McKeldin-Jackson Project oral history collection
Abstract
This collection is comprised of 87 oral history interviews and 4 related items. The McKeldin-Jackson Project was an effort to examine the Maryland civil rights movement of the mid-20th century through the medium of oral history by focusing on the roles played by pioneering freedom fighter Lillie May Carroll Jackson and Theodore R. McKeldin, who was Mayor of Baltimore (1943-1947, 1963-1967), Governor of Maryland (1951-1959), and an advocate for civil rights. The project was sponsored by the Maryland Historical Society and was supported in part by a grant from the Maryland Committee for the Humanities and Public Policy.
Dates
- 1971, 1974-1977
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use
The reproduction of materials in this collection may be subject to copyright restrictions. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine and satisfy copyright clearances or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections. For more information visit the MCHC’s Rights and Permissions page.
Historical Note
The McKeldin-Jackson Project was an effort to examine the Maryland civil rights movement of the mid 20th century through the medium of oral history by focusing on the roles played by Lillie May Jackson and Theodore R. McKeldin. Lillie May Carroll Jackson (1889-1975) was a pioneering freedom fighter beginning in the 1930s and an organizer of the Baltimore Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Theodore R. McKeldin (1900-1974) was Mayor of Baltimore (1943-1947, 1963-1967), Governor of Maryland (1951-1959) and an advocate for civil rights. The project was sponsored by the Maryland Historical Society and was supported in part by a grant from the Maryland Committee for the Humanities and Public Policy.
Extent
91 Items (87 oral histories; 4 related materials)
Language of Materials
English
Additional Resources
Additional interviews with narrators Marion Bascom, David Glenn, and Lawrence Cardinal Shehan relating to the civil rights movement can be found in the Baltimore Interfaith Series oral history collection, OH BIS.
The MCHC oral history collection also contains two interviews with Theodore McKeldin: OH 8033 and OH 8215.
For more sources on the civil rights movement in the MCHC's collection, please see the Source Guide to the Civil Rights Movement.
A subject guide has been prepared to provide direction for research into some of the main subject areas for the project. The guide is not exhaustive but may be a helpful starting point for research. View the "External Documents" section below.
Scope and Contents
This collection is comprised of 87 oral history interviews and 4 other related items. Materials available for the interviews include audio recordings, transcripts, tape indexes, newspaper clippings, biographical information, and interview evaluations. Each item record indicates whether a complete transcript or an uncorrected transcript is available for an oral history.
All recordings within the collection are digitized and continue to be added to MCHC's Digital Collections portal.
Interviews were conducted from 1975-1977, with some earlier recordings made prior to the project added to the collection. Narrators range from leaders in the Maryland civil rights movement and local activists, to people opposed to the movement. Narrators include Lillie May Carroll Jackson’s children: Juanita Jackson Mitchell, Virginia Jackson Kiah, and Bowen Keiffer Jackson; Parren Mitchell, U.S. Congressman, 1971-1987; Donald G. Murray, the first African American admitted to the University of Maryland Law School; Verda Welcome, one of the first Black women to be elected to a state Senate; Thomas J. D’Alesandro III, mayor of Baltimore, 1967-1971; Clarence Mitchell, Jr., chief lobbyist to the NAACP; Vernon Naimaster, Great Titan of the Maryland Ku Klux Klan; and Dr. J.E.T. Camper, a prominent physician who also devoted his career to seeking racial justice and equality.
In addition to these oral history interviews, there are four items related to the project that are included with the collection. There is an audio recording of a radio program on which narrators David Glenn and Judge Robert Watts appeared to discuss the McKeldin-Jackson project with host Alan Christian. There is an audio recording as well as textual materials from the colloquium and exhibition held at the Maryland Historical Society to commemorate the McKeldin-Jackson project on November 16, 1976. There is also a research paper written by a Goucher College student on Theodore R. McKeldin and the civil rights movement in Maryland and a binder containing information on the development and progress of the McKeldin-Jackson project.
- Title
- Guide to the McKeldin-Jackson project oral history collection
- Status
- Under Revision
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2020-07-08: Manually entered into ArchivesSpace by Emily Somach.
Repository Details
Part of the H. Furlong Baldwin Library Repository
H. Furlong Baldwin Library
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue
Baltimore MD 21201 United States
4106853750
specialcollections@mdhistory.org