The Civil Rights History Project: Survey of Collections and Repositories

St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church oral history project interviews

Repository: Western Reserve Historical Society

Collection Description (Extant): The St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church Oral History Project Interviews was a venture of the church membership to conduct and transcribe oral history interviews with current and former members of the church. It also included residents of the Fairfax community. It was sponsored by the church's Sadie J. Anderson Missionary Society and was funded in part by the Ohio Humanities Council. The goals of the project were to examine the role of the family and elderly in the African American community, the place of the church in the community and family life, and the function of the community over time. Forty-one men and women participated in the interview process. A public conference was held in 1986 as part of the project.

Consists of transcripts of interviews conducted with individuals who were or had been members of the congregation of St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church, Cleveland, Ohio, and/or residents of the Fairfax area; a final report on the project; publications; and newspaper clippings. Audio tapes of the interviews are maintained in the Library's Audio/Visual collection.

Date(s): 1986-1987

Existing IDs: MS. 4536

Extent: 1 linear ft.

Finding Aid: Register available in the library.

Language: English

Related Archival Items: In this repository, see also "St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church, Sadie J. Anderson Missionary Society photographs, 1930-1987."

Interviewees: Hazel Barnett, Ken Blackburn, Ruby Clay, Bertha Cowan, Marie Crawford, Billie Cunningham, Geraldine Daniel, Willie T. Daniel, Carrie T. Davenport, Marjorie Isom Davis, Catherine Fisher, Lillian Adkins Fitch, Lucille Francis, Margie Glass, Mary Harris, Bertha Holt, Sallie Hopson, Alberta Hornsby, Marjorie Witt Johnson, Annie Jones, Belle Jones, Natalie Middleton, Naomi Morgan, William H. Murdock, Louise Oglesby, Louise Pattengall, Inez L. Patterson, Henry Pointer, Geneva Robinson, Roy Roseboro, Bruce R. Sharpe, Ella Mae Sharpe, Gwen Smith, Murtis Howard Taylor, Emma Thomas, Carrie Turner, Vivian Plassic White, Amanda Wicker, Gwendolyn Stokes Williams, Mary Williams, Ethel Woodward, Mary Blue Wynne, Cornelius Young

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

Subjects:

African American churches--Ohio
African Americans--Ohio
African Methodist Episcopal Church
Civil rights--Religious aspects--Christianity
Rural-urban migration

Genres:

Interviews
Photographs
Sound recordings
Transcripts