Speak Now: Memories of the Civil Rights Era
On May 22-26, 2011, seventy-five men and women returned to Jackson, Mississippi, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the 1961 Freedom Rides. In conjunction with an exhibit to commemorate the rides, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History offered the Freedom Riders and the public an opportunity to "Speak Now" and record memories of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi. Twenty-eight individuals responded, resulting in twenty-six audio recordings and corresponding transcripts and fifty-six digital color photographs. One interview in the collection was restricted by request of participants. The recordings are not traditional oral histories but are instead recordings of individuals recounting their own experiences during an era of cultural, political, and social change. Topics other than the Freedom Rides include African American veterans, Mississippi Freedom Schools, Medgar and Charles Evers, and the Mississippi State Penitentiary.
Speak Now was recorded by MDAH employees Leanna Welch-Dawson and Amanda Lyons, transcribed by Nell Pace and other volunteers, and photographed by MDAH staff, all under the direction of audiovisual curator Celia Tisdale. Partial funding for the project was provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Read MoreOn May 22-26, 2011, seventy-five men and women returned to Jackson, Mississippi, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the 1961 Freedom Rides. In conjunction with an exhibit to commemorate the rides, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History offered the Freedom Riders and the public an opportunity to "Speak Now" and record memories of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi. Twenty-eight individuals responded, resulting in twenty-six audio recordings and corresponding transcripts and fifty-six digital color photographs. One interview in the collection was restricted by request of participants. The recordings are not traditional oral histories but are instead recordings of individuals recounting their own experiences during an era of cultural, political, and social change. Topics other than the Freedom Rides include African American veterans, Mississippi Freedom Schools, Medgar and Charles Evers, and the Mississippi State Penitentiary.
Speak Now was recorded by MDAH employees Leanna Welch-Dawson and Amanda Lyons, transcribed by Nell Pace and other volunteers, and photographed by MDAH staff, all under the direction of audiovisual curator Celia Tisdale. Partial funding for the project was provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Arrangement and Numbering
Each audio recording is individually numbered and cataloged at the item level.
Technical Details:
The digital audio files were created as MP3 files using a Marantz Professional Solid State Recorder PMD 660. Digital photographs were taken as JPEG files using a Nikon Coolpix P60 (5184x3456 pixels) and a Canon EOS 60D (3264x2176 pixels).
Suggested Bibliographic Citation
MDAH suggests that citations for digital audio files from the Web-enabled version of the Speak Now Collection include the following elements:
collection name, name of the interviewee, agency name, date of interview, and date of the last web page revision, (date viewed).
Copyright
MDAH obtained signed releases for all of the digital audio files and photographs available on the Internet. One interview in the collection was restricted by request of participants. Patrons are allowed to use the files for reference purposes and scholarly research; any broadcast/publication of the digital audio files or photographs requires permission from the audiovisual curator. MDAH asks that each publication be accompanied by the following credit statement:
Credit: Courtesy of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History
Publicity and Privacy Rights
MDAH alerts the user to the issue of publicity and privacy rights of subjects represented in these scans. Distinct from copyright, which concerns the owner of the intellectual content, publicity and/or privacy rights apply to individuals who did not sign a contract or release form giving the creator the legal right to use his/her likeness or personal information. Publicity and privacy rights also differ from copyright in that there are not exemptions for Fair Use or educational purposes. These rights are not regulated by federal law but by state statute and common law. When using images from this collection it is the patron's responsibility to determine whether privacy and publicity rights issues may exist and consider the mitigating factors.
Copy Availability
Copies may be purchased from MDAH. The MDAH Public Order procedure and fee schedule apply. Consult the Photoreproduction and Digital Imaging policy or MDAH Audiovisual Archivist for order options as well as information on how to obtain and complete the necessary Public Order forms: 601-576-6874 or avarch@mdah.state.ms.us.