Created by
National Museum of African American History and Culture, American, founded 2003
Interview of
Wright, Franklin I., American, 1937 - 2020
Interviewed by
Navies, Kelly Elaine, American
Subject of
Wright, Ira Samuel, American, 1902 - 1981
Bowie State University, founded 1865
Wright Brothers Quartet
Date
2012
Medium
digital
Dimensions
Duration (a): 1 hr., 19 min., 57 sec.
File size (a): 807 MB
Duration (b): 5 min., 29 sec.
File size (b): 55.4 MB
Description
Two unedited audio files for an oral history interview with Frank Wright. The files are held in Waveform Audio File Format (WAVE) (.wav).
Mr. Frank Wright was interviewed by Kelly Elaine Navies on August 19th, 2012, at his daughter’s home in Hebron, Maryland. At the time of the interview, Mr. Wright was 75 years old. The purpose of the interview was to record Mr. Wright’s memories of being a third-generation waterman on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
The interview begins with Mr. Wright recounting his earliest memories of going out on the oyster boat with his father, Ira Wright. He recalls how he learned to cull, and later, to tong oysters, and he describes a typical day working on the water. He discusses the close-knit community of African American watermen and remembers how they helped each other on and off the water. Mr. Wright also talks about the various activities his family was involved in beyond oystering, such as crabbing, fishing, farming, and operating a general store. He explains how his mother ran the general store and maintained the household, and he shares how she encouraged him to become a teacher. Toward the end of the interview, he talks about his work as a schoolteacher, and later, a store owner. In conclusion, Mr. Wright reflects on what he hopes Museum visitors remember about his family and their work as watermen.
Place collected
Hebron, Wicomico County, Maryland, United States, North and Central America
Classification
Time-based Media - Audio
Type
sound recordings
wave (format)
digital media - born digital
Topic
Black Enterprise
Business
Foodways
Labor
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2024.61.1.2ab
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5ec8058b5-277c-404f-90d2-1b63d9e2e044

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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