Film, Video Dorothy Foreman Cotton oral history interview conducted by Joseph Mosnier in Ithaca, New York,

More Resources

View 45 images in sequence.
[ 1 transcript ]
Transcript: PDF  |  XML

About this Item

Title
Dorothy Foreman Cotton oral history interview conducted by Joseph Mosnier in Ithaca, New York,
Summary
Dorothy Foreman Cotton discusses growing up in rural North Carolina, attending Shaw University and Virginia State College, working as a housekeeper for the president of these colleges, Dr. Robert Prentiss Daniel, and meeting her husband, George Cotton. She discusses attending the Gillfield Baptist Church in Petersburg, Virginia, working with pastor Wyatt T. Walker on organizing civil rights protests and meetings, and meeting Martin Luther King, Jr. She moved to Atlanta to assist Walker in his work with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, where she became Director of Education for the organization. At the Highlander Folk School, she met Septima Clark and Esau Jenkins and led the Citizenship Education Program. She also discusses the impact of King's assassination on the movement and the philosophy of nonviolence.
Contributor Names
Cotton, Dorothy F., 1930-2018, interviewee.
Mosnier, Joseph, interviewer.
Civil Rights History Project (U.S.)
Created / Published
2011.
Subject Headings
-  Abernathy, Ralph,--1926-1990
-  Clark, Septima Poinsette,--1898-1987
-  Cotton, Dorothy F.,--1930-2018--Interviews
-  Daniel, Robert Prentiss,--1902-1968
-  Jenkins, Esau,--1910-1972
-  King, Martin Luther,--Jr.,--1929-1968
-  Walker, Wyatt Tee
-  Young, Andrew,--1932
-  Citizenship Education Program
-  Southern Christian Leadership Conference
-  African American civil rights workers.--Interviews
-  African American college students--Interviews
-  Civil rights movements--United States--Songs and music
-  Civil rights movements--United States
-  Voter registration--Georgia
-  Ithaca (N.Y.)--event place
Genre
Filmed Interviews
Interviews
Oral histories
Notes
-  Recorded in Ithaca, New York, on July 25, 2011.
-  Civil Rights History Project Collection (AFC 2010/039), Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
-  Copies of items are also held at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (U.S.).
-  Dorothy Cotton was born in 1930 in Goldsboro, North Carolina and married George Junius Cotton in 1955. She attended Shaw University, Virginia State College, and Boston University. She worked as a civil rights worker, leader, and educator.
-  The Civil Rights History Project is a joint project of the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African American History and Culture to collect video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials of individuals who participated in the Civil Rights movement.
-  In English.
-  Finding aid http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/eadafc.af013005
Medium
1 transcript (66 pages).
8 video files of 8 (HD, Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (133 min.) : digital, sound, color.
Source Collection
Civil Rights History Project collection AFC 2010/039: XXXX
Repository
Library of Congress Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, DC USA 20540-4610 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.home
Library of Congress Control Number
2015669139
Access Advisory
Collection is open for research. Access to recordings may be restricted. To request materials, please contact the Folklife Reading Room at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.contact
Online Format
image
online text
video
Description
Dorothy Foreman Cotton discusses growing up in rural North Carolina, attending Shaw University and Virginia State College, working as a housekeeper for the president of these colleges, Dr. Robert Prentiss Daniel, and meeting her husband, George Cotton. She discusses attending the Gillfield Baptist Church in Petersburg, Virginia, working with pastor Wyatt T. Walker on organizing civil rights protests and meetings, and meeting Martin Luther King, Jr. She moved to Atlanta to assist Walker in his work with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, where she became Director of Education for the organization. At the Highlander Folk School, she met Septima Clark and Esau Jenkins and led the Citizenship Education Program. She also discusses the impact of King's assassination on the movement and the philosophy of nonviolence.
LCCN Permalink
https://lccn.loc.gov/2015669139
Additional Metadata Formats
MARCXML Record
MODS Record
Dublin Core Record
IIIF Presentation Manifest
Manifest (JSON/LD)

Rights & Access

The individuals documented in these collection items retain copyright and related rights to the use of their recorded and written testimonies and memories.  They have granted the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution permission to provide access to their interviews and related materials for purposes that are consistent with each agency’s educational mission, such as publication and transmission, in whole or in part, on the Web. Their written permission is required for commercial, profit-making distribution, reproduction, or other use beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. See our Legal Notices and Privacy and Publicity Rights for additional information and restrictions.

The American Folklife Center, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and the professional fieldworkers who carry out these projects feel a strong ethical responsibility to the people they have visited and who have consented to have their lives documented for the historical record. The Center asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here. Researchers are also reminded that privacy and publicity rights may pertain to certain uses of this material.

Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these collection materials should contact the Folklife Reading Room for assistance. 

Credit Line

Civil Rights History Project collection (AFC 2010/039), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Cotton, Dorothy F., Interviewee, Joseph Mosnier, and U.S Civil Rights History Project. Dorothy Foreman Cotton oral history interview conducted by Joseph Mosnier in Ithaca, New York. 2011. Video. https://www.loc.gov/item/2015669139/.

APA citation style:

Cotton, D. F., Mosnier, J. & Civil Rights History Project, U. S. (2011) Dorothy Foreman Cotton oral history interview conducted by Joseph Mosnier in Ithaca, New York. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2015669139/.

MLA citation style:

Cotton, Dorothy F., Interviewee, Joseph Mosnier, and U.S Civil Rights History Project. Dorothy Foreman Cotton oral history interview conducted by Joseph Mosnier in Ithaca, New York. 2011. Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2015669139/>.