The Civil Rights History Project: Survey of Collections and Repositories

Oral history collection of the American Lutheran Church, Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, and Lutheran Church in America

Repository: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Archives

Collection Description (CRHP): Seventy people, including African American bishops, pastors, and laypersons, were interviewed between 1983 and 1986. The following interviews treat civil rights action and philosophy directly: William S. Ellis (layman and attorney); Will L. Herzfeld (AELC clergyman, church body executive); Margaret B. Wold (laywoman (ALC), church body executive, educator); Louis A. Routte (clergyman (ALC), pastor); Nelson W. Trout (clergyman (ALC), district president).

Collection Description (Extant): The oral history project documenting the individual histories of the merging churches that formed the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was conceived to preserve the reflections of some of the leaders of The American Lutheran Church, Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, and Lutheran Church in America.

Collection URL: http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/History/ELCA-Archives/Oral-Histories.aspx

Date(s): 1960-1986

Digital Status: Partial

Extent: 70 interviews (audio cassette recordings, transcripts)

Language: English

Interviewees: William S. Ellis, Will L. Herzfeld, Margaret B. Wold, Louis A. Routte, Nelson W. Trout

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

Subjects:

African American clergy
City clergy
Civil rights--Religious aspects--Christianity
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Liberation theology
Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Genres:

Interviews
Sound recordings
Transcripts