Created by

Civil Rights History Project, American, founded 2009

Interview of

Bassett, Emmett W. Ph. D., American, 1921 - 2013

Tietjen Bassett, Priscilla, American, born 1928

Interviewed by

Mosnier, Joseph Ph. D.

Subject of

Smith College, American, founded 1871

Tuskegee Institute, American, founded 1881

Carver, George Washington, American, 1860s - 1943

Till, Emmett, American, 1941 - 1955

Till-Mobley, Mamie, American, 1921 - 2003

March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, American, founded 1963

Medium

digital

Dimensions

Duration: 02:10:53

Type

video recordings

oral histories

digital media - born digital

Place collected

Grahamsville, Sullivan County, New York, United States, North and Central America

Place depicted

Plainfield, Union County, New Jersey, United States, North and Central America

Henry County, Virginia, United States, North and Central America

New York, United States, North and Central America

Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America

Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America

Date

July 21, 2011

Description

The oral history consists of ten digital files: 2011.174.38.1a, 2011.174.38.1b, 2011.174.38.1c, 2011.174.38.1d, 2011.174.38.1e, 2011.174.38.1f, 2011.174.38.1g, 2011.174.38.1h, 2011.174.38.1i, and 2011.174.38.1j.

Priscilla Tietjen Bassett recalls growing up in Plainfield, New Jersey, and attending Smith College, and Emmett W. Bassett, Ph. D. remembers growing up in Henry County, Virginia, serving in World War II, and attending Tuskegee Institute, where he assisted George Washington Carver with research. They tell how they met at a protest of a segregated restaurant in Massachusetts, raising money for Emmett Till's mother, their involvement in many civil rights groups in New York, and attending the March on Washington. They also discuss Dr. Bassett’s career as a professor of dairy science, Mrs. Bassett's career as a librarian, and their struggles as an interracial married couple.

LOC ID: afc2010039_crhp0038

Topic

African American

Activism

Agriculture

American South

Civil rights

Domestic life

Education

Families

Labor

Race relations

Science

Segregation

Social reform

United States--History--1953-1961

World War II

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in partnership with the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Object number

2011.174.38.1a-j

Restrictions & Rights

© Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture and The American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

See more items in

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Collection title

Civil Rights History Project

Classification

Media Arts-Film and Video

Data Source

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Created by

Civil Rights History Project, American, founded 2009

Interview of

Simmons, Gwendolyn Zoharah Ph.D., American, born 1944

Interviewed by

Mosnier, Joseph Ph. D.

Subject of

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, American, 1960 - 1970s

Spelman College, American, founded 1881

Mississippi Freedom Schools, American, founded 1964

Mississippi Freedom Summer Project, American, founded 1964

American Friends Service Committee, American, founded 1917

Federal Bureau of Investigation, American, founded 1908

COINTELPRO, American, 1956 - 1971

Medium

digital

Dimensions

Duration: 01:37:29

Type

video recordings

oral histories

digital media - born digital

Place collected

Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida, United States, North and Central America

Place depicted

Laurel, Jones County, Mississippi, United States, North and Central America

New York, United States, North and Central America

Date

September 14, 2011

Description

The oral history consists of five digital files: 2011.174.49.1a, 2011.174.49.1b, 2011.174.49.1c, 2011.174.49.1d, and 2011.174.49.1e.

Gwendolyn Simmons, Ph.D. recalls joining the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) while a student at Spelman College. She remembers directing SNCC's voter registration and Freedom School, called the Freedom Summer Project in Laurel, Mississippi. She discusses learning about Black Nationalism in New York, the decision in SNCC to expel white members, and her work with the American Friends Service Committee's Program on Government Surveillance and Citizens' Rights to interview members of organizations investigated by the FBI's Counterintelligence Program (COINTELPRO).

LOC ID: afc2010039_crhp0049

Topic

African American

Activism

American South

Associations and institutions

Civil rights

Education

Race relations

Social reform

Suffrage

United States--History--1961-1969

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in partnership with the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Object number

2011.174.49.1a-e

Restrictions & Rights

© Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture and The American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

See more items in

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Collection title

Civil Rights History Project

Classification

Media Arts-Film and Video

Data Source

National Museum of African American History and Culture