Film, Video Walter Tillow oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Louisville, Kentucky, 2013 June 21.

More Resources

View 44 images in sequence.
[ 1 transcript ]
Transcript: PDF  |  XML

About this Item

Title
Walter Tillow oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Louisville, Kentucky, 2013 June 21.
Summary
Walter Tillow discusses how he joined the Civil Rights Movement as a college student and how that led him into labor and leftist movements. He describes his childhood in New York City and the leftist politics of his parents, as well as how he learned about the Movement as a college student at Harpur College and as a graduate student at Cornell University. In 1963 he joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and moved to Fayette County, Georgia where he worked on voter registration drives. He later worked in the SNCC communication office in Atlanta. He describes in detail the movement for the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. In 1965 he left the Movement to work for the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) and he later worked for the Communist Party.
Contributor Names
Tillow, Walter M., 1940- interviewee.
Cline, David P., 1969- interviewer.
Civil Rights History Project (U.S.)
Created / Published
2013.
Subject Headings
-  Tillow, Walter M.,--1940---Interviews
-  Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
-  Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (U.S.)
-  Civil rights movements--Mississippi
-  Civil rights movements--United States
-  Civil rights workers--United States--Interviews
-  Communists--United States--Interviews
-  Voter registration--Georgia
Genre
Filmed Interviews
Interviews
Oral histories
Video recordings
Notes
-  Recorded in Louisville, Kentucky on June 21, 2013.
-  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.).
-  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.
-  Walter Tillow was a civil rights activist with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). He was also a labor organizer for the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), an anti-war activist, and member of the Communist Party.
-  In English.
-  Finding aid http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/eadafc.af013005
Medium
7 video files of 7 (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (108 min.) : digital, sound, color.
1 transcript (59 pages).
Source Collection
Civil Rights History Project collection AFC 2010/039: 0092
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
Digital Id
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/afc2010039.afc2010039_crhp0092
afc2010039text.afc2010039_crhp0092_TillowW_transcript
Library of Congress Control Number
2015669191
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
Language
English
Online Format
online text
image
pdf
video
Description
Walter Tillow discusses how he joined the Civil Rights Movement as a college student and how that led him into labor and leftist movements. He describes his childhood in New York City and the leftist politics of his parents, as well as how he learned about the Movement as a college student at Harpur College and as a graduate student at Cornell University. In 1963 he joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and moved to Fayette County, Georgia where he worked on voter registration drives. He later worked in the SNCC communication office in Atlanta. He describes in detail the movement for the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. In 1965 he left the Movement to work for the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) and he later worked for the Communist Party.
LCCN Permalink
https://lccn.loc.gov/2015669191
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:

Tillow, Walter M., Interviewee, David P Cline, and U.S Civil Rights History Project. Walter Tillow oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Louisville, Kentucky. 2013. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2015669191/.

APA citation style:

Tillow, W. M., Cline, D. P. & Civil Rights History Project, U. S. (2013) Walter Tillow oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Louisville, Kentucky. [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2015669191/.

MLA citation style:

Tillow, Walter M., Interviewee, David P Cline, and U.S Civil Rights History Project. Walter Tillow oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Louisville, Kentucky. 2013. Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2015669191/>.

More Films, Videos like this