Created by
Civil Rights History Project, American, founded 2009
Interview of
Foreman Cotton, Dorothy, American, born 1930
Interviewed by
Mosnier, Joseph Ph. D.
Subject of
Shaw University, American, founded 1865
Virginia State University, American, founded 1882
Dr. Daniel, Robert Prentiss, American, 1902 - 1968
Cotton, George J., American
Gillfield Baptist Church, American, founded 1797
Rev. Dr. Walker, Wyatt Tee, American, 1929 - 2018
Dr. King, Martin Luther Jr., American, 1929 - 1968
Southern Christian Leadership Conference, American, founded 1957
Highlander Folk School, American
Clark, Septima Poinsette, American, 1898 - 1987
Jenkins, Esau, American, 1910 - 1972
Citizenship Education Program, American, founded 1954
Date
July 25, 2011
Medium
digital
Dimensions
Duration: 2 hr., 12 min., 39 sec.
Total: 220.89 GB
Description
The oral history consists of eight digital files: 2011.174.40.1a, 2011.174.40.1b, 2011.174.40.1c, 2011.174.40.1d, 2011.174.40.1e, 2011.174.40.1f, 2011.174.40.1g, and 2011.174.40.1h.
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 Tee 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.
LOC ID: afc2010039_crhp0040
Place collected
Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York, United States, North and Central America
Place depicted
North Carolina, United States, North and Central America
Petersburg, Virginia, United States, North and Central America
Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America
Collection title
Civil Rights History Project
Classification
Media Arts-Film and Video
Movement
Civil Rights Movement
Type
video recordings
oral histories
digital media - born digital
Topic
Activism
American South
Associations and institutions
Baptist
Civil rights
Education
HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)
Labor
Religion
Social reform
U.S. 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
2011.174.40.1a-h
Restrictions & Rights
© Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture and The American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5720364de-f2fa-48eb-8491-83d8367b25d0

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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