Oral Histories

Students, Faculty, and Staff at Bruton Heights School
Photo courtesy: Albert W. Durant Collection, Visual Resources, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

These oral histories have been generously provided by members of the local Black community. The oral histories were collected and kindly made available for use by the James City County Historical Commission, The Williamsburg Documentary Project, the W&M Grassroots Theatre Project, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and The Village Initiative.

Note on Historiography
As you engage with the oral histories, consider these questions: Who determined which questions to ask? How might the race, gender, age, status or other characteristic of the interviewer affect the history that is told by the interviewee? Whose stories are represented and which perspectives might be missing? How do errors in transcription from oral accounts to written narratives impact our understanding of history? How is the information provided through oral histories influence by memory?

All Oral Histories | A-B | C-D | E-G | H-J | K-L | M-P | Q-R | S-T | U-Z