Samuel Proctor Oral History Program

Samuel Proctor Oral History Program
Former names
University of Florida Oral History Program
Motto One community, many voices
Type Oral history program
Established 1967
Director Dr. Paul Ortíz
Location Gainesville, Florida, United States
Nickname SPOHP
Website http://oral.history.ufl.edu

The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program (SPOHP) is the official oral history program at the University of Florida. With over 6,500 interviews and more than 150,000 pages of transcribed material, it is one of the premier oral history programs in the United States. SPOHP's mission is "to gather, preserve, and promote living histories of individuals from all walks of life." The program involves staff, undergraduate and graduate students, and community volunteers in its operation.[1][2]

History

The program was founded by Dr. Samuel Proctor in 1967 as the University of Florida Oral History Program. Its original projects were collections centered around Florida history with the purpose of preserving eyewitness accounts of economic, social, political, religious and intellectual life in Florida and the South. Major projects focused on Native American, African American, military, and Florida county-specific history. Much of SPOHP’s early work was initiated by grants and support from the Doris Duke Foundation.[3][4]

Dr. Samuel Proctor, with a student at the University of Florida Oral History Program in 1980.

Dr. Samuel Proctor, the UF Oral History Program's original founder, was a prominent scholar of Florida history and a pioneer in the field of oral history in the United States. Dr. Proctor taught in the History Department at the University of Florida for fifty years, serving as the first official University of Florida Historian and Archivist and holding chairs as Distinguished Service Professor of History and Julian C. Yonge Professor of History. He was also the Director of the Center for Florida Studies and the History Curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History.[5][6]

Following Dr. Proctor's tenure, the directorship of the program was taken up by Dr. Julian Pleasants, who renamed the program in Proctor's honor and lead the program from 1996 to 2007. The program's current director is Dr. Paul Ortíz. Dr. Ortíz is an associate professor in the History Department and affiliated faculty with the Center For Latin American Studies and African American Studies Program who also currently serves as the President of the Oral History Association.[7][8]

Awards

In October 2013, the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program was recognized by the Oral History Association with the Stetson Kennedy Vox Populi ("Voice of the People") award for outstanding achievement in using oral history to create a more humane and just world.[9]

In April 2014, UF's Institute of Hispanic-Latino Cultures awarded SPOHP "Best Cultural Event" at the annual Noche de Gala ceremony for the production of the documentary, "Siempre Adelante: A Look at Faith and the Immigrant Struggle."[10]

In August 2015, the Society of American Archivists recognized the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program and its Latina/o Diaspora in the Americas Project with the 2015 Diversity Award, for demonstrating significant achievement in archival activism, education, outreach, and service, based on long-term impacts improving and promoting diversity.[11]

Field Research, Public Programs, and Education Initiatives

The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program strives to promote the thousands of oral narratives entrusted in its care, making existing and emerging collections accessible to a wide audience by uploading transcripts of interviews, maintaining digital archives, creating educational podcasts, and organizing public programs and events. SPOHP also produces a newsletter, featuring new research and student work, that is published each semester.[12][13][14]

SPOHP promotes the craft and intellectual traditions of oral history through university seminars, classes, and community-based workshops. SPOHP offers an internship class for 12-16 undergraduate students each semester, involving training in oral history practices and fieldwork experience, and also operates a program for volunteers on a rotating semester basis. The program consults on an ongoing basis with local historians, civic leaders, and educators across the country interested in initiating oral history projects in their towns and municipalities.[15][16][17][18]

SPOHP staff and AAHP coordinators at the "Civil Rights in the Sunshine State" Exhibit.

In November 2014, the Museum of Florida History in Tallahassee, Florida opened its first-ever civil rights exhibit, "Civil Rights in the Sunshine State," taking a frank look at African American history from the 19th through the 21st centuries.[19] SPOHP's African American History Project contributed oral history recordings and related materials to the exhibit, and Dr. Ortíz played a role in two successive civil rights panels hosted by the museum during Black History Month in February 2015.[20]

As of Spring 2015, over 60 original SPOHP podcasts are available to a global audience through the University of Florida Digital Collections and iTunes. These podcasts are created by staff, undergraduate and graduate students, and community volunteers with the intention of making oral histories shareable in an easy-to-access format. Most podcasts are under 15 minutes or less to facilitate easy access to local history for students, teachers, and the general public.[21]

BA/MA 4+1 Combined Degree Program

In October 2013, the UF History Department announced a new combined Bachelor's and Master's Degree Program in oral history. The program, open to students working in any field of modern history, is designed to train students in oral history practice to make history accessible to a broad audience and connect scholars and departments to their local communities. The track is open to students beginning in Spring 2014.[22]

Events and Public Programs

In the 2012-2013 school year, SPOHP hosted a variety of public events, including "Inside the Activists Studio: A Sit-in with Margaret Block," "Near Andersonville: Winslow Homer’s Civil War" with Dr. Peter Wood, "Rebels and Runaways: Slave Resistance in 19th Century Florida" with Dr. Larry Rivers,[23] "The Wonder of Their Voices: The 1946 Holocaust Interviews of Dr. David Boder" with Dr. Alan Rosen,[24] "The Feminine Mystique at 50/Madmen, Working Girls, and Desperate Housewives: Men, Women, and Marriage in 1963 and 2013" with Stephanie Coontz.[25][26]

In Fall 2013, SPOHP premiered the original documentary "Siempre Adelante: A Look at Faith and the Immigrant Struggle" on October 1, produced using interviews from the immigrant communities of Alachua County and Gainesville. It is SPOHP's third full-length documentary, featuring narratives of four immigrants from Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala who share the struggle of living undocumented in Alachua County, and have been supported by their faith in the face of fear and discrimination in the United States.[27] In connection with UF Libraries' Department of Special & Area Studies Collections, SPOHP celebrated the donation of Stetson Kennedy's personal papers to the University of Florida on October 22.[28] The all-day event concluded with an evening panel in Pugh Hall featuring FIU professor Marvin Dunn, folklorist Peggy Bulger, and sociologist Lucy Anne Hurston, niece of Zora Neale Hurston, in a discussion of Kennedy's legacy moderated by Ben Brotemarkle, with an introduction from UF First Lady Chris Machen.[29]

In Spring 2014, SPOHP hosted three public programs. On January 15, 2014, renowned documentary filmmaker Tia Lessin screened award-winning film, "Trouble the Water" and hosted a symposium event. Through "Trouble the Water," New Orleans residents Kimberly Rivers Roberts and her husband Scott documented the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina with their own original footage, as well as their struggle to recover in the following months.[30] On March 12, 2014, SPOHP hosted a presentation by Vietnam veteran and political activist Scott Camil, who discussed his involvement in the Gainesville Eight trials and the donation of personal papers and documents related to the event to SPOHP and UF.[31] Also on March 12, SPOHP organized a panel discussion with civil rights veterans to honor the 50th anniversary of the modern civil right movement in Florida. Students read excerpts from SPOHP’s African American History Project (AAHP), providing the audience with more stories of others involved in the movement.[32][33][34]

The National Endowment for the Humanities and American Library Association sponsor the 'Latino Americans: 500 Years of History' grant.

For the 2015–16 year, SPOHP will be organizing a series of public programs and events surrounding Latino history in Florida, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and American Library Association's "Latino Americans: 500 Years of History" $10,000 grant. Sarah McNamara, SPOHP alumna and PhD candidate in history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will coordinate the programming in connection with SPOHP's Latina/o Diaspora in the Americas Project.[35]

Fieldwork Research Trips

During the Fall 2014 semester, SPOHP took a hiatus from planning public programs to plan publications and research trips, including the Virginia Fieldwork in Folklore trip in October 2014, organized by graduate coordinator Jessica Taylor. Taylor organized the trip to bring student interns and staff to work as field researchers in eastern Virginia, recording interviews related to folklore, traditional crafts, and rural development with residents of Mathews and Middlesex Counties. The trip featured two oral history open houses in Virginia, a methods workshop, and an interdisciplinary panel open to the public with folklorists, historians and archaeologists from the Virginia Folklife Program, College of William & Mary, and Fairfield Foundation.[36][37][38]Virginia Folklife Program,[39] Also during the fall semester, staff and students attended the 48th annual Oral History Association meeting in Madison, Wisconsin.[40]

During the Spring 2015 semester, SPOHP continued field research trips, including the Appalachian Social Change Project in February 2015, organized by graduate coordinator Jessica Taylor. Taylor worked with Dr. Scott Huffard of Lees-McRae College to bring student interns and staff to work as field researchers in the Appalachian region of North Carolina, recording interviews about rural development, folk culture, and tourism.[41][42][43]

Additionally, Latina/o Diaspora in the Americas coordinator Génesis Lara organized the 11-day Documenting the Ethnic Studies Struggle Through Oral History fieldwork trip, taking place over spring break in collaboration with Prescott College. Student researchers on the trip will visit Tucson, Arizona to focus on discovering the importance of ethnic studies education in the United States. Working in collaboration with students and faculty from Prescott College, UC-Santa Barbara, and the University of New Mexico, and educators from the Tucson community, researchers will conduct oral history interviews and participate in workshops and panels. The trip sought to place University of Florida students and the Tucson community in conversation regarding their educational experiences and what role ethnic studies plays in students’ academic experiences.[44][45][46]

Mississippi Freedom Project

SPOHP’s annual research trip to the Mississippi Delta builds its Mississippi Freedom Project collection, which focuses on civil rights history in the state of Mississippi, and serves to place undergraduate and graduate researchers in a dynamic environment to gather hands-on experience and knowledge of progressive social movements. SPOHP has partnered with the Sunflower County Civil Rights Organization, a non-profit organization consisting of Sunflower County Civil Rights veterans, as well as the Sunflower County Freedom Project, McComb Legacies Project, and Teaching for Change.[47] The sixth annual research trip, in September 2013, was featured on the social justice network Groundswell.org.[48][49]

In Summer 2013, UF's George A. Smathers Libraries approved a mini-grant proposal to transcribe the SPOHP's Mississippi Freedom Project collection. The completion of this project was timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer during the summer of 2014, when SPOHP presented the completed transcripts to veterans of the Mississippi Freedom Summer at their 50th anniversary reunion. This processing project leveraged existing knowledge, resources, and partnerships to promote online access to the Mississippi Freedom Project collection, including the development of a Freedom Summer LibGuide, two new podcasts, and a second phase which involves continuing transcription, Google Optimization of transcripts, and expanded Mississippi Freedom Project content on SPOHP’s website.[50]

The latest MFP research trip, the eighth in the collection's history, took place June 15–20, 2015, and included interviews in Natchez, Mississippi and in Montgomery, Alabama with the Southern Poverty Law Center and Equal Justice Initiative.[51] Oral history interviews for the Mississippi Freedom Project are now available online at the University of Florida Digital Collections website.[52]

The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program launched its fifth annual Mississippi Freedom Project Research Trip in 2012. Group pictured here at the Tallahatchie County Courthouse.

Collections

SPOHP is continuously engaged in active research projects designed to broaden the scope and scale of its collections, using contributions from undergraduate and graduate students as well as trained volunteers. SPOHP’s collections house more than 6,500 oral history interviews on hundreds of different topics. The program also transcribes a portion of its interviews, which are available at the University of Florida Digital Collections online Samuel Proctor Oral History Program Digital Collection archive.[53]

Veterans History Project

In 2000, SPOHP was approached by the Library of Congress to assist in efforts with collecting oral history interviews of World War II veterans. Since that time, SPOHP has been conducting interviews for the Library’s Veterans History Project, which is a project of its American Folklife Center.[54][55] Ann Smith, a longtime SPOHP volunteer, is the project director.[56] SPOHP has submitted over 100 interviews to date.[57]

African American History Project

SPOHP's African American History Project (AAHP) began in January 2010 with the mission of collecting 400 interviews on local African American history, giving particular attention to narratives on segregation under Jim Crow, as well as integration and Civil Rights.[58] Originally conceived as the Alachua County African American History Project, AAHP quickly expanded into other parts of North and Central Florida, and now contains over 300 interviews with elders, leaders, activists, and other community members. A list of themes in the collection include: pre-integration black high schools and their contemporary legacies and significance; previously silenced narratives of racially motivated violence and repression; the quotidian socio-economics of providing for families and maintaining communities under Jim Crow; and the conflicted history of the University of Florida's interactions with and influence on local African American communities.[59][60]

Interviews from the collection were used in the UF School of Theatre and Dance's original presentation, "Gator Tales," in February 2015. The original play, edited and directed by Kevin Marshall, used oral histories from the African American History Project to share the unique experiences of the first African American students at the University of Florida, "bring[ing] vividly to life the voices of those who first struggled for civil rights and the generations that followed."[61] "Gator Tales" ran at UF February 13–22, 2015, in Edinburgh, Scotland at the Festival Fringe in Summer 2015, and at the Oral History Association annual meeting in Tampa, Florida on October 15, 2015.[62][63][64][65][66][67]

SPOHP regularly develops documentaries, podcasts, and other audio selections to highlight interviews in its collections.[68][69] SPOHP’s archives also contains a variety of different sound files, including University of Florida speeches, videotapes of television interviews, Native American slides and photos, and recordings of music.[70]

Featured projects include:

  • African American History Project (AAHP)
  • Coalition of Immokalee Workers
  • Community Organizing in America
  • Confederate Veterans
  • Cold War History
  • Disability History
  • Duval County
  • Everglades
  • Everglades Jetport
  • Fifth Avenue Blacks
  • Florida Business Leaders
  • Florida Environment and Ecology
  • Florida Elections Project
  • Florida Opportunity Scholars
  • Florida Politics
  • Florida Ranching
  • Florida Water Management
  • Haitian Revolution Memories
  • Immigration History in America
  • Iraq Veterans
  • Korean War
  • Lumbee Indians
  • Mississippi Choctaw
  • Mississippi Freedom Project
  • 9/11 Project
  • Nantucket Preservation
  • Ocklawaha River Project
  • Panama Canal Museum Project
  • Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
  • St. Augustine Civil Rights
  • St. Augustine Historic Preservation
  • Student Action with Farmworkers
  • Suwannee River
  • Tucson Ethnic Studies
  • University of Florida
  • UF College of Nursing
  • UF Healthcare Center
  • UF College of Law
  • United Faculty of Florida
  • Veterans History Project
  • Vietnam War Veterans
  • Women Activists Feminists
  • Women’s Police
  • World War II Veterans

Featured interviewees:

See also

External links

  1. Samuel Proctor Oral History Program official website
  2. Samuel Proctor Oral History Program Oral History Archives at UF's Digital Collections
  3. Samuel Proctor Oral History Program YouTube Channel

References

  1. Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, "About", University of Florida, 2015.
  2. Oral History Association, "Featured Member Spotlight: The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program", November 4, 2015.
  3. Kathryn L. Jasper (Spring 2005). "The Doris Duke Program in Scope and Sequence". Journal of the Southwest (Journal of the Southwest) 47 (1, Oral History Remembered: Native Americans, Doris Duke, and the Young Anthropologists): 153–164. doi:10.2307/40170355. JSTOR 40170355.
  4. Dianna Repp (Spring 2005). "The Doris Duke American Indian Oral History Program: Gathering the "Raw Material of History"". Journal of the Southwest (Journal of the Southwest) 47 (1, Oral History Remembered: Native Americans, Doris Duke, and the Young Anthropologists): 11–28. doi:10.2307/40170347. JSTOR 40170347.
  5. College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, "Remembering Dr. Samuel Proctor", University of Florida, October 16, 2005.
  6. Bob Arndorfer, "'Dean of state history' dies at Gainesville Home", The Gainesville Sun, July 11, 2005.
  7. Dr. Paul Ortíz, "Oral history with Dr. Julian Pleasants", December 7, 2007.
  8. Dr. Paul Ortíz, "President's letter", Oral History Association, Newsletter, Winter 2014, Volume XLVIII Number 3.
  9. McComb Legacies Project, "Congratulations to Falana McDaniel and the Samuel Proctor Program", October 10, 2013.
  10. Aida Mallard, "Samuel Proctor Oral History Program wins awards, The Gainesville Sun, August 17, 2014.
  11. 2015 Fellows and Award Recipients, "Diversity Award: Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, Society of American Archivists, 2015.
  12. Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, "Newsletters", University of Florida, 2015.
  13. University of Florida Digital Collections, "Samuel Proctor Oral History Program Collections Podcasts", University of Florida, 2015.
  14. Dr. Jack E. Davis, "Honors students keeping history fresh", History @ UF - The Official Blog of the UF History Department, University of Florida, February 19, 2015.
  15. Florida Division of Historical Resources, "Florida Folklife Program & Samuel Proctor Oral History Program Internship", Florida Department of State, 2015.
  16. Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, Mission, University of Florida, 2015.
  17. University of Florida News, "New UF summer program lets high school students get hands-on with Florida's past, present, and future", "Inside UF," February 24, 2015.
  18. Eastside High School, "IB Oral History Project", Alachua County Public Schools.
  19. Events, Museum of Florida History Exhibit Civil Rights In the Sunshine State, Visit Tallahassee, 2015.
  20. Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, African American History Project, University of Florida, 2015.
  21. Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, Podcasts, University of Florida, 2015.
  22. History Department, 4+1 Program in Oral History, University of Florida, 2015.
  23. University of Florida News, "Proctor programs explore slave resistance, Holocaust survivors, women's issues | University of Florida News". News.ufl.edu. 2012-11-08. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  24. University of Florida News, "Scholar to talk about earliest oral histories of Holocaust survivors | University of Florida News". News.ufl.edu. 2013-01-18. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  25. University of Florida News, Peterson, Zack (2013-03-13). "Treat women's rights as a human rights issue, experts say". Gainesville.com. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  26. Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, Events Archive, University of Florida, 2015.
  27. Emily Nyren, Siempre Adelante Official Premier Screening, Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, University of Florida, October 22, 2013.
  28. Jeff Schweers, UF to become home to Stetson Kennedy's written legacy, The Gainesville Sun, October 21, 2013.
  29. Jeff Schweers, Coming home at last: Stetson Kennedy's work to reside at UF, The Gainesville Sun, October 22, 2013.
  30. Emily Nyren, Trouble the Water Film Screening Symposium, Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, February 7, 2014.
  31. Eugenia Hawk, Scott Camil: "Resistance & Liberation" Panel, Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, March 20, 2014.
  32. Jeff Schweers, UF students get immersed in the history civil rights, The Gainesville Sun, March 9, 2014.
  33. Jeff Schweers, Several give stark accounts of segregation-era racism, The Gainesville Sun, March 12, 2014.
  34. Emily Nyren, The Florida Civil Rights Struggle Past & Present, Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, March 26, 2014.
  35. Samuel Proctor Oral History Program NEH LDAP Grant Release, University of Florida, August 19, 2015.
  36. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, Exploring Virginia Histories, 2015.
  37. Veronica Lopresti Mingrone, Eleven UF students to research oral history traditions in Virginia, The Independent Florida Alligator, September 29, 2014.
  38. Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal Oral history festival to be held in Mathews, October 8, 2014.
  39. The Folk of the Tidewater: What Can We Learn from Each Other, October 22, 2014.
  40. Jessica Taylor, Top 5 reasons why young professionals love the OHA meeting, OUP blog, Oxford University Press, December 12, 2014.
  41. Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, SPOHP, Lees-McRae Form Partnership for Appalachian Oral History Field Research Event, University of Florida, December 19, 2014.
  42. Lees-McRae College, Lees-McRae to Host Oral History Collaboration with University of Florida, January 30, 2015.
  43. Dr. Jack E. Davis, "Historical research reaching a peak", History @ UF - The Official Blog of the UF History Department, University of Florida, February 11, 2015.
  44. Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, Congratulations to the Fall 2014 Latina/o Diaspora in the Americas Class, University of Florida, December 12, 2014.
  45. Dr. Jack E. Davis, "Oral history goes west", History @ UF - The Official Blog of the UF History Department, University of Florida, March 26, 2015.
  46. https://ufhistorydepartment.wordpress.com/2015/03/26/oral-history-goes-west/
  47. University of Florida News, "UF oral history program team to conduct interviews in Mississippi Delta region | University of Florida News". News.ufl.edu. 2012-09-12. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  48. Sarah Blanc, UF Oral History Program Digs Deep in the Delta, Groundswell.org, October 4, 2013.
  49. Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, Mississippi Freedom Project, University of Florida, 2015.
  50. Bess de Farber, Dr. Paul Ortíz, Jana Ronan, Barbara Hood, Mississippi Freedom Project Interviews to be Available on University of Florida Digital Collections for MLK Celebration, Freedom Summer Anniversary, University of Florida Digital Collections, 2014.
  51. Mary Kathryn Carpenter, Students explore civil rights history, Natchez Democrat, June 20, 2015.
  52. Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, Mississippi Freedom Project interviews to be available on University of Florida Digital Collections for MLK Celebration of Freedom Summer Anniversary, January 17, 2014.
  53. University of Florida Digital Collections, "UFDC Home - All Collection Groups". Ufdc.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  54. University of Florida News, "UF to collaborate with Library of Congress on veterans' oral histories | University of Florida News". News.ufl.edu. 2010-11-08. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  55. Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, "SPOHP's Veterans History Project". Oral.history.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  56. Ferguson, Grier (2011-05-13). "Ann Smith is coordinator of the Veterans Project for the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida". Gainesville.com. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  57. Veterans History Project, Samuel Proctor Oral History Program interviews, American Folklife Center, Library of COngress, 2015.
  58. University of Florida News, "UF awards $150,000 grant to preserve oral histories of local African-Americans | University of Florida News". News.ufl.edu. 2010-01-14. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  59. Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, African American History Project Mission, University of Florida, 2015.
  60. Gerald Ensley, John Due, still making the world a better place, Tallahassee Democrat, October 28, 2014.
  61. Anna Hamilton, ‘Gator Tales’ Brings Oral Histories to the Stage, Southern Foodways Alliance, February 24, 2015.
  62. College of the Arts, Gator Tales, University of Florida, 2014.
  63. Amnesty International UK, Edinburgh Festival: Freedom of Expression Award 2015, August 10, 2015.
  64. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Gator Tales, 2015.
  65. College of the Arts, Gator Tales UF on Vimeo, February 2015.
  66. Cleveland Tinker, Student experiences come alive in Gator Tales, The Gainesville Sun, February 11, 2015.
  67. Brittany Valencic ‘Gator Tales’ examines past struggles of black UF students, Gainesville Scene, February 12, 2015.
  68. Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, "SPOHP Proctor Podcasts". Oral.history.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  69. "Samuel Proctor Oral History Program | WUFT News". Wuft.org. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  70. Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, About, University of Florida, 2015.
  71. http://oral.history.ufl.edu/
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