level in the inventory.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
The guide to the Black Women at Virginia Tech Oral History Project Records by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/).
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement, and description of the collection was completed in 2001. Additional materials were integrated and description updated in June 2023.
- Title
- Black Women at Virginia Tech Oral History Project Records, ca. 1967-2000 (bulk 1994-2000)
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Laura Katz Smith, Manuscripts Curator; LM Rozema, Archivist; and Ren Harman, Oral History Projects Archivist
- Date
- 2001, 2023 (CC0 1.0)
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg Virginia 24061 US
540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu