The Civil Rights History Project: Survey of Collections and Repositories

[Truman Library oral history interviews]

Repository: Harry S. Truman Library and Museum

Collection Description (CRHP): Interviews of interest include those with Eleanor Bontecou (attorney, U.S. Dept of Justice, Civil Rights) in 1973, William H. Hastie (governor and judge) in 1972, and Philleo Nash (adviser to Truman on minority issues) between 1966 and 1969. 5 minutes of taped audio of these interviews has been retained; transcripts are available online. Other interviewees that mention civil rights are located at http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/civilrights.htm#oh for those that mention the desegregation of the Armed Forces see http://www.trumanlibrary.org/deseg.htm#oh

Collection Description (Extant): The Truman Library has approximately 500 interviews supplementing the written record of Harry S. Truman's life and times. The interviews are available in transcript form and range in length from fewer than 10 to over 1,000 pages, with most being between 20 and 200 pages. Most of the interviews include a name and subject index attached to the transcript. There is a cumulative index for the entire oral history collection available in the research room at the Library.
The list [on the collection's home page] gives the name of the person interviewed, his or her principal positions, and the number of pages in the transcript. This list does not include information about specific copyright or donor restrictions. This information is included with the individual interview transcripts. Interviews that were conducted by an oral history program other than the Library's are properly accredited.

Access Copy Note: Researchers may obtain through interlibrary loan only those oral histories that are not available online. Transcripts are available online at the collection URL.

Collection URL: http://www.trumanlibrary.org/oralhist/oral_his.htm

Date(s): 1962-1988

Digital Status: Partial

Extent: approximately 500 interviews

Language: English

Related Archival Items: See the subject guides on civil rights and desegregation of the armed forces at the Truman Library. The Philleo Nash Papers are held by the Truman Library, as are papers relevant to the desegregation of the armed forces.

Interviewees: John E. Barriere, David E. Bell, Andrew J. Biemiller, Kenneth M. Birkhead, Eleanor Bontecou, Samuel C. Brightman, Oliver Carter, Ewan Clague, Tom C. Clark, Bruce Clarke, Clark M. Clifford, Matthew J. Connelly, Jonathan Daniels, C. Gerard Davidson, Robert L. Dennison, John S. Dickey, India Edwards, George M. Elsey, Oscar R. Ewing, Joseph G. Feeney, Stanley R. Fike, Edward T. Folliard, Martin L. Friedman, Monroe Friedman, Durward W. Gilmore, William Hastie, Ken Hechler, Randall Jessee, Walter H. Judd, Carleton Kent, E.W. Kenworthy, Milton S. Kronheim, Sr., Marx Leva, Gould Lincoln, James I. Loeb, Katie Louchheim, H. Graham Morison, Charles S. Murphy, Philleo Nash, Robert G. Nixon, Neale Roach, John W. Snyder, Stephen J. Spingarn, Isaac Stokes, J. William Theis, J. C. Turner, Harry H. Vaughan, Earl Warren

Rights (CRHP): Contact the repository which holds the collection for information on rights

Subjects:

African American judges
African American lawyers
African American politicians
Civil rights--Cases
Discrimination in employment
Discrimination in the military
Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945
Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972
United States. Committee on Fair Employment Practice
United States. Committee on Government Contract Compliance

Genres:

Interviews
Transcripts