Research Description:

Ordinary People Sharing Extraordinary Narratives: Surviving Jim Crow

My proposed research project is to describe how African Americans discussed and processed everyday encounters of racism in the Southeast during segregation, as well as understanding which strategies were used to handle racism.

Using methodological techniques from both anthropology and oral history, I will conduct in depth interviews with African Americans who experienced segregation in the Southeast. The interviews will elicit both their personal historical narrative, current narrative and the many ways in which they shared their experiences with others and have passed the strategies of coping with racism on to their family members.

The research entails approximately 30 in depth-structured interviews focused mainly on African American women over the age of 60 in the Southeast.

Each participant will be asked a series of questions concerning: personal history spatial and interaction techniques to deal with racism responses to anecdotes that I will provide future racial issues memory of racial issues during segregation and advice to young people dealing with racism in the future.

This research is relevant to the future of African American history as many of the elders that lived through segregation are passing on and vital “lived knowledge” is being lost. African Americans young and old need to understand how the elderly developed strategies to overcome their adversities to become viable and productive members of society.

This research will be an asset to the prospect of young people who appear to be losing hope in their ability to overcome adversity and oppression. This research will offer an opportunity for young people to learn through the oral history and lived experience of others how they can become successful, productive and an invaluable asset to their community as well as society.