- Created by
- National Museum of African American History and Culture, American, founded 2003
- Interview of
- Thurman, Hy, American, born 1950
- Interviewed by
- Steiner, Marc B., American, born 1946
- Recorded by
- Moir, Kim, American
- Subject of
- Poor People's Campaign, American, 1967 - 1968
- Hampton, Fred, American, 1948 - 1969
- Black Panther Party, American, 1966 - 1982
- Date
- December 28, 2017
- Medium
- digital
- Dimensions
- Duration: 01:43:26
- 25.71 GB
- Description
- An oral history consisting of a single digital video recording (2018.78.7.1). It was collected as part of the Poor People’s Campaign Interviews.
- In this interview, Hy Thurman, one of the founding members of the Young Patriots, discusses his upbringing in Dayton, Tennessee; the work of the Young Patriots and the Original Rainbow Coalition in Chicago; his experience of the Poor People’s Campaign; and the relevance of the Campaign to contemporary organizers.
- Thurman begins the interview by discussing his early life in Dayton, TN, and reflecting on the racial and class dynamics of his upbringing. He then talks about how he moved to the Uptown neighborhood in Chicago at age 17 (1967), and he describes the police brutality and political corruption that plagued the community. Thurman then talks about how the Young Patriots were formed and discusses the formation of the Original Rainbow Coalition with the Young Lords and Black Panthers.
- Thurman then turns to a discussion of the Young Patriots’ involvement with the Poor People’s Campaign and his experience at Resurrection City in Washington, DC. He also reflects on the legacy of the Campaign and speaks about its relevance to contemporary activists and social movements. Thurman and the interviewer, Marc Steiner, then have a more open discussion about their involvement in the Young Patriots, and Thurman concludes the interview by discussing his work with the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program and by reading the poem, “Hillbilly Harlem” by William “Preacherman” Fesperman.
- Place collected
- Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
- Place depicted
- Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
- Collection title
- Poor People’s Campaign Oral Histories
- Classification
- Time-based Media - Moving Images
- Movement
- Civil Rights Movement
- African American - Latinx Solidarity
- Poor People's Campaign
- Type
- video recordings
- oral histories
- digital media - born digital
- Topic
- Activism
- Civil rights
- Humanitarianism
- Justice
- Labor
- Politics
- Poverty
- Race relations
- U.S. History, 1961-1969
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2018.78.7.1
- Restrictions & Rights
- © Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




